Bai Qiuyuan smiled as he and Yang Xueqing walked together on the way to the Sword Pavilion to recruit disciples.
Bai Qiuyuan thought to himself.
‘As expected, the moment I leave, Yang Xueqing, with her protagonist template, activates her inherent protagonist passive skill!’
‘Specifically, facing humiliation and provocation.’
‘Even if I had merely stood by and watched, Yang Xueqing likely would have handled the recent incident on her own.’
‘Still, goodwill earned effortlessly is goodwill not to be squandered.’
‘I neither wish to kill her nor be killed by her; to minimize future complications, I should endeavor to boost her favorability towards me as much as possible.’
‘A single intervention to rescue her won’t suffice…’
‘Yet, the issue isn’t pressing; the protagonist still requires time to develop.’
‘Oh? Someone has finally arrived?’
At that moment, Bai Qiuyuan halted, gazing up at the sky.
Noticing Bai Qiuyuan stop beside her, Yang Xueqing paused as well, then, with a puzzled expression, looked up in the direction he was staring.
There, an elder clad in a white Daoist robe flew on a sword, swiftly arriving above Bai Qiuyuan and Yang Xueqing before descending.
Upon landing, the elder scrutinized Yang Xueqing, stroking his white beard as he praised her.
“Are you the junior who just now emanated the aura of a Half-step Core Formation cultivator in the square? Excellent! Truly excellent!”
“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Xiao Qihe, the Elder of the Scripture Repository at the Sword Pavilion.”
Upon hearing this, Yang Xueqing bowed respectfully and explained.
“Senior, it was not I who unleashed that pressure just now.”
Xiao Qihe froze for a moment, a bewildered expression crossing his face.
In his perception, only Yang Xueqing possessed cultivation.
Realizing the elder couldn’t discern his cultivation, Bai Qiuyuan stepped forward, a smile playing on his lips.
“It was I.”
As he spoke, the full pressure of a Half-step Core Formation cultivator directly emanated from him!
Xiao Qihe: “!!!”
“Strange, I couldn’t perceive your cultivation a moment ago?”
“…Your True Qi is pure; you haven’t cultivated demonic arts.”
“Little one, are you also here to participate in the disciple selection?”
Bai Qiuyuan chuckled.
“No, I am not here to join the sect.”
With that, he retrieved the token Lin Ziya had given him in the mortal realm from his spatial ring.
“This junior happened to encounter a disciple of your esteemed sect and thus specifically came to pay a visit.”
Xiao Qihe paused for a second upon seeing the name on the ancient red jade token, then smiled regretfully.
“So you’re that girl Lin’s guest. I’ll inform her for you.”
“However, for some unknown reason, that girl has been in secluded cultivation ever since she returned from the lower realm with her two junior brothers.”
“I haven’t seen her in quite some time either.”
“She might be in seclusion and may not receive the message this old man sends her.”
As he spoke, Xiao Qihe conjured a translucent white rune, which instantly soared towards a distant mountain peak.
Bai Qiuyuan listened, smiling silently.
‘The true culprit who provoked Lin Ziya…’
After sending the notification, Xiao Qihe looked at Bai Qiuyuan and asked.
“Are you truly not planning to join the Sword Pavilion? With your talent, coupled with the Sword Pavilion’s tutelage, you could potentially become the youngest Spirit Transformation cultivator in the entire Upper Realm!”
Bai Qiuyuan smiled without a word, silently shaking his head, thereby rejecting Xiao Qihe.
‘Become a disciple of the Sword Pavilion? Impossible.’
‘The resources from my former immortal estate are enough for me to establish my own sect; joining a sect offers me no benefit.’
‘As for the “joyful” sect life, I’ll leave that to the protagonist.’
Thinking this, Bai Qiuyuan glanced at Yang Xueqing.
Xiao Qihe re-examined Yang Xueqing, sighing with renewed admiration.
“At such a young age, her cultivation has already reached the fifth level of Foundation Establishment?”
“Impressive.”
Bai Qiuyuan bowed, smiling.
“Elder, I would like to take a stroll around the Sword Pavilion by myself for now.”
“I’ve heard your esteemed sect is busy with the disciple recruitment ceremony and has no time for guests, so I won’t trouble the elder to guide me.”
“However, I would trouble the elder to point out any restricted areas within your sect, to prevent me from accidentally trespassing later.”
Xiao Qihe looked at Bai Qiuyuan, remaining silent for two seconds before chuckling with a playful reprimand.
“You rascal, you don’t look old, yet your words are quite seasoned.”
“Still, this old man doesn’t dislike it.”
“Here’s a general map of the sect; simply avoid the areas marked with an ‘X’.”
Having said that, Xiao Qihe produced a map and tossed it to Bai Qiuyuan.
