'I…'
A startling thought came to Han De.
'I really…'
He couldn't decide whether he should feel concerned or happy.
'I really want to cultivate…'
As he stared at the floating palace in the distance with an empty gaze, Han De realized the sad reality. When he was done here time, he had to go back through the power of space!
Not his own power of space obviously, he had to rely on the attendants' because his spiritual energy was getting dangerously low. He couldn't even make the distance with sword flight at the moment!
Though he felt regret wasting his spiritual power on random things, being frugal was obviously not the solution. Clearly, he needed to cultivate. To recharge his batteries!
He turned his back on the palace and started following a path decorated with Celestial Heart Peonies. At least he was teleported near his disciples this time!
'Not a bad arrangement. Though the soil doesn't seem to be acidic enough. A side effect from the excessive spiritual energy maybe? Hmm. Good enough for a decorative path.'
As he expected, quite a few people were loitering in the vicinity.
'So I was right…'
Due to the intense background noise coming from Long Ai, Han De couldn't get any Reality Sense reading from any of them. Both their presence and cultivations couldn't be detected with his regular senses either. That meant that every single person he saw was at least 3 major realms higher at minimum. Not showing their spiritual ripples would be a breach of etiquette otherwise!
But, unexpectedly, all of them bowed deeply whenever he got close by. No one dared to meet his eyes either. In fact, a few of them were trying to hide their fear! Anyone that noticed Han De's existence left quickly, without exception.
Han De's first thought was that they mistook him for someone else. Then he remembered that he came from the first-tier banquet, where he and his family were the only lower beings around. If his status in the Long family was as high as he expected, then being recognized by these people made perfect sense.
'This isn't bad. As long as I manage my reputation correctly, I won't have to worry about becoming a yet another Arrogant Young Master. I can start off as a Hidden Expert. Hmm, Hidden (Terrifying) Expert… that would be… Variation 3?'
When he finally spotted the table of his disciples through the decorative trees and lavish ornaments, he froze on the spot.
'S#$%, why is she here?!'
Then he noticed someone else.
'F#$%, why is that harem S#$% here too?!'
A few deep breaths later, Han De calmed down and recomposed himself. He approached the table with the Profound Expert persona, and didn't notice the odd gaze of Li Ling from far away.
Ning Bi was the first one to notice Han De's presence. She immediately jumped up. "Master."
Thankfully, Ning Bi was still normal. Nothing was triggering Han De's reality sense!
"It's fine. Everyone sit down, I just came to see how you were doing."
Han De looked at them one by one. Around the half-full round table, the original three disciples were closely seated, to the point that it looked like they changed the table arrangements by themselves. Liang Cuifen was between them and Yu Xian, seemingly reluctant to get too close to either side.
Yu Xian didn't seem bothered by the arrangement and met Han De's gaze with composure. Even that little gesture was filled to the brim with the MC aura!
The perfect encapsulation of 'neither servile nor overbearing attitude'. If this was someone else Han De would've been very excited. But since it was Yu Xian…
'Ugh…'
"Is everything going well? Anyone bothering you?"
Jin Shu responded with a smile. "We've been getting along quite well, master. Everything has been peaceful."
"Good. If anyone bothers you, tell my name to an elder and call me."
The three disciples noticed some weariness in their master's voice. They nodded seriously. A few seconds later, Liang Cuifen also nodded once Yu Xian finished translating. After receiving such a warm welcome, most of her worries had disappeared. And now that she saw Han De, her confidence started rising.
"Master, will sister Cuifen and Yu Xian return with us? They said they've woken up only a few hours ago…"
Yao Qing's question was on point. Originally, Han De wanted the two new disciples to stay away as far as possible. Maybe they could've encountered a random benevolent elder and ended up wanting to stay! At that point, Han De would've had no choice but to respect their decision!
That was only a fool's hope, of course.
Now that they already met, there wasn't any valid reason to hide them. In fact, from this point on, hiding them could impact his credibility as a master.
Han De looked around and found a waiting attendant at the edge of the garden.
Since Long Ai pushed not one but two toxic MCs onto Han De, the least she could do would be to lend her name! Han De thought this would prevent elders from running amok.
There was no way he could know what kind of effect this would have on the average Long family elder.
