As Xiao Li walked along the secluded path that led to Elder Mo’s lodgings, he couldn’t help but curse his fellow disciples under his breath.

Why was he, out of every disciple in this entire stupid valley, the one who needed to remind the Elder that he needed to go take care of his responsibilities? Given how little time the man spent teaching them, one would think the Elder would at least remember to show up for the sect’s Disciple Selection Ceremony.

How hard was it to attend a ceremony that only happened once every three years?

Xiao Li let out a huff of frustration as he did his best to calm himself down.

In truth, Elder Mo wasn’t the exactly worst authority figure he’d ever had to listen to. The man might not particularly care about any of his disciples, but that wasn’t much of a surprise.

Why would anyone care about the Sect’s rejects, after all?

As far as Xiao Li was concerned, It could definitely be worse. Elder Mo never hurt them, abused them, insulted them, or took advantage of them. As long as he and his fellow disciples spoke to him with respect, Elder Mo hardly paid them any mind at all.

After failing to be chosen by any of the other Elders, this was probably the best result that Xiao Li could have hoped for. He didn’t need to beg for food or worry about where he would sleep for the night, and he could still sort of cultivate. Honestly, it was a fate much better than what many people got, but sometimes Xiao Li just wished for… more.

It didn’t take long before he was standing outside the door to Elder Mo’s home, a large building with a sloped roof of glossy black tiles and walls made of carefully carved stone. A small garden filled with strange spirit plants surrounded the home, and a koi pond sat off to the side, teeming with brightly colored fish.

Xiao Li took a moment to compose himself as he prepared to use the kind of formal speech that important people seemed to like so much.

After he was ready, Xiao Li took hold of the door's brass knocker and used it to announce his presence.

“Elder Mo, this disciple has come to inform you that the Disciple Selection Ceremony is about to begin!”

Xiao Li waited for several moments after calling out but began to grow confused when he failed to receive an answer. Deciding that Elder Mo must simply have not heard him, he knocked on the door harder than he did before and called out again, “Elder Mo?”

After failing to receive a response for the second time, Xiao Li slumped over and let out an exasperated sigh.

Great… he’s not even here. What am I supposed to tell the others when they ask me where Elder Mo is?

While considering the matter Xiao Li absent-mindedly tried to open the door, fully expecting the building’s magical protections to prevent him from entering, only to be left dumbfounded when the door opened without issue.

… Is Elder Mo injured? Is he dead? Xiao Li wondered, feeling himself start to panic.

The Formation protecting the building was keyed to Elder Mo, so the only reason for it to be down was if the Elder intentionally lowered them or if he was no longer able to maintain them. There were Formations that did not need to be keyed to a cultivator in order to continue working, but the Sect had regulations against placing such Formations around homes.

After all, if a member of the sect suffered an accident while cultivating, they would need to be able to receive immediate assistance instead of being forced to wait for an expert to take down the Formation first.

Xiao Li peeked his head through the door, feeling a bit afraid of what he was going to find.

The inside of the building was spacious and elegantly decorated with furniture that likely cost more than a peasant family would make in a year. The walls were adorned with intricate carvings and silver filigree, and he could see a small bookshelf filled with scrolls. The room gave off an image of peace and serenity and was exactly what Xiao Li was expecting to see.

What he wasn’t expecting was to see Elder Mo sitting in front of an ornate mirror, completely uninjured.

Tch. And here I was worrying that something had happened. Was he really just too busy staring at his own reflection to hear me calling?

Feeling more than a little annoyed and frustrated by the Elder’s behavior, Xiao Li was about to call for him for the third time before he suddenly paused after seeing the man’s expression.

Elder Mo’s eyes were completely listless and his expression made him look like a man who had been sentenced to death. The Elder remained completely and utterly still as he stared at his reflection, utterly unresponsive despite the fact that someone with his level of cultivation should have noticed Xiao Li watching him.

All in all, Elder Mo looked horrible and nothing like the distant and well-put-together man that Xiao Li was used to.

Unsure of what to do, he simply watched the man awkwardly for a few moments, but Xiao Li couldn’t just sit around forever so he eventually decided to speak up.

“Elder Mo?” called out Xiao Li, quieter than he meant to.

Elder Mo flinched in his seat and turned to look at him, obviously not having noticed Xiao Li before he spoke up.

“Who’s there?” asked Elder Mo, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant. “Who are you?”

“This one is Disciple Xiao Li,” he said as he revealed himself by stepping further into the house.

