Since I have my choice of Tier Masters, I might as well make a good one!

Hui glanced left to right over the cultivators. Alright, so… let’s see. Obviously, the poison and hidden weapons master is right out. Not only is she a threat to my mental survival, but also—poison? Hidden weapons? All my fellow disciples will be far too dangerous! No thank you.

As for the muscular man… I do have some karma with body cultivation, but… eh. I’d rather not. Too much hard work! The sword cultivator is interesting, but… unfortunately, I totally lack karma with the sword. The same goes for pill cultivation. Beasts… I have Zhubi, but can I say I’ve cultivated him? He’s cultivated himself. Plus, I’d rather not call attention to the similarities between Gui Hui and a certain Weiheng Hui. As for the demonic cultivator, do I even need to say it? I’ve already done it, and that was far too dangerous in the first place! No thank you, no thank you!

Which leaves the music cultivator. I’ve never encountered music cultivation again, but… I suppose it can’t hurt to pick up a new skill! Hui turned and gazed at the music cultivator, letting his interest leak out in big glassy eyes and a dropped jaw. Stare at her like a dazzled child! Let her know that I want her to pick me! She’s the least dangerous option, the least dangerous!

Tian Honghua stepped forward, cupping her hands in greeting to the gathered cultivators. “Tier Masters, please accept my humble blessings. This child is a hostage from the Southern Sect Conference. He is the one the Fourth Tier Master ordered us to bring in.”

All eyes turned to the beauty cultivator. Used to the attention, she didn’t flinch. Stepping forward, her hips swaying in a way that drew the eye, she looked Hui up and down. She turned her head to her attendant.

The attendant nodded. Haughtily, she said, “This one young disciple is not the two disciples I ordered you to catch.”

Tian Honghua cupped her hands again and bowed deeper. “Responding to Tier Master, this disciple is the only one our scouts were able to catch. He is not the disciples we desired at first, but he is of equal value. He is Gui Hui, the child of Gui Yutong, daughter of the Southern Sect Conference’s cardinal sect’s Sect Master.”

The beauty cultivator put a hand on her hip, a skeptical cock to her head.

“Former Sect Master,” her attendant stressed, copying her master’s pose.

Hui winced. When you put it like that… my supposed identity sounds incredibly unimportant! No, no. I know I’m unimportant, but this supposed identity of mine can’t be! I need to be a valuable hostage! How can I prove my value… what can I do to prove that I’m worthy of being their hostage?

Nothing at all came to mind, not even a single idea. His mind stood empty, blank as the sea at night, devoid of thought as a desert in the boiling midday sun. He pressed his lips together, internally panicking. Ahhh, I’ve spent so long acknowledging my total lack of value as a human being that I have no idea how to project being someone valuable! Can someone please teach me? Waiting urgently online!

Tian Honghua bowed again. “Tier Master, this Gui Hui was on our list of potential hostages. It should be noted that the Southern Sect Conference’s grand barrier formation is still powerful, and though we can slip through, it is not without difficulty. All of the men we sent to the Southern Sect Conference have died, including,” she glanced at the demonic cultivator, “Shue Yinyue’s blood clone.”

“Really? I thought that had to be utterly annihilated for it to die,” the demonic cultivator hummed.

Tian Honghua turned to her. “Reporting to Tier Master, Shue Yinyue indicated to us that it was.”

“Hmm… and she neglected to tell me? Interesting, interesting,” the demonic cultivator murmured to herself.

Shue Yinyue… Oh, that’s right! Shue Yinyue said that her Sixth Tier was made up of demonic healers. Maybe it’s not such a bad choice for this small cultivator. After all, I have some karma with healing—

Hui shook his head, hard. Hui! What are you thinking?

No, no, no! I’m not a demonic cultivator, I’m not! I refuse to walk the demonic path! Demonic healing is still demonic. I’m a good, righteous, upright, pure cultivator who never treads the demonic path, utterly orthodox from start to finish! Yes, yes, a thousand times yes! I will not re-enter a demonic sect. From here on out, it’s pure and clean and righteous Hui—as, as it’s always been. No demonic techniques at all!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Though of course demonic and righteous are just a matter of labels put on afterward and one’s personal perspective. Naturally. That’s why the snakeskin technique is absolutely fine to use. Right, right!

The beauty cultivator waved her hand captivatingly. Tiny whisps of pink air and jewel-like butterflies manifested around her hand, so beautiful was the motion. The attendant stared in wide-eyed fascination.

A moment passed. No one spoke. Turning to the side, the beauty cultivator caught the attendant staring and thumped them on the shoulder.

The attendant jumped. “Ah—ahem! Excuse me, Tier Master.”

The beauty cultivator waved again. Somehow, Hui got the impression she tried hard to make the wave ugly, though it looked like a completely ordinary wave to him. This time, nothing manifested.

Clearing her throat, the attendant nodded at her Tier Master. “Tier Master Jizhi Zhimei will take responsibility for this hostage. She ordered the action, so it is hers to clean up after.”