The attendant disappeared without a trace after giving an affirmative response. Han De spoke towards the new disciples.
"Both of you should be transferred to the celestial ship after the banquet. Use the next week to get familiar with your surroundings. Don't worry about anything and rest plenty.
As their seniors, you three will support them. Don't let your juniors get bullied by anyone. If anything happens, use my name immediately."
Han De was especially wary of the random ambitious Long family elders. If he could, he would've assigned all of his lackeys to his disciples. A banquet looked like the perfect place to cause trouble!
'Alright, no one was hitting on them. No random elder was trying to introduce their nephews. I've visited them and increased their importance. All is fine. Even Yu Xian looks… reserved…? Whatever.'
There were no immediate dangers. Besides Liang Cuifen! Right now, she couldn't understand anything due to the language barrier. But she had a comprehension score of 8. Soon she would be able to start conversing with others. At that time, she would be able to ask about the things Han De lied about.
It was obvious that the lie detection skill had a profound effect on her development. She kept her distance from Yu Xian, despite their common circumstances!
Han De thought he had made the correct choice by speaking the truth 100% of the time. If he could keep that up for a while, even if the rate drops to around 90% later, he would be able to maintain Liang Cuifen's trust.
'Yes, I should leave while I'm ahead and limit my interactions with her for a while.'
At least with Yu Xian, he had a strategy. With Liang Cuifen, he had nothing he could rely on to maintain his facade.
"Alright. I'll take my leave. If anything happens-"
"We will take care of it. Please enjoy the banquet without worries, master."
Han De pushed down his urge to sigh and nodded at Jin Shu's response. He wasn't just worried about the faceless nameless random elders, but worried about his disciples' behavior as well. What if Jin Shu started to seek death? With the MC halo, nothing would happen to her. Probably. But, she would end up making enemies needlessly as well!
Liang Cuifen and Yu Xian were surprised by Han De's protective behavior. For the latter, this made sense in hindsight, since he saw it as a man protecting his women. For the former though, Han De's insistence was simply an awe-inspiring sight.
Even through the language barrier, Liang Cuifen could tell the sincerity of Han De. He really put great importance on his disciples' safety and well-being. Their conversations were pure, free from duplicity and double meaning. Everything that Liang Cuifen yearned for during her whole life!
And she was a disciple too! Han De's words were meant for her as well! She couldn't help but feel emotional.
Meanwhile, the original three disciples felt guilty and concerned. Their master's genuine concern warmed their hearts, of course. The feeling of their master protecting them, doting on them, was simply indescribable. But all of that had a price.
They had purposefully allowed the greedy Long family elders to run amok, but that ended up causing a rift between their master, and the Long family. Judging from their master's previous behavior, it looked like he was going to punish those elders, no matter the cost.
Han De looked at them one more time, patted Ning Bi's head for good measure, and turned around to leave.
"Young master Han De, we meet again."
'F#$%.'
* * *
10 minutes ago.
[Name: Qian Shoushan]
[Race: Human (100%)]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 1947]
[Cultivation: Late-Stage Immortal Realm]
[Constitutions: Innate Crystal Bones]
[Bloodline: Qian Sword Eater]
[Roots: Metal (B+)]
[Fate Type: Matchless Sword Eater]
[Assimilation Potential]
-------------------------------------------
[Compatibility: F-]
[Cultivation art assimilation rate: B-]
[Skill assimilation rate: - ]
[Bloodline assimilation rate: G]
[Constitution assimilation rate: G]
[Root assimilation rate: G]
[Fate assimilation rate: G]
'Trash…'
Li Ling left the 'young' master of the Qian family behind. She already had basic information of the Qian family, in which, the age of their heir Qian Shoushan, was listed as 447! But his age was clearly 1947! That was 1500 years spent inside a cultivation chamber! This was a completely new world of being shameless!
The Whispering Realms weren't some frontier, anyone who couldn't reach Immortal Realm within 500 years here was simply nothing more than trash, in the truest sense of the word.
"F-Fairy Li Ling please wait…"
The so-called "Status Check" function was a true marvel in Li Ling's eyes. It was a shame it didn't display cultivation information if the target was 3 major realms higher. According to Li Qingzhao this was a safety measure that could not be disabled anymore.
