Senior, Ant, Junior

Tianxuan Continent.

Xiluo Kingdom, mountain valley.

Wind blew across the drifting sand.

"..."

"Damn it, clicked the wrong thing. I wanted a succubus foot massage." A string of curses floated through the air as Ye Chuan suddenly found himself transported to the Tianxuan Continent.

He sighed helplessly and pulled out his phone to check. Probably because of the earlier incident with his sister, he must have accidentally selected the Tianxuan Continent option when activating the portal.

"Whatever. What was I supposed to do here again?" A few days at the Mute Academy had left his brain a little sluggish.

"Let me see..."

"Oh right, head to the royal capital of Xiluo Kingdom to collect payment from that princess—Ademi, was it?" Ye Chuan hovered mid-air, using his divine sense to roughly pinpoint the direction. Just as he was about to warp straight there, his senses picked up something unusual.

Shifting his gaze, he spotted a lone figure being pursued by several robed cultivators.

"Another chase scene? Pretty common in Tianxuan Continent, but..." Before he could finish, he got a clear look at the man.

Jet-black hair, a dark robe draped over a gaunt frame covered in wounds, yet his expression was unyielding.

"Looks kinda..." Ye Chuan struggled to describe it.

Handsome?

Not exactly—definitely not as good-looking as himself.

More like... he had that protagonist vibe. Yeah, that fit better.

As Ye Chuan mused, the man—currently fleeing on a flying sword—noticed him standing effortlessly in the air and froze. "You—?"

But the man’s energy was already spent, barely holding on through sheer willpower.

"Nowhere to run!" The pursuing cultivators closed in fast, immediately noticing Ye Chuan hovering nearby.

"Who’s this stray cultivator? Heavenly Punishment Sect business—move aside!"

Originally, Ye Chuan had planned to just watch, but those words made his expression darken. "Oh?"

His gaze swept over the pursuers—just a bunch of Golden Core-level nobodies.

No point hiding it now. A torrent of spiritual energy erupted from Ye Chuan, the crushing pressure of a Spirit Transformation realm expert instantly freezing the cultivators mid-air, as if weighed down by boulders.

"I am the Spirit Transformation Sovereign. How dare you insects bark at me?"

Ye Chuan clasped his hands behind his back, eyeing them like trash.

As he spoke, his Pikachu pajamas flapped wildly in the spiritual wind.

Probably why they’d underestimated him in the first place.

"Spirit Transformation… impossible!" The cultivators trembled.

In this region, only the enigmatic sect leaders had reached that realm—even Golden Core was rare. Where did this absurdly young powerhouse come from?

"Impossible?" Ye Chuan scoffed. "I was born with the Dao Body, ascending from mortal to Spirit Transformation in a single year. Do you worms even comprehend that?"

A year?!

The cultivators thought he was full of it but didn’t dare retort. "W-we’re disciples of the Heavenly Punishment Sect. Please forgive our earlier disrespect, Senior!"

"Senior, I beg you—save me!" The wounded man coughed blood, fists clenched.

"This Sovereign does not kill lightly. As the ancients said, ‘Human nature begins wicked; enlightenment brings virtue.’" Ye Chuan intoned solemnly.

"Om mani padme hum, I shall grant you a chance at redemption."

The cultivators gaped, then brightened—they’d expected death, but this senior seemed merciful!

"Come. I’ve opened a Virtue Enlightenment Class—just 998, and kindness comes home."

With a flourish, Ye Chuan whipped out a soul banner. Chains shot forth, impaling the cultivators.

"Y-you—a demonic cultivator?!"

"This is enlightenment?!"

"That’s a soul-stealing banner!"

Ye Chuan’s face remained deadpan. "Nonsense. Can’t even recognize my Emperor’s Banner? Get reformed!"

Screams of tormented souls erupted as the cultivators’ spirits were sucked into the banner, adding to its ghastly collection.

Ye Chuan inspected it. A minor stat boost.

Eh, better than nothing.

Still too soft-hearted. Maybe next time he’d refine—ahem—enlighten an entire sect.

Turning, he saw the man’s face pale further, coughing violently. "Senior…"

Facing a demonic cultivator, the man looked ready to collapse but forced himself to speak. "Senior, I… I must save my beloved. If you grant me time, my soul is yours afterward—"

"Hah? ‘Yours’?" Ye Chuan raised an eyebrow. "You seem decent. I’ll humor you—what’s your pitch?"

"I—I’ll accept enlightenment!" the man blurted.

"Mm, acceptable." Ye Chuan waved the banner. "Remember, my Emperor’s Banner purges sin from cultivators like you."

The man’s smile looked more like a grimace.

Purge sin?

The skulls on it were literally spewing purple miasma.

And the wailing ghosts weren’t exactly subtle.

Exhaustion finally overwhelmed him. His vision darkened, his flying sword faltered, and he plummeted.

Ye Chuan almost let him drop—a little fall wouldn’t kill him—but the "save my beloved" line gave him pause.

"Fine. Consider this Sovereign’s mercy."

In a flash, Ye Chuan teleported, grabbing the man’s hair—

Riiip.

A patch of scalp came off. The man kept falling.

Ye Chuan: "..."

Another flash. This time, he went for the throat, yanking him mid-fall.

---

Some time later, the man stirred awake, blinking at his surroundings.

"This place…"

"I’m alive?" Relief came first, then a strange tightness in his throat. And why was his head so… breezy?

Before he could ponder, a voice cut in. "Hey, you’re up."

Turning, he saw Ye Chuan lounging on a rock, waving casually.

Memory flooded back. The man scrambled up, bowing deeply. "Senior, thank you for saving my life!"

"Small thing." Ye Chuan shrugged. "But kid, your constitution’s kinda unique, huh?"

While the man was out, Ye Chuan had scanned him out of curiosity. Interesting findings.

"..."