Xin Meili became more and more immersed in her thoughts as she watched the young master of the Han and Long families.
As a Transcendent Realm master that ruled over her family for tens of thousands of years, she had seen quite a few geniuses. In fact, she was a genius among geniuses herself, since this was one of the prerequisites of having a high cultivation base!
Seeing the young master’s experimentations though, she now felt that the ceiling was much higher, if it existed at all.
According to her estimates, those sword strikes could each easily kill a Spirit Origin that is half step away from the Unity realm. And young master Han De wasn’t even breaking a sweat!
Could he kill Unity Realm disciples in the same fashion? Normally Xin Meili would’ve denied the possibility. Jumping one realm was one thing, but putting another realm on top of that was, or should be, nearly impossible. Early 1st step realms had a variety of ways to suppress the lower ones. Especially for Unity Realm which has awakened to the concept of domains, a Nascent Soul fledgling shouldn’t pose a threat. Not even remotely!
But, her intuition kept insisting that she was wrong!
As she silently thought about it, Xin Meili came to the conclusion that she was, in fact, wrong! Her past life experience was akin to being a frog in the well. Naturally, the son of heavens would be able to surpass the expectations of someone like her.
And then, another one of those ominous flowers bloomed at the feet of the young master.
Just like before, Han De glanced at it for but a moment, then focused on something else, as if the heavenly apparition was a nuisance!
Clearly, this was the appropriate response. Clearly, it was Xin Meili’s point of view that was lacking!
Perhaps, she thought, perhaps Han De could even be a match for an Immortal Realm expert!
Was that possible?
The fact that she had doubts, convinced Xin Meili. Young Master Han De could definitely kill an Immortal Realm expert!
It was as if a veil was lifted from her eyes! The limitations of her common sense had all but evaporated!
But Xin Meili didn’t let that moment of surprise delay her response.
It was probably a heaven-defying artifact anyway, she thought before answering. Probably.
Xin Meili closed her eyes and listened to the spiritual waves of the last scout, a Divinity Formation realm expert with tanned skin, using a particular martial art that had a soothing scent.
On the other side of the voice transmission, Han De paused after hearing about incense sticks. <… Remove this shield, then bring the assembled information to me at once.>
Han De couldn’t help but smile. Most of the measuring units he used were insufferably mundane. And perhaps because they were mundane, hearing Xianxia units every now and again felt refreshingly pleasant.
Six minutes later, he felt a number of high cultivation experts walk towards his location with a respectful pace.
‘Let’s see, Xin Meili is Transcendent Realm, that’s the 12th major realm. Those two on the left should be the 11th major realm, Divinity Formation experts. The three on the right look like Dao Sovereign, the 10th major realm. Not bad, their spiritual waves seem vibrant compared to other high cultivation experts I’ve seen.’
These six people were the highest cultivation lackeys he had. Essentially, they were people-sized trump cards!
According to his great-grandmother Long Ruolan, the realm he was going to stay in was being ruled by a “Transcendent Realm disciple.” Inevitably, Han De tried to do a power comparison in his mind.
It was likely that the natural tough guy of the area would have gained some treasures over the years. Still, Xin Meili was using a "Very Weak" cultivation scripture. Han De pondered for a moment. ‘In the worst-case scenario, Xin Meili and the two 11th major realm guys should be able to hold their ground for a while. Though it would be best if we don’t engage in hostilities.
Having enough firepower did wonders for Han De’s mood.
“Reporting to the young master.” Xin Meili and five scouts kneeled and silently waited for instructions.
“How many worlds of this realm are suitable for cultivation?” Han De asked the first question in his (admittedly hastily made) flow chart.
The answer came from the Divinity Formation expert to the right. “Nearly forty thousand, my lord.”
‘Holy Sh*t that’s too many... Wait, this is good. That means there must be a perfect world out there!’
Han De didn’t delay any further. The sooner he settled the better. Not that he had some burning desire to build a sect, he was just thinking that establishing one would provide ample distraction!
“Discard the worlds under the influence of multi-world families. Discard satellite worlds, center worlds, and border worlds. Discard any worlds without high-density spiritual energy. The highest common cultivation level for sect masters should be Immortal Realm. Any world with more than one Dao Sovereign, discard.”
