Entry: The Word Becomes Law

"Master, your disciple has reached the Foundation Establishment stage!"

The doors of the Skill Transmission Pavilion opened, and Liu Ruyan skipped out happily.

Her small face was full of excitement, her eyes shining like two stars, looking entirely like a little bird just released from its cage.

Today was arguably the happiest day she had experienced in the past couple of days.

But in the next second, the little girl instantly withdrew the smile from her face.

She stopped in her tracks, bent down, folded her hands in front of her, and bowed deeply to Lin Yan in a grand gesture of respect.

"Thank you, Master, for bestowing an Emperor-tier cultivation technique upon your disciple!"

This bow was entirely sincere!

Even during the Liu family's most glorious era, an Emperor-tier technique would absolutely warrant such a grand bow.

Not to mention that she was now just a homeless little girl.

Lin Yan reached out and patted her head, feeling her soft hair beneath his palm.

"Alright, go play."

He could tell that the little girl was completely genuine this time.

Her loyalty had broken past 85 percent, which could not be faked.

Liu Ruyan nodded obediently and ran back to her room with cheerful steps.

Closing the door, she then sat cross-legged on her bed and continued her cultivation.

Lin Yan shook his head and withdrew his gaze.

He had also gained a massive harvest this time.

One chance to draw a Sect Master Trait, along with 750 Sect Points.

"Draw Sect Master Trait!"

[Ding! Drawing Sect Master Trait...]

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining the trait: Word as Law!]

[Word as Law: Within the sect's territory, the host's words possess rule-level power!]

[Trait Limitations: 1. Cannot directly cause lethal harm to a target or issue death commands; 2. Cannot create objects out of thin air or alter the fundamental nature of objects and living beings; 3. Cannot forcibly modify the minds or memories of others.]

[Basic Abilities: Within the scope of the rules, can freely manipulate the spatial position of non-living objects within the sect, can restrict and imprison the movements of living beings within the area, and can establish sect rules that do not violate the core limitations.]

Lin Yan stared at the trait details, his eyes instantly lighting up.

Good heavens!

This trait seemed to have many restrictions, but within the sect's territory, it was simply an invincible, god-tier skill for showing off!

Simply put, within the sect, he could not just say a word to make someone drop dead on the spot, nor could he conjure ten thousand taels of gold or peerless beauties out of thin air.

But with a single sentence, he could freeze invading enemies in place, unable to move, and he could summon any object in the courtyard to him at will.

"Let me try it."

Lin Yan looked at the watering can in the corner of the courtyard with great interest and casually said, "Come here."

As soon as his voice fell, the copper pot resting by the well seemed to grow wings, floating lightly over and landing steadily in his hand.

Lin Yan's eyes grew even brighter. He then looked at the half-swept pile of fallen leaves in the corner: "Go bury yourselves outside the courtyard."

The fallen leaves on the ground instantly rolled into a ball, floated out through the crack in the door, and quietly settled into a dirt pit outside the courtyard.

He casually spoke again, "The teacup on the kitchen table, go to the table in the main hall."

In just the blink of an eye, the white porcelain teacup from the kitchen landed safely and securely on the Eight Immortals table in the main hall, without spilling a single drop of water.

After a few experiments, Lin Yan had completely figured out this trait.

To put it bluntly, within this small plot of land that was the Tianyan Sect, he was the Rule Maker.

As long as he did not cross the three red lines of killing, altering fundamental nature, and creating from nothing, whatever he said was the law here.

"Tsk, what a pity."

Lin Yan lay back in his rocking chair, a stalk of foxtail grass dangling from his mouth, and muttered jokingly.

"Saying 'Where is my Diaochan'... is impossible to fulfill!"

Right at that moment—

Bang—

The courtyard door was pushed open from the outside.

Several people filed in, swaggering into the courtyard.

Leading them was a middle-aged man wearing a cyan Daoist robe. He had a gaunt face, sharp eyes, and a slightly raised chin, looking incredibly arrogant.

Behind him followed a few people, one of whom was Li Hu, who had visited yesterday.

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes.

Here again?

And they changed their leader this time.

The middle-aged man in the lead walked into the courtyard, swept his gaze around, and finally landed on Lin Yan.

"Hahaha, I am Zhao Feng, an Outer Sect Elder of the Heavenly Sword Sect. Greetings, fellow Daoist..."

Before he could even finish his sentence.

Lin Yan did not even wait for him to finish.

Leaning back in his rocking chair, his legs crossed, with the foxtail grass dangling from his lips, he lazily spat out two words.

"Kneel down."

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A series of muffled thuds from heavy objects hitting the ground instantly echoed throughout the entire courtyard!

