Light spilled across the grand hall, gliding over towering pillars coiled with lifelike dragon carvings. The ceiling stretched high above, supported by ancient stone and swirling spiritual energy so dense it lingered like mist.
At the far end, seated upon a lavish throne, the Sect Master of the Xuantian Sect—Shen Jian—leaned back lazily.
A hearty laugh burst from his chest, echoing across the hall.
"Elder Lin flatters her. The Saintess is merely doing what she should. She still has much to learn."
Despite the modest words, the corners of his lips curled upward in unconcealed pride.
Elder Lin Xuan chuckled, clasping his hands in a small bow.
"The Sect Master is too modest. She's about to clear the Sword Ancestor's trial. Her talent is known throughout the Eastern Region. Not only that, but she is extremely humble. It is all a result of your upbringing."
Shen Jian waved his hand dismissively, though his chest puffed with pride.
"The young generation is naturally more talented than the last. Even the Tianjian Sect surprised me. I thought it was declining since Saint Chendao left, but that boy, Feng Hao, is not bad."
Lin Xuan nodded and stroked his white beard.
"Our sect is not lacking either."
"Speaking of which... What about the junior the Grand Elder took in?"
"That child..." The elder's expression shifted slightly.
"He has been in seclusion ever since he became the Grand Elder's disciple. He has never shown his face in public even once."
Lin Xuan's smile stiffened slightly.
Shen Jian leaned forward, catching it immediately. "You seem to have something to say, Elder Lin."
Lin Xuan let out a long sigh. "I had once tried to meet that junior, but... the Grand Elder looked unusual. He even made up an excuse and kicked me out."
Elder Lin's smile twitched as he recalled that day. The Grand Elder's face looked as if he had eaten shit. He looked extremely panicked, unlike his usual self, and couldn't wait to get rid of him.
Usually, they would've chatted and played Go. He couldn't help but connect this weird behavior to this new disciple.
"Hmph. He is too protective of this disciple. This won't do!"
"Let his disciple join the recent gathering in our sect. Various geniuses from every sect in the Eastern Region will be joining. It's about time he experiences the world."
Lin Xuan nodded. In his heart, even he himself was full of curiosity about this junior he had never met.
After all, who could make the Grand Elder appear so panicked!
Far away, a young man sat in a simple room. He wore pristine white robes, simple and elegant. His sharp, sword-like eyebrows gave him a heroic air, while his eyes held a depth, yet seemed gentle, which resembled sunlight reflecting off a frozen lake. Long black hair cascaded down his back like ink.
At first glance, he appeared every bit the refined scholar.
It was Xu Xing!
The Grand Elder's mysterious disciple.
A pile of books lay open before him... Despite this, he looked distracted.
His expression kept shifting constantly: sometimes he would smile, then he looked embarrassed, later a bit frightened.
Suddenly, he buried his face in his hands.
Xu Xing sighed and said with a bitter expression, "Because of this dog-shit system, I will spend the rest of my life locked in this room!!"
Xu Xing had a secret.
He wasn't originally from this world. He was a normal college student until he and Truck-kun had a tight hug.
And like any proper transmigrator—he got a system.
"…Except mine is complete garbage and dog-shit."
A normal person might have been thrilled. A system meant power, destiny, invincibility. Any transmigrator knows it!
Xu Xing had thought the same for about five minutes.
"That damn dog-shit system literally told me to elope with an ostrich! It then asked me to swear brotherhood with a random rock on ground!"
"And that's not even the worst part! It made me hug a pillar and ask how it felt while weeping loudly in public! Do you know what people would think?!"
Worse still, the system had forced Xu Xing to only break through using cultivation provided by the system, making normal efforts useless.
This was unacceptable for Xu Xing, who was a genius before, not to mention the absurd missions. Naturally, Xu Xing was extremely stubborn and did none of the missions until a year passed and his cultivation did not improve even by an inch. Eventually, heartbroken and left with no other options, Xu Xing tried to kill himself.
At least the heavens had eyes, and at that moment, the system broke and turned into an idiot. It no longer provided any missions or restricted him, but...
Xu Xing's face turned dark as he recalled.
Ever since then, the system would randomly make him say extremely arrogant words. If someone heard those words, their nine generations would probably die due to anger...
He remembered when the system had activated while he was practicing the sword under his master.
The Grand Elder Li Xuanji was watching him practice while nodding in appreciation.
"This disciple is clearly the most talented one yet. It indeed wasn't the wrong choice to accept him back then."
Xu Xing as well was diligently swinging the sword until suddenly, a weird feeling welled up in his chest, bringing with it a terrible premonition... He started to lose control of his mouth...
"This sword technique is just so-so, but I will reluctantly accept the scrap. The creator of this technique and his descendants don't deserve the honor! If only he knew his technique graced the hands of me, Xu Xing!"
Grand Elder Li Xuanji's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets when he heard this. He was in disbelief... how did his obedient disciple start saying such absurd things!?
He was shaking in anger... After all, the technique Xu Xing called scrap was created by the efforts of countless generations of ancestors of the Xuantian Sect... and it was a heaven-grade technique! One must know that a heaven-grade technique is just a level lower than an emperor-grade. It is something ordinary sects can only dream of.
Xu Xing's expression looked worse than crying, but he couldn't stop his mouth.
Xu Xing's eyes appeared as if he looked at the Grand Elder with pity. "Sigh... Old Man Li, since you're my master, I will let you serve me when I become the greatest immortal emperor throughout the ages."
Xu Xing spoke with eyes full of pride, determination, and confidence, yet the Grand Elder's eyes only reflected endless anger and disbelief.
"Old Man Li...?"
"Serve you...?"
"Scrap technique...?"
After that, Xu Xing naturally got the beating of a lifetime. Passing disciples would run in terror when they heard his screams.
It wasn't until he memorized and wrote the glorious history of the Xuantian Sect a thousand times that his master let him go.
A shiver ran down Xu Xing's spine when he recalled that day. Ever since then, he had locked himself in this room, only practicing and cultivating all day. He had just recently reached the Golden Core realm.
"I am never going out! The heavens will fall, but I, Xu Xing, will never leave this room!"
Oblivious to him, his fate had already started to flow in an unknown direction...
(Technique ranking : Mortal, Earth, Profound, Celestial, Heaven, Emperor, Immortal
Mastery/Comprehension ranking : Entry Level , Minor Success , Major Success , Great Perfection , Unity of Man and Technique
Cultivation realm : Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Refinement, Body Integration, Immortal Ascension)