Xin Meili and the scouts listened to the instructions carefully. With their strength, obliterating the entire realm was a simple task! They thought Han De would take over completely, rather than seek a world with lower power. Once he gave the order though, none of them questioned the reasoning! Han De was the heir of both the Han and Long families. Trying to discern such people’s thoughts wasn’t easy, especially without context!
After a few seconds of silence, Han De heard multiple answers.
“Starry Ocean sub-domain has two such worlds, young master.”
“Three inside the warped mid-rim cluster, and one uninhabited halfway to the border.”
“This servant could not find a complete world that fit Lord’s criteria.”
The other two scouts stayed silent, but Han De’s attention was already caught by the last one.
This guy couldn’t find a complete world? Did he find… a shattered world? Han De immediately locked his gaze on the shortest Dao Sovereign expert and gave a small nod for him to continue.
“Responding to the young master, this partial world is at the edge of an ancient battlefield, forgotten by the residents of the greater realm. Spiritual energy is very high, and cultivation levels fit the young master’s criteria; three Ancient Realm disciples represent the peak.”
So far everything seemed to be perfect. A world shattered by an ancient battle… would have plenty of content for MCs!
The Dao Sovereign expert continued with a regretful tone. “It’s just that the seal holding the partial world together will fail in less than six hundred thousand years…”
Han De continued to stare at the expert who was shaking his head as if “only” 600.000 years was just too short!
A thousand years was but a breath for a Dao Sovereign cultivator, but to Han De, it was an inconceivably long period of time. He couldn’t even imagine six hundred of them!
“What’s the population, and power structure like?” Han De asked while ignoring the weird flex.
“This servant estimates that there should be no more than 6 trillion souls, but because of the world’s nature, up to 1/10th should be living.”
‘… doesn’t that make 600 billion people alive? Oh, he said living. And also, they might not necessarily be humans, or even intelligent, or even breathing.’
In a universe where even a coffee stain could gain consciousness, an absurd number like that made sense. Probably.
“The fragment contains 16 continents, 4 are devoid of life due to the relative weakness of the seal. The remaining 12 are evenly divided to high, mid, and low continents, with Immortal, Nascent Soul, and Foundation Establishment disciples respectively ruling over them with sects and dynasties.”
The more Han De listened the more it sounded like a generic Xianxia world!
But of course, he couldn’t plan without listening to other worlds’ situations! The scouts answered any of Han De’s questions without skipping a beat. As old monsters, they would be good at almost anything once they put their minds to it. Scouting for information was as easy as it could be for them, even if they had power limitations imposed!
After listening to both suitable and unsuitable worlds’ statuses and getting himself familiar with the overall power structure of the entire realm, Han De decided on the shattered world after all.
It was remote, but not remote enough to be devoid of traveling cultivators. Forgotten, but not forgotten enough to be completely independent of the affairs of the realm at large. Rich, but not rich enough to attract big sects and families.
There was also a convenient natural barrier that filtered out low-level interlopers!
With limited cultivation of the locals, Han De could have the ideal environment for making his disciples aware of Xianxia.
But most importantly, the world fragment was flat.
Obviously, that was the best choice for a Xianxia sect!
“How many demonic sects are there in that shattered world?”
“… This servant estimates that 1/5th of the cultivators have demonic tendencies, with the highest concentration being at the Foundation Establishment continents, and the highest cultivation sect being at the Immortal Realm. One of the three Ancient Realm rulers also has a deep demonic aura.”
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Han De narrowed his eyes. To be on the safe side, he would’ve loved to nuke those demonic cultivators out of orbit. Surely, that was the best option for everybody involved!
But… This wasn’t his private holiday resort, and he wasn’t going on vacation. His objective was to establish a sect due to the System’s absurd questline, and more importantly, educate his disciples!
Scouts and Xin Meili didn’t dare make a sound. Xin Meili had personally witnessed Han De’s distaste for demonic cultivators, but the others only knew from hasty warnings from the one called Old Peng. It was clear, that Han De was deciding whether to cut off the demonic path.
Minutes passed, yet Han De was still internally debating whether to wipe out the demonic cultivators or not. Soon minutes turned into half an hour.