Still, knowing a high cultivation individual's name could also be an advantage.
Testing the capabilities of the "System" was the primary reason Li Ling volunteered to attend the Long family banquet. The lesser reason was to make Li Qingzhao owe her a debt.
Among the senior members of the Li family, Li Qingzhao was the most suitable one for this event. A shame that she had an extreme aversion to anything related to Long Ai!
Suddenly, fluctuations from the power of space caught Li Ling's attention. It was rude for anyone to resort to such methods after the banquet had started. Whoever this was, they were bound to collect the ire of the Long family.
'Oh, he is Han De…'
Li Ling had assumed he was an old monster during their previous encounter. Naturally, after getting the news of the banquet, she put two and two together and realized the truth. He was at the Nascent Soul realm, but as the prized heir of the Long family, he had many guardians.
Han De walked towards the private garden adjacent to that of Li Ling's. As he walked, the toads on the path scattered with terror. Along with the elegant robes adorned with an ancient version of the Long family insignia, Han De gave a domineering aura.
It was quite unfortunate Li Ling couldn't use her compass inside the Long family world, otherwise she would've tried to test Han De already. On second thought, perhaps that was for the best. If she found out and took a heaven-defying treasure of his, the Long family would definitely be offended.
'!'
Then, she realized, she had the next best thing. A status check was completely undetectable! Not even another "System host" could detect it!
Li Ling stood up immediately and gracefully walked towards the direction Han De went.
"Alright. I'll take my leave. If anything happens-"
One look from her was enough to spot the three famous disciples with heaven-defying constitutions. The two other disciples who didn't seem as impressive were next to them.
"We will take care of it. Please enjoy the banquet without worries, master."
Li Ling disabled her veil artifact and let others take in her appearance. She spoke with an emotionless tone once Han De saw her.
"Young master Han De, we meet again."
'F#$%.'
Han De was quite startled when he saw her. Didn't he encounter her at the Silent Silhouette sect? Why was she here? Thankfully, panic was only momentary this time. He had the home-field advantage after all. This woman wouldn't be crazy enough to make trouble here, right?
"Yes, we met before."
Li Ling nodded and realized she wasn't in range. Status check only worked when the target was within 10 steps. For a mortal, this was ample space, but for a cultivator, it would be considered too close. Li Ling still needed 7 more steps to get in range.
"That day, thank you for your patience."
When the woman started moving closer, Han De put his guard up at once.
'Classic cold jade beauty. Immortal Realm cultivation. Is alone. Ignored the disciples. No one else is with her. Within the safe area. Closing the distance. No hostile intent. 13 steps at most. No lackeys around. Long family servants should be on standby. Result: Should be relatively safe to talk.'
The quick flowchart result was positive.
"Such trifles need not mentioned." Once Han De realized she was now less than 10 steps away, he frowned and asked. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Li Ling frowned too, at the status check screen.
[Name: ?*\;+#%+]
[Race: #½%\+%%;]
[Gender: +&#^%;?^]
[Age: +½#*½#\#]
[Cultivation: \+;½%#;+]
[Constitutions: ;^&\*&#&]
[Bloodline: +*\^;\#½]
[Roots: #;½#*^&*]
[Fate Type: ?#^\?%½\]
[Assimilation Potential]
-------------------------------------------
[Compatibility: #%#\\%?#]
[Cultivation art assimilation rate: &%;*\#?\]
[Skill assimilation rate: &½%*^;\½]
[Bloodline assimilation rate: +*\?#*^½]
[Constitution assimilation rate: %+#?\#+^]
[Root assimilation rate: ½\;?+*?&]
[Fate assimilation rate: ^½^&?;*^]
While still staring at Han De, she closed the screen down and status checked once again. But the results didn't change.
'A jade beauty is silently staring at me… Should I ask for help?'
The disciples were also watching Li Ling with great interest. Yu Xian wanted to sigh. He felt like this was going to be a familiar pattern fairly soon. Meanwhile, Liang Cuifen was frowning with displeasure. Even if she didn't want to, she still caught the lies of the stunningly beautiful woman!