The previously arrogant Zhao Feng and Li Hu, along with the seven or eight Heavenly Sword Sect disciples behind them, all felt their legs give way simultaneously and fell straight to their knees on the ground!

The entire courtyard full of people was instantly dumbfounded.

Zhao Feng was completely stupefied, his mind going blank, leaving only a head full of question marks.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

He was a cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage!

Even a Golden Core Elder from the Inner Sect, who could instantly kill him in one move, could absolutely not make him kneel down uncontrollably with just a single sentence!

What kind of wicked technique was this?

The group frantically tried to stand up from the ground, but their muscles and meridians completely refused to listen to their brains' commands, as if they were firmly locked to the ground by invisible iron chains.

It was like high-level paraplegia; aside from their eyes being able to roll and their mouths being able to speak, they could not move a single inch of their bodies!

"Se... Senior! Senior, spare our lives!"

Li Hu was the first to react. His soul was nearly frightened away as he hastily screamed for mercy at the top of his lungs.

"Senior, it's a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! We are not here to cause trouble! Didn't you say yesterday that we were welcome to come over for tea anytime?"

He naturally knew that it was just a polite remark to see guests off, but at this moment, it was his only life-saving straw.

Lin Yan slowly sat up from the rocking chair, glancing at them with a faint smile that wasn't quite a smile, and said coldly, "I did say you were welcome to come over for tea, but who told you to step in with your left foot first?"

As soon as these words came out, Zhao Feng and his group's foreheads instantly broke out in dense cold sweat, which trickled down their cheeks, instantly soaking the clothes on their backs!

Stepped in with the left foot first?

Wasn't this purely intentionally picking a fight?

But they were all great cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage. How could they not understand that in the face of absolute power, one must never try to reason!

"Senior, forgive us! Senior, please forgive us!"

Zhao Feng instantly lost every ounce of his Outer Sect Elder airs, and flattering words poured out of his mouth as if they cost nothing.

"It is us juniors who do not understand the rules. We were blind as dogs to have offended your immortal presence, Senior!"

"This junior used to often hear Patriarch Zhang of our sect mention Senior's elegance, saying that Senior possesses an immortal demeanor and Daoist bones, a heaven-sent genius, a cultivation prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years..."

"Seeing you today, your reputation is indeed well-deserved!"

"It is us juniors who have eyes but failed to see. We hope that Senior will be magnanimous and spare us this once!"

"Please do not let us insignificant ants ruin Senior's health out of anger..."

The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples kneeling beside him turned green in the face listening to this, their toes curling so hard on the bluestone slabs that they could almost dig out a three-bedroom apartment.

Oh, my Elder! Patriarch Zhang has been dead for over a hundred years! This lie you're making up is far too ridiculous!

Hearing this, Lin Yan inexplicably felt quite comfortable in his heart and couldn't help but stroke his chin. Oh? So I actually have the demeanor of a supreme expert?

He cleared his throat and snorted with feigned profundity, "Forget it. For the sake of Old Ghost Zhang, I will let the matter of you stepping through the door with your left foot first slide for now."

Zhao Feng and his group had just breathed a sigh of relief. Before their suspended hearts could fully settle, Lin Yan suddenly changed the subject. His eyes instantly turned ice-cold as he stared at Zhao Feng's foot and said in a chilling voice:

"However, when you entered just now, you stepped on and killed the spirit pet ant that I have painstakingly raised for three years. How should we settle this?"

Swish!

The cold sweat that had just subsided on the men instantly broke out again, even worse than before!

A spirit pet ant raised for three years?

This was fucking even more outrageous than stepping through the door with the left foot first!

Zhao Feng's face turned pale, and he hurriedly said in a trembling voice, "Senior, please forgive me! This junior is willing to compensate! This junior is willing to offer a hundred taels of gold as an apology to Senior's spirit pet!"

Lin Yan's face remained as gloomy as still water, but inwardly he drew a sharp breath, completely dumbfounded.

Holy crap!

A hundred taels of gold!

He had figured out the monetary system of this world when he went down the mountain a couple of days ago. One tael of silver equaled one thousand copper coins, which was roughly equivalent to the purchasing power of one thousand bucks in his previous life.

And one tael of gold was ten taels of silver. A hundred taels of gold meant a whole million!

Damn! Are all the immortal cultivators in this world this rich?

Lin Yan almost laughed like a maniac in his heart. Although his law-dictating words couldn't conjure gold out of thin air, there were always more solutions than problems!

Look at this, the money delivered itself to his doorstep!

No, he had to squeeze them a bit more to see what other good things he could wring out of them!