But he still couldn’t get past the dilemma!
‘Something’s wrong. Why am I so bothered by this?’
Previously, Han De had ordered the deaths of many demonic cultivators without blinking an eye, and countless more to were crippled! Though at the time there was a valid reason -an MC was in the fray, and the suffering of innocents was clear beyond a doubt- it was still the most extreme measure Han De had taken. And now he found himself seriously thinking about taking even more extreme measures!
He wasn’t a paragon of justice, not by a long shot, but in his mind, the case of demonic path cultivating through the suffering of others was as clear cut as they would come. Even with the potential future demonic MCs involved!
‘Ok, let’s think of this another way. What if I really did it? What would happen if all the suffering-based demonic cultivators were to be wiped out?’
Han De was here to lay low from the higher beings. Actions of this magnitude wouldn’t catch their attention. At all.
The world he was thinking about was unimportant in the grand scheme of this realm (probably). But still, this realm was being ruled by a Transcendent master.
Han De could see an unlikely, but still possible path that could cause future problems.
‘Sudden movements could catch the attention of the minor local families, which can result in an escalation with the major local families, which can catch the attention of major forces, which might get me or my disciples involved directly or indirectly, which can alert the Transcendent Realm master, and a fight at that level could make other realms aware. And that can easily spiral out of control and make some old monster more curious than they should be…’
Since he became aware of the Long family’s power, Han De started to incorporate increasingly unlikely events into his contingency plans. And considering the first MC he killed caused the destruction of so many worlds and the loss of countless lives, he couldn’t in good conscience ignore any possibility, however small they may be!
‘On the other hand... slow and continuous surgical strikes might work. It might take a while, but the result would be the same, without any consequences this time. Or maybe more manageable consequences…’
Han De made up his mind at that point. By the time he left this world, the suffering-based demonic path would not survive. If he had the power, that was the least he could do!
Though since he decided to use a slower path, killing the demonic path didn’t mean killing everyone involved. Han De made a special note to use alternative means to reduce violence as much as possible!
He looked at the scouts still kneeling without making a sound. “We will disembark on the weakest Immortal Realm continent, around an area where the sects and dynasties are fragmented. Find me a place where there are many mortals, preferably near demonic sects — the ones that use the life force of others to cultivate.”
Han De didn't wait for a response and immediately found the spiritual sense of his trusted lackey.
After cutting off the voice transmission, Han De looked back at the experts, specifically the shortest one. ‘He’s at Dao Sovereign realm, why is he a head shorter than the others? Isn’t it an unwritten rule of Xianxia to get taller after each major realm breakthrough?’
After giving serious thought to the matter, Han De decided he would investigate the height discrepancy some other time. He had grown taller after the evolution; if there was a way to maintain his current height, he wouldn’t mind learning it!
“Display the geography of that incomplete world.” Han De ordered to the scout.
For the next few hours, the short Dao Sovereign “scout” answered Han De’s questions about the local sects, the cultivation of the population, the situation of the mortals, the historic significance of the various lands, and more. Much, much more.
By the end, Han De was half impressed, and half suspicious that the scout was making it all up. However, after thinking about it, he was convinced enough to trust the scout. Even if temporarily.
“Carry on with your duties.” He dismissed the experts and immediately started formulating a plan. How would he go about establishing the sect, what would be the native’s reaction, what would be the best way to expose his disciples to Xianxia elements… There were many questions in his mind, and establishing a preliminary flow chart took many hours.
Han De’s mind was at ease once his mental preparations were reasonably complete. It didn’t matter if his plan would go wrong, just having one, or several thousand (preferably more) was enough!
‘All that’s left is preparing my disciples…’
He stood up and sent a voice transmission to Xin Meili.
Obviously, the power of space was out of the question! Walking was truly the best (least risky) transportation method!
* * *
Some time ago, Han De’s disciples gathered inside Ning Bi’s palace.
At first, they were going to stay at the training grounds, but Jin Shu insisted on going to Ning Bi’s palace. Since the little girl’s family had left for the new Han family realm, she felt it was better to accompany her in a familiar environment.
Jin Shu knew the pain of separation.