Elder Mo remained silent for several moments, a look of pure confusion on his face before his eyes finally lit up with recognition and he began to school his expression into the stoic facade that Xiao Li was used to seeing from the man.

It was a good mask, but it was hard for him to not see the weariness in the Elder’s eyes after Xiao Li had caught him looking like he was about to fall apart.

“Why are you here, Disciple Li?”

“This one has come to inform the Elder that the Disciple Selection Ceremony is about to begin,” said Xiao Li, speaking as politely as he knew how. He didn’t want to agitate an Elder whom he had just caught in a vulnerable moment, after all.

Fortunately, the Elder seemed intent on pretending that nothing had happened.

“I see,” said Elder Mo, his tone completely even. “Then I suppose we should leave right away. It would not be appropriate for us to be late.”

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After saying so, Elder Mo didn’t wait to stand up from where he was sitting and begin making his way out of the building, with Xiao Li following behind after a moment of hesitation.

The two of them walked in the direction of the Disciple Selection Ceremony in awkward silence before Xiao Li realized that Elder Mo seemed to plan on walking the entire way there.

Does he not realize how late we’ll be if we walk the entire way? Shouldn’t we be at least using Qi to get there faster? Xiao Li wondered, completely befuddled.

“Elder Mo? This one believes he should mention that the Selection Ceremony is likely to begin soon.”

The Elder paused and an expression of confusion quickly passed through his eyes before resolving into realization. Without another word, the Elder waved the hand that held his Spatial Ring to the side and a Flying Tool immediately materialized beside them.

Xiao Li could feel himself quickly grow extremely jealous. Flying Tools could only be used by cultivators who had reached the Foundation Building stage, and were highly valuable items. It was unlikely that someone like Xiao Li would ever have one in his life.

It looked like a small boat with strange glyphs carved into its sides and large vines growing other plant life growing wildly from its hull in an untamed manner. Each of the vines swayed aimlessly through the air as the small ship floated a few feet above the ground.

I almost forgot that the Elder had a wood spirit root…

“Come, Disciple Li,” said the Elder as he smoothly jumped onto the ship, sounding significantly more composed than he did earlier. “Let's not waste any time. I'm sure the other Elders will be upset if they need to delay the ceremony due to my absence.”

It’s good that you know. I just wish you had thought of that earlier so I didn’t need to come all the way out here.

“Of course, Elder Mo,” said Xiao Li, infusing a small amount of Qi into his legs as he jumped onto the Flying Tool.

It wasn’t long before they were both flying through the air in the direction of Spirit’s Rest Valley. As Xiao Li was left with his thoughts, he couldn’t help but think about Elder Mo’s strange behavior. Something about him seemed different… but Xiao Li had absolutely no intention of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong.

He knew that was the quickest way to end up missing a nose.

Whatever was going on with Elder Mo was really not something he wanted any part of. As long as it didn’t end up affecting him, Xiao Li was more than content to mind his own business.

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Mo Duan, or at least the person who had woken up in his body, was not having a particularly good time.

It had been nearly a full day since he had fallen asleep in bed, only to wake up in a room that looked like something you would find on the set of some kind of ancient Chinese drama series. At first, Mo Duan had believed that he was dreaming, until he was suddenly assaulted by a splitting headache and had nearly fifty years worth of memories stuffed into his head.

After that, it became extremely difficult for him to deny what was happening and he was not taking it particularly well.

It was one thing to read about a person finding themselves in a world of fantasy and magic as a pleasant form of escapism, but it was another thing to actually experience it for yourself.

At least I don’t have to feel guilty about taking over this bastard’s body.

Mo Duan glanced discreetly at the teenage boy that had pulled him from his depressed stupor. The kid had no way of knowing, but the fact that Mo Duan had taken over the body of the Elder assigned to watch over him had likely saved the boy's life.

I’m not particularly happy about being torn away from my life and my family, but at least some small amount of good came out of it, even if it’s for someone else.

Before he could go any further down that train of thought, Mo Duan suddenly noticed that the two of them were nearing their destination. Using his supernaturally enhanced vision, he was already able to make out the details of Spirit’s Rest Valley.

The valley was nested neatly in the Verdant Valleys Sect’s rolling hills and was filled with sparkling streams, lush greenery, and many beautiful buildings that were bustling with activity. It was where the sect sent those Disciples who showed a talent for scholarly pursuits and was one of the most frequented valleys in the sect.