Bai Qiuyuan looked at Yang Xueqing and smiled.
“Then I’ll see you later. I’ll await your good news.”
“Mhm.”
Yang Xueqing said little, merely acknowledging him with a sound.
Subsequently, Xiao Qihe and Yang Xueqing both departed.
Leaving Bai Qiuyuan alone in his spot.
Bai Qiuyuan unfolded the map Xiao Qihe had given him, thinking to himself.
‘I could face tribulation at any moment, yet I lack any experience in overcoming it.’
‘Currently, the only ones who can assist me are cultivators within the Sword Pavilion who have successfully transcended tribulation at the Core Formation stage or above.’
‘While buying steamed buns earlier, I learned that all the elders are currently occupied with preparing for this disciple recruitment ceremony.’
‘That Elder of the Scripture Repository I just met is likely the only elder who isn’t busy.’
‘I caused such a stir, yet only a single Elder of the Scripture Repository came…’
‘…’
‘It appears the other elders are far too busy to be relied upon.’
‘I’ll just seek out the Sword Pavilion Master directly!’
With this thought, Bai Qiuyuan’s gaze settled on the mountain peak marked as the Sword Pavilion Master’s residence on the map.
Upon arriving at the hall, Bai Qiuyuan silently pushed open the door and entered directly.
The hall’s interior was lavishly decorated, with all furnishings crafted from premium materials; even the space itself was many times larger than Bai Qiuyuan had imagined.
Since there appeared to be no one present, Bai Qiuyuan proceeded directly to the innermost part of the hall.
Soon, in the very center of the hall, Bai Qiuyuan spotted a seat resembling a throne, made of white jade and brocade.
Beside the seat, there were two plaques.
One read:
[Only those with fated connections may sit here]
The other plaque stated:
[Position of Sword Pavilion Master]
Bai Qiuyuan: “…”
Approaching the seat, Bai Qiuyuan glanced around to confirm no one was present, then brushed off the dust and tentatively sat down.
After settling into the seat, Bai Qiuyuan leaned back, propping his chin on his hand as he surveyed the neatly arranged seats below the platform for a few seconds. Nothing happened.
‘?’
‘…’
‘I just sat down? Am I a fated one?…’
Just then, a young woman suddenly pushed open the door and entered the hall, speaking to Bai Qiuyuan.
“Who are you? How dare you sit in that seat?”
“Do you even know what sitting in that seat signifies?”
Judging by her tone, the young woman didn’t seem angry; instead, there was a hint of playfulness.
Bai Qiuyuan looked towards the entrance and saw a young woman approaching him, clad in white brocade, appearing to be around twenty years old, with a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall, and the moon hide and flowers blush (TL Note: A classical Chinese idiom describing breathtaking beauty, literally ‘fish sink, geese fall, moon hides, flowers blush’).
‘Hmm? A Sword Pavilion disciple?’
Just as Bai Qiuyuan thought to stand, he realized he couldn’t move!
It was due to the chair beneath him!
Suddenly, the young woman in the distance vanished from her spot!
Bai Qiuyuan: “!?”
‘Her cultivation is above mine.’
The next second, the young woman abruptly appeared on the very seat!
As Bai Qiuyuan had the appearance of a child and was sitting towards one side, the seat easily accommodated two people.
Bai Qiuyuan: “?”
‘Could she be the Pavilion Master herself?’
The young woman sat beside Bai Qiuyuan, muttering to herself as her divine sense began to probe his body.
“Lightning spirit root… Hmm? I can’t discern your cultivation?”
“There’s no aura of lightning tribulation on you, so it seems you haven’t undergone it yet.”
“Presumably, the Half-step Core Formation pressure you displayed earlier is your true cultivation.”
“Bone age only 8 years old? And no signs of soul possession?…”
Although Bai Qiuyuan was immobilized, perhaps due to his cultivation technique, his mind remained as calm as still water, completely unpanicked. He quietly observed the unknown young woman beside him from the corner of his eye.
‘Could it be that sitting in this position means becoming the Sword Pavilion Master?’
Seeing Bai Qiuyuan so calm even after being restrained, the young woman’s lips curved slightly upwards, an inexplicable expression of “satisfaction” gracing her face.
Soon, her gaze fell upon Bai Qiuyuan’s mask, and she chuckled.
“Let me see what you look like beneath that mask!~”
As she spoke, the young woman reached out, intending to remove Bai Qiuyuan’s mask.
Just as her hand was about to touch the mask, a tender, childlike hand suddenly seized her wrist.
Young woman: “!?”
Bai Qiuyuan looked at the astonished young woman and smiled.
“My apologies, Senior, but this junior is not particularly keen on revealing his face.”