“Senior Treebeard, were you really an Immortal Realm master?” Asked Liang Cuifen. She had to rely on Yu Xian to be her translator ever since she became Han De’s disciple. Being able to finally converse on her own was a good feeling. Therefore she didn’t stay reserved and directly asked a question she was curious about.
Through the knowledge transfer, she had a rough idea of what the Immortal Realm meant. Cultivating for many thousands of years, yet to fall back into the Qi Condensation realm, how could she not be curious?
Treebeard understood the girl’s genuine curiosity and thought this was a valuable trait. “Yes. I cultivated for over a thousand years.” Upon seeing Liang Cuifen’s nervous expression, he smiled. “We are fellow disciples. Age doesn’t have a place between us. Power is the only gauge of seniority within the cultivation world.”
Yu Xian agreed inwardly. Though the piercing agony of knowledge transfer was still present, he could now concentrate on his surroundings at least.
In Yu Xian's mind, this Treebeard clearly wasn’t simple. In his previous life, Yu Xian reached the Immortal Realm just shy of a thousand years. Talent-wise, perhaps this disciple was barely comparable to his previous self.
The person that god-king couldn’t put into place though, was Yao Qing. Ning Bi he could guess, Jin Shu he could understand. But Yao Qing... she didn’t fit.
Clearly, she had a secret. And if this was normal times Yu Xian could’ve chosen to pry; simply to satisfy his idle curiosity. But now, not only she was his senior, but she was also his master’s woman. A master, that was the heir of not one, but two higher families.
Yu Xian shook his head and diverted his attention back to the ongoing conversation.
“… Then, how did Master repair your roots?” Asked Liang Cuifen. Now that she knew what had happened during the disciple acceptance ceremony, questions popped up in her mind one after the other. According to the information in her head, roots were… immutable gifts. Whatever that meant she did not know.
Treebeard fell into silence. Truthfully, he was rather afraid to ask anything about what had happened. Though he grew up under the Han family, he was a genuine Immortal Realm expert. For a while, at least. Some things, he could sense that they should not be dug too deeply.
The answer to Liang Cuifen’s question came from Yao Qing. “It is a secret art that Master will only use for his disciples. And…” She looked at the new disciples one by one before continuing. “It has a heavy cost.”
Liang Cuifen frowned, because Yao Qing wasn’t lying.
“Master has many abilities,” Yao Qing paused to choose her words carefully, “that you should never speak to outsiders. At best, you will bring calamity to yourselves. At worst, heavenly punishment will strike down your very soul.”
The atmosphere became heavy as each new disciple considered the implications in their own way.
Liang Cuifen nodded heavily since the knowledge of heavenly tribulations was fresh on her mind. Though even before knowing this, she had already resolved to never leak her master’s secrets. As a person that kept secret of her own, this much was obvious.
Treebeard knew of Yao Qing before she became Han De’s disciple. In fact, he was the one that transported her, along with her childhood friend from the Misty Mountains region. It wasn’t just Yao Qing, Ning Bi, and Jin Shu’s meteoric rise was well known within the now-disbanded Starfall Mountain Sect. Like everyone else, Treebeard assumed that Han De had used the secret arts of the Han family to elevate his disciple’s talents.
If Yao Qing was right, this wasn’t something of the Han family at all, and neither it was of the Long family. Because the previous family head Long Xiu would never allow her son to pay a heavy price, for anything.
Going through the past events within the Starfall Mountain Sect, Treebeard realized there were some discrepancies.
Something obvious, but hidden in plain sight.
But as he was trying to piece together the clues, the intuition of an Immortal Realm expert stopped him. This was a dangerous secret to misinterpret!
Treebeard immediately gave Yao Qing a martial salute once he understood the warning. This girl was truly wise beyond her years!
Meanwhile, Yu Xian inwardly nodded upon “understanding” the wordless conversation between Yao Qing and Treebeard. This was well within his expectations. Of course, if he was to accept a master, that master would have to possess the necessary qualifications!
Treebeard and Yu Xian’s reactions were just as Jin Shu expected. They both understood Yao Qing’s not-so-subtle warning in their own ways.
However, just this much, was it enough? Why was their master being reluctant towards Yu Xian? The answer to that lies in Yu Xian’s reaction, Jin Shu determined.
