Central Continent, Ten Thousand Blossom Ridge.
By the deep pool, Chen Baiqing began brewing tea with gentle movements, her gaze lifting slightly to glance at her master, who sat across from Li Junzi.
Li Junzi's hair was now streaked with silver, and the passage of time had left its marks upon her face. Yet her eyes shone brighter than ever.
Time may steal youth, but it also leaves behind answers.
Chen Baiqing first handed the freshly brewed tea to her master, then to Li Junzi.
Chu Xingchen accepted the teacup with a warm smile and said,
"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Master Li. The journey back from the Eastern Victory Divine Continent took quite some time."
"You flatter me, Sect Leader Chu. It was my presumption to visit unannounced," Li Junzi shook her head lightly. "I had originally intended to bid farewell upon hearing you were away. It was no urgent matter, hardly worth your long journey."
Chu Xingchen's expression turned solemn. "Some things should not be measured by worth, but by necessity. Unless Master Li no longer considers me a friend?"
Li Junzi chuckled. "Of course not. It is my honor to call Sect Leader Chu a friend."
"Then the honor is equally mine," Chu Xingchen raised his teacup. "Warriors drink wine, scholars savor tea. Let this cup celebrate Master Li's return to the realm of Great Confucian. The title of Sage cannot be far behind."
Li Junzi raised her cup as well, draining it before speaking calmly:
"Whether I attain Sagehood or not, I’ve come to realize it was merely an obsession of the heart. If it comes, it comes; if not, I will still act as I must. Titles are but fleeting things."
"With such wisdom, Sagehood is surely within reach," Chu Xingchen smiled before shifting the topic. "I presume Master Li originally came to see Luo Yu?"
Li Junzi did not conceal her intent, nodding gently.
"That was my intention, though my timing was unfortunate. But Luo Yu’s duties take precedence. Though I am no cultivator, my path is not so short that I cannot wait a little longer."
Chu Xingchen inquired, "Does Master Li plan to fulfill your engagement at Gentleman Mountain?"
"Yes. Now that I have my answer, I shall go and deliver it."
"Would you like me to accompany you?"
"That would trouble you too much, Sect Leader. A trip to Gentleman Mountain is no grand affair—just a battle of words. Win or lose, the outcome is mine alone to bear."
Li Junzi glanced at Chen Baiqing, who had changed greatly over the years, and smiled.
"Baiqing has grown so much, yet you, Sect Leader, remain unchanged—just as I remember you."
Chu Xingchen swirled his teacup thoughtfully. "Luo Yu hasn’t changed much either. Whether you win or lose at Gentleman Mountain, where do you plan to go afterward? Once matters are settled, I could send Luo Yu to meet you."
Li Junzi considered this. "I shall see. If convenient, I will send word."
Chu Xingchen nodded and rose to his feet.
"Master Li, please rest here for a few days. Should you need anything, Baiqing will attend to you. The journey is long—I can arrange for a few cultivators to accompany you."
Li Junzi stood and bowed slightly. "Sect Leader, attend to your duties first."
Chu Xingchen returned the gesture, then ruffled Chen Baiqing’s hair affectionately.
"Brew Master Li two more pots of tea."
Chen Baiqing nodded obediently.
With an amused shake of his head, Chu Xingchen turned and strode toward the main hall.
Since he was back, he might as well settle another matter.
(If you can’t find the book by title, try searching the author—it might have been renamed!)
Outside the hall, Ning Qianqian’s steps carried a hint of urgency.
At her waist hung a token given by Chu Xingchen—not only could she use it to contact him with spiritual energy, but he could also reach her through it.
Pausing at the entrance, she spoke first: "Sect Leader."
From within, Chu Xingchen’s voice replied, "Enter."
Only then did Ning Qianqian step inside, her eyes landing on Chu Xingchen, who was idly toying with black and white Go stones.
Chu Xingchen met her gaze. Among the sect’s disciples, Ning Qianqian was perhaps the most meticulous in observing propriety—even when no rules were imposed, she handled affairs with impeccable care.
A pity, then, that she lacked any notable talent for cultivation.
Before she could speak, Chu Xingchen asked,
"You’ve reached the seventh layer of Qi Refinement?"
Ning Qianqian hesitated, then nodded faintly—her father had already reached Foundation Establishment with the sect’s resources.
She was the only disciple in the sect who couldn’t defeat its mascot—San Dong.
And San Dong cultivated purely for fun, practicing only when the mood struck and lazing about for months otherwise.
Ning Qianqian, however, spent even her nights in relentless cultivation, as if she wished she could devour spirit stones whole.
Yet progress grew ever slower.
Her voice was barely a whisper as she lowered her head. "I’ve shamed you, Sect Leader."
"There is no shame," Chu Xingchen said calmly. "You’ve managed the sect’s affairs flawlessly, though it has cost you much time."
Ning Qianqian’s heart clenched. She glanced up cautiously but remained silent.
Chu Xingchen did not keep her waiting. "I intend to send you to the Tianyan Sect for further study. They have more adept instructors and may uncover a cultivation method suited to your constitution."
"Qianqian dares not hope for so much," she murmured, eyes glistening. "This life was saved by you, Sect Leader. I only wish to lighten your burdens, however slightly."
Her knees bent slightly as if to kneel, but Chu Xingchen’s spiritual energy halted her mid-motion.
He lifted her gently with a pulse of energy and said,
"I’m not banishing you. You’re the one who keeps the sect running smoothly. If your cultivation reaches the Golden Core stage, the sect’s affairs could remain in order for at least five centuries."
"This idea came to me two years ago, but you were so driven in your training that I hesitated to mention it."
"Since I’m back now, I might as well escort you to the Tianyan Sect—saves me another trip later."
Tears welled in Ning Qianqian’s eyes as she processed his words. Finally, she nodded. "As you command, Sect Leader. But the spirit herbs in the sect… my father knows nothing of tending them."
Chu Xingchen chuckled.
"Leave them to San Dong. It’s always had a fondness for plants. For years, it’s been pestering me to let it care for the herbs—I refused, fearing it might kill them."
"But now the sect can afford the risk. Let San Dong try. Even if a batch dies, it’s no great loss."
"Pack what you need, bid your father farewell, and return whenever your training stabilizes—or whenever you wish."
"This is for your cultivation, not to sell you off. So act boldly. If anyone troubles you, remember—your Sect Leader stands behind you. No one mistreats our own."
Ning Qianqian’s face lit up with a smile as she nodded firmly.
She, too, was someone the Sect Leader acknowledged as his own.
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