Upon hearing this, the young woman quickly pulled her hand free from Bai Qiuyuan’s grasp with a bored expression, rubbing her wrist as she spoke with a touch of annoyance.
“Hmph, if you don’t want to show it, then don’t. How stingy.”
Seeing that the young woman had no intention of forcibly removing his mask using her superior cultivation, Bai Qiuyuan smiled and said.
“If Senior is willing to share insights regarding tribulation transcendence, then this junior will remove his mask.”
“Really?”
The young woman immediately asked with great interest.
“If I lie to you, I’ll never grow taller.”
Bai Qiuyuan chuckled.
The young woman paused for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled as she retrieved a jade slip from her spatial ring and said.
“I’ve seen many faces.”
“If your face disappoints me, I might just hit you, you know~”
Having said that, she handed the jade slip to Bai Qiuyuan, her tone making it impossible to tell if she was joking.
Bai Qiuyuan took the jade slip, smiling.
“Although I cannot defeat you, if I were to flee, Senior might not be able to find me.”
As he spoke, Bai Qiuyuan mentally prepared himself to instantly use his modifier to change his cultivation to Foundation Establishment Stage One, open a spatial portal, and escape back to the mortal realm.
Cultivators above Foundation Establishment Stage One cannot enter the mortal realm.
Bai Qiuyuan had only come to the Upper Realm after establishing a teleportation array in White Egret Villa.
Bai Qiuyuan then removed his rabbit mask.
Upon seeing Bai Qiuyuan’s appearance, the young woman was visibly stunned.
Seeing her frozen in place, a faint blush becoming visible on her face after a few seconds, Bai Qiuyuan chuckled inwardly.
‘After all, it’s the upper limit, perfect attractiveness. While it might sound exaggerated, it’s unlikely anyone in the entire Upper Realm could be more handsome than me.’
‘At most, equally handsome.’
Seeing that he had achieved his goal and regained his freedom of movement, Bai Qiuyuan put away the jade slip, intending to stand and leave.
Just then, the young woman still seated in the chair suddenly grabbed Bai Qiuyuan’s hand!
Bai Qiuyuan: “?”
‘Could she also be immune to high attractiveness? Is she going to attack?’
As Bai Qiuyuan pondered, an old man appeared in the Sword Pavilion hall.
“Grand-Ancestor, the disciple recruitment ceremony is fully prepared.”
“Please make your way…”
The old man looked up, speaking towards the distant seat.
But when he lifted his head and saw the scene before him, he stared blankly at the young woman on the distant seat holding Bai Qiuyuan’s hand.
His words caught in his throat mid-sentence.
“Grand-Ancestor…”
Upon hearing the old man’s words, Bai Qiuyuan instantly felt foolish, stiffly turning his head to look at the graceful young woman holding his hand.
The young woman looked at Bai Qiuyuan, holding his hand, and stood up with a half-smile, saying.
“Pavilion Master Xu, allow me to introduce you. This is my… fi-an-cĂ©.”
Bai Qiuyuan: “???”
‘Woc (TL Note: A Chinese internet slang term, ‘wÇ’ cĂ o,’ an exclamation of surprise or shock, similar to ‘holy crap’ or ‘wtf’)! FiancĂ©??’
Pavilion Master Xu: “???”
‘Woc! Grand-Ancestor… Husband??’
After the young woman spoke, taking advantage of Bai Qiuyuan’s stunned state, a bracelet-shaped magic treasure automatically transferred from her hand, which was holding Bai Qiuyuan’s, to his wrist!
The moment the bracelet reached Bai Qiuyuan’s wrist, it instantly shrunk, securely shackling itself there.
Bai Qiuyuan: “…”
The young woman whispered to Bai Qiuyuan.
“This is my Natal Magic Treasure.”
“As long as it’s on you, no matter where you go, you won’t escape my grasp!”
“Even if you flee to the Lower Realm or the Underworld, I will find you.”
Bai Qiuyuan: “…”
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Han Qianqiu, one of the Sword Pavilion’s Grand Ancestors.”
“My cultivation… is above Spirit Transformation.”
“That chair just now—whoever sits on it gains the qualification to become my fiancĂ©.”
“This humble woman is untalented; please, Husband, guide me often~”
Bai Qiuyuan lowered his gaze to the bracelet on his wrist, then looked up at the young woman, and finally glanced at the somewhat dusty chair, falling into deep thought.
‘Cultivation above Spirit Transformation… her age is at least several hundred years old, perhaps even more…’
‘Even my previous life combined with my current age doesn’t exceed a hundred years!’
‘So the “fated connection” written on it actually refers to a fated marriage connection!!’
‘…’
After a second of contemplation, Bai Qiuyuan silently sank back into the chair.
Bai Qiuyuan.exe (Not Responding)…
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