For Treebeard, this was a warning. But for Yu Xian…
‘It’s not that he expected it, but he was… almost relieved?’ Thought Jin Shu. ‘Yes, he was reassured…’
Suddenly Yu Xian’s character clicked in Jin Shu’s mind. He was reassured that his master was someone that was worthy of having a disciple like him! All the little gestures and mimics of Yu Xian now made sense in hindsight.
Clearly, there was a source for Yu Xian’s confidence. Jin Shu’s first thought was that Yu Xian trusted the treasure stored in his soul. But a mere heaven-defying treasure could not explain this level of arrogance. No, if it was just a primordial artifact, a normal disciple with Yu Xian’s intelligence levels should’ve been anxious about others coveting their treasure!
Could some sort of inheritance explain this behavior? From a cursory look, Yu Xian’s cultivation method didn’t seem simple. The purity of his Qi was extremely high, and yet it was incapable of freely moving within his body. Cultivation of this technique wasn’t possible with a surface-level understanding! An inheritance, a legacy, could provide a disciple with the necessary knowledge, and even baptize their body to make them more suitable! Coupled with the unknown primordial treasure, this scenario seemed to fit Yu Xian perfectly.
But Jin Shu was certain this wasn’t the case for Yu Xian. And the only reason for Jin Shu’s rejection was their master’s behavior!
If it was just a mere legacy, their master wouldn’t have batted an eye at all! Why would their master care about legacies?! Even heaven-defying treasures, he would treat them as trinkets! One such item was in Jin Shu’s possession right now! Discarded by their master without a second thought!
Jin Shu considered all other possibilities and started assuming that Yu Xian was either a reincarnated expert or possessed by an expert.
Of course, Yu Xian wasn’t the only one she suspected. Naturally, she had her own assumptions about Yao Qing. The girl that possessed unfathomable experience, yet displayed unquestionable loyalty toward their master, unlike that of Yu Xian.
But the difference between Yao Qing and Yu Xian wasn’t just a matter of loyalty.
If Yao Qing hadn’t met their master and become the disciple of someone else, would she act like Yu Xian? The answer was obviously no. Yu Xian had confidence, but Yao Qing had character.
Jin Shu glanced at Yao Qing and saw her usually calm and collected demeanor momentarily falter as her eyes gazed upon Ning Bi. Why was she always wary of Ning Bi to this extent? This was the key to understanding Yao Qing, Jin Shu thought. To her, this wasn’t an issue, because she had respect towards both and purposefully chose to not pry on their secrets. But could the same be said about Yu Xian?
At some point, the boy who acted composed, would give in to his curiosity without considering the repercussions of his actions!
Jin Shu barely held back her smile as a plan assembled in her mind! Perhaps this flaw could prove useful, after all!
“Master’s abilities are beyond our comprehension.” Jin Shu emphasized each word as she glanced at the new disciples. Then she looked at a patch of greenery far away. Her Qi circulated and a single blade of grass landed on her palm.
Under Liang Cuifen’s curious and Yu Xian’s indifferent gaze, she activated the power of her bloodline. The blade of grass trembled, its fibers suddenly separated and absorbed Jin Shu’s energy. Within seconds, a new spiritual herb species appeared!
Yu Xian maintained his expression, but inside, his mind started working non-stop. The pain was no longer an issue, replaced with a sense of alarm!
Jin Shu though, wasn’t done. The power present within the new spiritual herb resonated with her once more. The feather-like plant closed up on itself and the power of life within increased, its quality transformed.
From a blade of grass to a feathery plant, only to transform into a seed? No, Jin Shu wasn’t done yet!
The seed started convulsing under Jin Shu’s authority. A crack appeared in the middle, giving way to dozens of tendrils inside! Within a breath, the seed bulged and folded in on itself, and grew eighteen limb-like structures.
Jin Shu gently put the newly born creature on the ground. “It” feebly tried to crawl away with its limbs, only to make screeching sounds after repeated failures. Jin Shu lightly tapped on its main body, and half of the eighteen limbs enlarged and elongated, giving the “it” the necessary strength to crawl away at a surprising speed.
Now, there was a crack in Yu Xian’s expression!