“Clean up after! Don’t use that as an excuse to scoop the most talented disciple we’ve seen in centuries out from under us,” the brawny man said, crossing his arms as he stepped forward.

Beside him, the music cultivator let out a delicate, tinkling laugh. “Shuhang Han, were you not just complaining about how tiny this small child is? Do you even want him for your own, or are you merely making trouble for Jizhi Zhimei?”

Shuhang Han opened his mouth, then closed it and let out a guttural grunt instead, clearly dissatisfied.

“That being said, I’m not in full agreement either. Perhaps we should each spend some time teaching him a small technique, to see if he has aptitude for our techniques as well? Such potential should not be wasted,” the music cultivator stated.

“It’s all the same to me. I have plenty of disciples already. I’m not starved for new recruits,” the pill cultivator said dismissively.

“I agree with Guzheng Yanyou,” the beast cultivator said softly. Her eyes bored into Hui’s with an almost bestial desire. “There are far too few beast cultivators. A talent like his may be the difference in the war between our Eight Tiers Palace and the demonic Northern Lands, especially if he has an aptitude for taming.”

Hui shivered. That’s right! I almost forgot. Eight Tiers Palace is at war with the demons to the north! I don’t want to be dragged into that conflict, absolutely not! Beast cultivation? No thank you!

The sword cultivator nodded. “Why don’t we let Jizhi Zhimei take him as her disciple? However, once a week, one of us can command his time. If he shows particular aptitude for our techniques, we have the right to request him to become our disciple.”

Jizhi Zhimei shook her head. Her attendant waved a hand. “He is a hostage, first and foremost. He must be properly observed and prevented from making an escape. To show him so much favorability even over an ordinary disciple—”

“Jizhi Zhimei! Being a hostage is secondary to having such incredible aptitude. Besides, do you really think any of us will have trouble keeping a mere second-realm disciple locked down?” the sword cultivator snapped. The swords hovering around him spun faster, swirling and shimmering.

“That’s right. You can stop with the attendant, too. Speak for yourself. None of us will be ensnared by your beauty,” the demonic cultivator said, rolling her eyes.

The attendant cleared her throat. “Er, Shue Xie’e, the disciple…”

“Ah, right,” Shue Xie’e said, giving Hui a desultory look.

Hui backed away, eyes big and round. I absolutely do not want to go with the demonic cultivator! Absolutely not! She already forgot that I could die to such a thing? Er, I mean, I won’t, I’m seventh realm and I’ve already experienced the beauty cultivator’s voice at fifth realm and survived it, but—but hypothetically, I, the second-realm cultivator, could have!

And wait, hold on! Shue Xie’e? Is Shue Yinyue a relative of hers? Hmmm… I hope Shue Yinyue isn’t holding a grudge over me destroying her blood clone…

The attendant looked at Jizhi Zhimei. She nodded, just once.

“This is acceptable. Then, shall we take our new disciple back to the tier?” the attendant suggested.

The other six cultivators nodded.

“Er, could I perhaps have a say in which—” Hui started.

Tian Honghua patted Hui on the back, forcibly cutting him off. She gave him a look. Are you joking, child? Are you insane? The Tier Masters have decided. You’ve been chosen as a direct disciple! And you dare to protest being chosen by Jizhi Zhimei? What’s wrong with your brain? Do you want to die? “Congratulations! It is a great honor to be taken as a Tier Master’s disciple. Go on, bow to your new master!”

Seeing all that in Tian Honghua’s eyes without needing to be told, Hui swallowed his words. Dammit. Dammit! Argh, but she’s right. What young child would protest to being taken in by such a powerful and beautiful master? If I wasn’t so cautious and wary of my little life, I’d be happy, even as an adult.

Ugh. I’ll just have to take my lumps.

But… then… How do I react to this? How do I make it believable? Er, I just got kidnapped, but Gui Hui was defiant, but now being taken as a Tier Master’s personal disciple, but I got mistaken as having incredible potential, but I’m still a hostage, but I got taken in by the Fourth Tier Master, the one I absolutely did not want, but there’s still a chance to escape, as long as I have aptitude with a different Tier— Head spinning, Hui stumbled forward. He looked up at the beauty cultivator.

The beauty cultivator looked down at him, her face obscured behind the veil. Even so, her bewitching beauty seeped through, enough to make Hui’s eyes water.

Dammit, dammit, a thousand times dammit. I wanted to pick! I wanted to choose!

Ah, but I am a mere second-stage cultivator, and merely a hostage at that… Hui sighed. Indeed, what disciple chooses their master? A small cultivator like me… I was too bold to think I could choose!

Quickly, Hui looked away. He cupped his hands to the Tier Master. “Disciple greets Master!” Oh well, whatever. It’s not like any of this is real. It’s just playacting anyways. I’ll just have to do what I always do—survive!

The attendant gestured at him. “Come with us. We’ll return to the fourth tier.”