“Oh~ So refreshing~”
Under the dim lights of the night, a young man with dark hair lay in a bathtub filled with spiritual liquid, his face full of enjoyment as he let out an extremely comfortable murmur.
“It’s been so long since I last felt the nourishment of spiritual liquid like this…”
His long black hair cascaded onto the surface of the misty spiritual liquid, shimmering faintly. His exceptionally handsome face, almost like a painting, flushed slightly with a touch of rosiness.
However, before he could savor the moment, a loud “Bang!” echoed as his room’s door was forcefully pushed open.
“My dear disciple, let’s discuss something, shall we~”
The voice arrived before the person.
Accompanied by a slightly lazy yet melodious voice, a graceful figure in a white immortal dress sauntered into his room nonchalantly, plopping down onto a chair by the round table while yawning.
“Yawn~~”
“…”
The young man’s face darkened with exasperation as he shrank further into the bathtub, his voice trembling slightly. “M-Master… Don’t you ever check what I’m doing before barging in?”
“You’re just taking a bath, aren’t you? What’s the big deal?”
“…”
Speechless, he patiently explained, “Master… I think… we should still observe some boundaries between men and women.”
“What boundaries? The day I fished you out of the lake, you were completely naked, you know.”
“That’s not the same thing!”
“Oh, it’s all the same to me.” The white-robed immortal waved her hand dismissively, a hint of impatience on her face.
“…”
The young man was utterly speechless.
His master was perfect in every way—except for her carefree attitude.
“Alright, let’s talk business. Tomorrow’s sect recruitment assembly—you’ll go in my place.”
“Huh?”
The young man was stunned. “But I’m only at the mid-stage of Qi Refining! Besides, isn’t an event like that something you, as the Peak Master, should handle?”
“It’s settled then. I trust your judgment!”
Whoosh!
With that, the white-robed immortal gave him a “I believe in you” look, her red and white hair fluttering as she vanished like a breeze into the cold night wind.
“…”
The young man sat in silence, his emotions a tangled mess, his heart chilled to the core.
After a long while, he slammed his fist into the spiritual liquid, cursing under his breath, “Damn it! This is no way to treat your disciple!”
My name is Shen Mu, and I just turned twenty this year. I’m a transmigrator from modern China.
Two and a half years ago, while I was squatting in the bathroom playing on my phone for too long, my legs went numb. When I stood up, I stumbled forward.
Then, with the sound of my phone crashing to the ground, the world spun, and I found myself in the skies of this cultivation continent.
What followed was the sound of my clothes being torn apart by an invisible force, shredded into scraps—not even my underwear was spared.
Luckily, I fell into a spiritual lake.
Unluckily, there was someone in that lake—a stunningly beautiful immortal woman.
Unfortunately, I only caught a fleeting glimpse of her fair face and graceful figure before I passed out completely.
When I woke up, that immortal used the incident as leverage to force me to become her disciple.
With no other choice, I reluctantly agreed.
And so began my life of cultivation at Wanxiang Peak.
In these two and a half years, no system activated, and no cheat-like golden finger appeared.
The only thing I know is that this world’s story is identical to the cultivation game I played before transmigrating.
In that game’s main storyline, my name belongs to a complete nobody—a background character who gets killed by the shockwave of a great power just for saying a few extra words to the female protagonist.
Sigh… Truly pathetic!
But fortunately, during this sect recruitment, both the male and female protagonists will join Tianxiang Peak, the sect’s most powerful combat peak, which has nothing to do with my Wanxiang Peak.
As long as I can safely get through this recruitment event and avoid any entanglement with the protagonist group, I should be able to live freely and avoid that tragic, cliché ending.
With these thoughts, Shen Mu sat at the lowliest seat of the Wind Spirit Immortal Sect’s recruitment assembly, a faint, relieved smile on his face.
But the next moment, a cold female voice echoed in his mind.
[Shen Mu, what’s going on with Wanxiang Peak? Where’s Luo Qingling?]
Shen Mu immediately sat up straight, glancing at the red-haired immortal in a black dress seated at the Sect Leader’s position, his face full of resignation.
“…”
The red-haired immortal instantly understood, realizing her younger sister was once again using her disciple as a shield for her laziness.
“Sigh~”
“What an increasingly willful girl.”
She sighed softly.
To think that the genius who once shocked the clan and prompted the ancestors to emerge had fallen to such a state—what a pity.
But no matter what, she was still her only little sister.
No matter how willful she became, as the older sister, she had to cover for her.
“Sect Leader, among the recruits this time, Lin Yuhe from the Lin Clan of the Nine Heavens Dynasty has exceptional talent—a true dragon among men.”
“Her father, Lin Tianyun, even sent a personal letter to our sect. Please take a look, Sect Leader.”
Soon after, an elder in a gray-white robe stepped forward, presenting a letter adorned with a gilded spiritual seal to the red-haired immortal.
The immortal took the letter, her red eyes narrowing slightly as she examined the Lin Clan head’s exclusive spiritual seal, lost in thought.
It seems the Nine Heavens Dynasty is facing some internal unrest…
Could it be because of the current ruler’s special identity?
About an hour later.
A refined, fair-skinned young man in white robes and black hair was the first to step into the recruitment hall, bowing respectfully to the peak masters and elders.
“Loose cultivator, Jiang Ling, pays respects to the immortal masters.”
The elders and peak masters exchanged glances, nodding slightly with approval in their eyes.
The red-haired immortal waved her hand, summarizing the young man’s performance in the trials and giving a calm evaluation of his qualifications.
“Jiang Ling, early-stage Qi Refining, Heavenly-Grade Thunder Spirit Root, Innate Sword Bone, resolute temperament, exceptional top-tier talent.”
“If any of you wish to take him as a disciple, you may begin now.”
Upon hearing “exceptional top-tier,” an elder at the Soul Transformation stage immediately cleared his throat and said loudly, “Jiang Ling, I am Feng Xiao, the Third Elder of the Wind Spirit Immortal Sect. Are you willing to become my disciple?”
“Elder Feng Xiao, Jiang Ling has a Heavenly-Grade Thunder Spirit Root. In my opinion, he’d be better suited for my Thunder Elephant Peak.”
A middle-aged man in a thunder-patterned black robe set down his teacup and spoke calmly, clearly intending to compete with the Third Elder for this promising disciple.
“This Innate Sword Bone is a near-immortal-grade swordsmanship physique, far rarer than a Thunder Spirit Root. If he cultivates the way of the sword, his achievements will be far greater.”
“And from what I know, Elder Feng Xiao’s swordsmanship talent is only above average among sword cultivators of the same realm, correct?”
“Are you certain you won’t end up wasting this unpolished gem if you teach him?”
“You…”
The Third Elder was momentarily speechless, clenching his fists in frustration.
“Yawn~~”
Shen Mu quietly watched these big shots fight over a disciple, growing drowsy and letting out a yawn.
The protagonist is the protagonist—always the center of attention, fought over by the big shots wherever he goes…
Unlike me, I have no other special features except that I am good-looking.
This damn God is so unfair. Instead of letting me travel through time, couldn’t he give me some extra attributes that would be more amazing?
Not even a cheat code system or anything…
It is really the tragic fate of a passerby who “starts with a bowl”.
No cheat system Mc, good already