"Young master Han De, I'm curious about the reasoning for your visit that day…"
Li Ling was now 6 steps away, and she didn't stop. Nor did she notice the increasingly deep frown on Liang Cuifen's face.
'Alright, let's see how she'll act. No need to overreact. This is my home turf. Right. Home turf…'
Unfortunately for Li Ling, even when she was 3 steps away, the display didn't change. Not even Li Qingzhao could hide her name from the status check. At least this much should display! Why was it not working?!
When Li Ling was finally an arm's length away, Han De was about to call for the nukes. But at the most inopportune time, he heard the echoes of that dreadful voice once again.
[Detected a splinter of a System.]
[Analyzing…]
[…]
His blood went cold in an instant. In this Xianxia universe, there were many things that could frighten him. Old monsters, random even older monsters, random elders, random young masters, random treasures, random geological features, the list was nearly limitless. But one thing that was near the top, was the other System users.
At the same time, an alien emotion crept up to Li Ling's usually cold, emotionless face. She was the princess of the Li family, the heir of the Grand Path Library, and the inheritor of the secret legacy. This was the first time in her life that she felt anxiety. And the cause was the sudden messages from the System.
[Emergency Mission: - ]
[Difficulty: - ]
[Status: - ]
[Summary: - ]
[Conditions: - ]
[Bonus Conditions: - ]
[Time Remaining: - ]
[Reward: - ]
In Han De's mind, the System's voice reverberated once again.
[Independent System Structure Detected.]
[Attempting to resolve…]
Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture activated on its own and Han De lost control of his aura. All of his arts started circulating simultaneously. Surroundings went dark, leaving Han De as the only visible figure. It was as if all light in existence was now revolving around his body.
The Wandering Mirage scripture changed the surroundings completely. Illusory cherry blossoms appeared, and the illusory wind started to carry pink petals everywhere. As they swirled, the Primordial Light Qi charged petals formed a hidden soul-burning array.
In an instant, 50 layers of Immortal Bastion shields appeared around Han De and his disciples. Dozens of Heavenly Gaze spells started forming, along with hundreds of illusory fake ones. The Twilight Phantasm expanded and started to wait for a singular moment of hesitation within its target, to unleash its power.
This was it. All the power of the Han family, of the Long family, of Long Ai, of Han Shan, no one, could protect him at this moment. So what if they sought revenge after he died? A System hunter was right in front of him! Death was only a nanosecond away!
At that moment, all of the higher beings within the boundaries of the Long family world shuddered for reasons they did not know.
Long Ai, who was already aware of everything, sent her voice to Han De.
<|Take deep breaths. Remember your name. Focus on it. Repeat it in your mind.|>
Li Ling could do nothing but stare at the blinding light in front of her. For the first time in her life, she felt unprecedented danger. Yet, to her horror, she realized she could not move a muscle! Long Ai had long restrained her, but obviously there was no way for her to know that.
[Located the Primary System Repository of the current shard.]
[Do you wish to absorb?]
'Absorb?'
<|I disrupted the flow of your Qi. In the future, it might feel a little, itchy… Don't scratch that spot until you are ready.|>
Just as she said, Han De realized his spiritual energy had calmed down completely. In face of imminent death, he had tapped into his grandmaster arts without noticing anything. It was as if everything was as easy as breathing.
Of course, Long Ai wasn't talking about his cultivation arts.
[Analysis Complete.]
[System Variation: J276E…K0C98]
[Instance Type(s): Resolving…]
[Author(s):]
[Tian Guo, Ruler of Heavens, Shard: Z7D35…T87A5]
[Co-Author(s):]
[Li Huai, Path of Order, Shard: Z7D35…T87A5]
[License: - ]
[Copyright: - ]
[Cross-connection: - ]
[Quality: Above Average]
[Current Users: 4]
[Maximum CCU Record: 5102]
[Total Records: 1.68964 million]
[Version: 7.1.6]
[Update Count: 62]
[Last Release: 9.44839 billion years ago]
[Uptime: 57.79041 cycles]
[Warning: The detected System has a newer incompatible version.]
[Warning: Template for Unrivaled Master System not found.]
[Warning: The detected System power is below expected parameters.]
[Notes: Absorption will add 0 Standard Points.]
[Do you wish to absorb?]