Overall, the valley gave off a sense of tranquility that helped slightly ease Mo Duan’s nerves.

The heart of the valley contained the highest concentration of buildings and was where the various children attending the Disciple Selection Ceremony would be undergoing their evaluations. After the ceremony was completed, they would be assigned to either one of the sect’s five Elders, or its Patriarch, who each managed one of the sect’s valleys.

For the most fortunate among them, the evaluations were a mere formality. Those lucky few likely possessed either exceptional talent, an important background, or some other quality that had already attracted the attention of one of the Verdant Valley Sect’s important figures.

Those who were less fortunate would simply choose from whichever of the sect’s six valleys indicated an interest in them.

And those with the worst fortune, who nobody expressed an interest in, would be given over to Mo Duan.

“Disciple, I will escort you to your peers. Please point them out to me,” said Mo Duan, focusing on his newly acquired memories to sound as close to the original as possible.

It was important that he did everything he could to act like the man whose body he was possessing. Thanks to their difference in status, it didn’t particularly matter if he acted a little out of character around Xiao Li, but the same was not true for his fellow Elders.

Possession was very much a known danger in this world, and Mo Duan risked getting himself into a lot of trouble if people began suspecting that he wasn’t the man he was pretending to be.

Thankfully, his new memories made it a lot easier for him to control his emotions.

“This one is grateful, Elder Mo,” said Xiao Li before pointing to a small group of disciples gathered in the viewing area.

Mo Duan used the strange connection he had with the flying ship to direct it to the group, feeling grateful for the memories that made using his new abilities feel so intuitive.

After dropping Xiao Li off under the surprised eyes of the disciples, Mo Duan didn’t waste any time flying to the large pagoda where the sect’s Elders would be gathered to watch the ceremony. As soon as he reached the pagoda, he quickly returned the ship to his spatial ring and began making his way up several flights of stairs, nodding respectfully to the guards as he passed by.

It wasn’t long before Mo Duan was entering the topmost room, making him the subject of focus of the most powerful cultivators in the Verdant Valleys Sect.

“This one apologizes for his late arrival,” said Mo Duan, bowing politely to a handsome young man that gave off the impression of being a gentle and kind older brother.

Mo Duan didn't let the man's appearance deceive him. After all, he did have memories of watching Patriarch Songyu punch through the chest of a powerful demonic cultivator without ever losing his gentle smile.

Mo Duan hurriedly stifled a shudder at the mental image.

Patriarch Songyu offered him a nod but didn’t otherwise comment, turning his attention back to the Spiritual Tool that displayed the ongoing ceremony. It was shaped like a giant mirror and showed many young children being evaluated for their knowledge. Many of them were taking some kind of written test, but there was also a large portion that was illiterate and was instead being tested verbally by proctors.

“Are you well, Elder Mo? It is not like you to be late for an event like this,” said a slender woman with long flowing hair and a kind appearance.

Unlike Patriarch Songyu, Mo Duan was fairly certain that Ying Liu, the Elder that specialized in alchemy and medicine, was actually as kind as she appeared… for the most part. Cultivators were pretty much all a bit scary after reaching a certain level of strength.

“Thank you for your concern, Elder Ying, but I am quite alright,” said Mo Duan, moving to take the seat that had been left for him. “I merely lost track of time while cultivating.”

Elder Ying nodded at him politely before turning to make her attention back to the ceremony. As a cultivator who had been recruited into the Verdant Valleys Sect directly as a Guest-Elder for his unique skills, Mo Duan did not have a strong relationship with the rest of the Elders. The other Elders had all joined the sect as children, which meant that they had known each other for their entire lives and had developed strong bonds, while his relationship with them was mostly professional.

Mo Duan was glad that was the case because he doubted he could hide his situation for very long otherwise.

As he made himself comfortable in his seat, Mo Duan suddenly felt a strange certainty that one of the Elders was watching him intently.

Damn it…

Although he didn’t turn to look, Mo Duan was quite certain that he would see a woman with sharp eyes staring at him with thinly veiled suspicion. However, he knew that wasn’t any particular reason for him to believe that she suspected him of being possessed.

It was far more likely that Elder Mei was simply staring at him because the original Mo Duan had secretly been a demonic cultivator who had joined the sect with malicious intentions, and something he had done had caused her to grow suspicious.

Mo Duan stifled a bone-weary sigh as he ignored the gaze burrowing into the back of his head.

I really hope this ceremony is over soon…