He immediately gave a heavy, cold snort, his tone full of anger. "Hmph! Do you think I am someone who lacks your hundred taels of gold? Is the spirit pet I raised for three years only worth this little bit of worldly wealth?"

Zhao Feng was almost scared to tears. His mind raced frantically, and gritting his teeth, he blurted out, "Senior! This junior is willing to find a treasured feng shui land for Senior's spirit pet and give it a grand burial! This junior will personally observe mourning for it for seven days! I will chant scriptures day and night to deliver its soul!"

As soon as these words came out, Lin Yan felt a direct toothache.

Good heavens!

This guy was truly ruthless to himself!

To survive, he would observe mourning for an ant for seven days?

Since things had reached this point, unless he really intended to kill these people, there was no more fault he could pick.

Lin Yan waved his hand with feigned impatience and snorted coldly, "Consider yourselves sensible. Build the tomb at the foot of the mountain."

The moment his voice fell, the formless pressure locking onto the group suddenly vanished.

Zhao Feng and his group instantly felt their bodies lighten, finally able to control themselves again.

However, they didn't dare to stand up in the slightest. They hurriedly kowtowed three resounding times to Lin Yan, repeatedly saying, "Thank you for sparing our lives, Senior! Thank you for your great grace, Senior!"

It wasn't until Lin Yan waved his hand impatiently that they tremblingly climbed up from the ground.

Zhao Feng subconsciously lifted his foot and looked down, and the hairs all over his body instantly stood on end!

On the sole of his shoe, there was actually a crushed black ant!

The group was instantly terrified, their souls almost flying away!

They had originally thought the senior was just deliberately picking a fault, never expecting that there was actually an ant under his foot!

He actually saw it!

From such a distance, he could clearly see an ant crushed on the sole of a shoe!

What kind of cultivation was this?

Golden Core?

No!

Probably not even a Nascent Soul patriarch had such ability!

With a thud, Zhao Feng fell straight to his knees again.

But this time, it wasn't toward Lin Yan, but toward the dead ant under his foot, respectfully kowtowing three times.

"Lord Ant Immortal, it is this junior who had eyes but failed to see and mistakenly stepped on you. This junior will immediately give you a grand burial and observe mourning day and night. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive this junior!"

After kowtowing, he carefully cupped the ant in both hands as if holding some rare treasure, turned around, and bowed to Lin Yan:

"Senior, this junior will go to the foot of the mountain right now, select a treasured feng shui land to bury Lord Ant Immortal, and personally observe mourning for seven days!"

"As for the hundred taels of gold, this junior will definitely have someone deliver it to Senior's residence before sunset today!"

Lin Yan was amused. He even remembered the hundred taels of gold; this guy was a talent.

"Mhm, you are not bad, kid. I have high hopes for you."

Zhao Feng was instantly overjoyed, as if he had received an imperial edict. With another thud, he knelt down again and kowtowed furiously to Lin Yan, his flattery ringing loud to the heavens:

"Thank you for your high regard, Senior! To receive a word of praise from Senior is this junior's fortune of three lifetimes! May Senior enjoy eternal immortal fortune, have a lifespan matching heaven, for thousands of autumns and tens of thousands of generations..."

After a string of teeth-aching flattery, even Lin Yan felt embarrassed listening to it.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and go do your business. Don't be an eyesore here."

"Yes, yes, yes! This junior will leave right away! I won't disturb Senior's quiet cultivation!"

As if granted a grand amnesty, Zhao Feng carefully cupped the ant and led Li Hu and the rest of the group. Without even daring to turn their heads, they scrambled out of the Heavenly Derivation Sect's gates in sheer panic.

It wasn't until they had run far away that their legs gave way, and they all collapsed onto the ground in unison. Their bodies were completely soaked in cold sweat, looking as if they had just been fished out of the water.

"El... Elder... just who exactly is that senior?" Li Hu asked with a trembling voice.

Zhao Feng patted his chest with lingering fear, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and his eyes were filled with awe. "I don't know! But he is definitely a hidden patriarch-level figure!"

"We're lucky to have kept our lives; it's the good karma of eight lifetimes! Hurry up, return to the sect to fetch the gold. It must be delivered to the senior's hands before sunset!"

"Also, prepare mourning clothes for me. I am going to the foot of the mountain to observe mourning for seven days!"

"This... Elder, do we really have to observe mourning for an ant?" a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple said unwillingly.

He was a great Foundation Establishment cultivator! Placed in the mortal world, he would be an existence akin to an immortal.

And now he was being asked to observe mourning for an ant?

Zhao Feng snorted coldly and glanced at that disciple.

"Hmph, with just you... do you even deserve to observe mourning for Lord Ant Immortal?"