"Huh?"
Xu Fei woke up in an unknown place. Just moments before, she had been floating through the sky, but now she found herself inexplicably within a luxurious building.
It was an open building with no walls, but only pillars. If she would describe it, it is quite similar to an ancient Greek temple.
The open building seems to be made of indestructible marble and whenever she looked around, she could see many small fountains and miniature rivers decorated around every corner of the open building. It also seems to be very high up since she could only see the beautiful blue sky and thick clouds outside.
She couldn't marvel at the beauty though, as in front of her was a gathering table that hosts dozens of sect elders that stared at her with intense gazes. Each of them radiated a powerful aura and looked like deities, so Xu Fei couldn't help but be very nervous.
Xu Fei shifted her eyes away, avoiding any eye contact with any of them. She simply sat still quietly as the awkward atmosphere continue on, in hopes that someone would say something. But to her dismay, none of the elders said anything and simply continued to stare, as if waiting for her to do something.
'Oh god, please don't make me do this...' she thought as she realized that she might have to be the one to break the silence.
With a mix of awkwardness and uncertainty, she mustered the courage to break the silence.
"Um, hi..." Her voice trembled slightly as she waved her hand in a hesitant greeting.
The elders remained motionless, unresponsive to her attempts to lighten the atmosphere. They maintained their statuesque poses, their unwavering gazes fixed upon her.
'Okay... maybe I should just wait and let them do their thing...' she thought to herself, realizing that patience was likely her best course of action.
...
...
...
...
...
...
'Uh... how long are they going to stare at me...?' she thought impatiently.
It's been a few minutes since they stared at her without saying a word, so there has only been awkward silence since she woke up. She really doesn't know what to do at this moment.
Then, the silence was finally broken when the first elder stood up from the furthest seat from her.
'Oh alright, it finally started.'
The first elder looked like a man in his forties, with a bald head, long eyebrows, and a short beard. He wore a tight light blue robe that was decorated with strange carvings that resemble swords. He then spoke with a low voice that reverberated through the entire room.
"As everyone knew, we are gathered at this very moment due to an unexpected, but fortunate event."
He then pointed his hand to Xu Fei as he smiled gently.
"Thanks to the fourth elder, we have obtained a talent that had never been seen for the last hundreds... no, maybe even thousands of years in the history of our Flowing Sword Sect. You have all seen it yourselves, haven't you? The holy aura that surrounds her at every moment, even when she's asleep. She has the Longevity Holy Body."
Every elder nodded slowly at these words and Xu Fei was quite surprised.
Even when they knew that she has a Holy Physique, none of them seem even the least bit flustered or surprised. But thinking back about it, she could somewhat understand.
Every elder who has sat in here has at least reached the nascent soul realm or higher. They have lived for at least hundreds of years and has experienced many ups and downs in their life. Although this might be the first time they saw something as rare as a holy physique, their ability to keep themselves composed far surpasses their current surprise.
The first elder then continued,
"Due to her special physique, I suggest we welcome her as the new core disciple and announce that she was my long-lost daughter to cover the fact that she has a holy physique."
'Huh? Why??'
Every elder started to ponder slowly at his suggestion and nodded. They must hide the fact that she has a holy physique, or else the other large sects would catch wind of this and there would be massive bloodshed caused between them to snatch her away. Xu Fei was not bright enough to understand this, but all of the elders knew hiding her holy physique was a great choice.
Everyone started to approve of this decision when all of a sudden, another elder stood up.
He was the same elder that demolished the waves of beasts that she brought and carried her all the way here. Just from seeing the dark look on his face, she could clearly see that he hated this suggestion. Though, the first elder still smiled,
"Fourth elder, go ahead."
"First elder, although I agree to hide the fact that she has a holy physique, I don't agree with letting her freely roam the sect as a core disciple without proper consequences. She had lured many beasts here unknowingly and had caused us to lose many spirit stones to activate the defensive array. Had I not stepped in there, we would've lost much more..."
He then turned to look Xu Fei dead in the eye.
"Even if she is blessed with a holy physique, she still must be punished due to her actions. As the lord of the Judgment Hall, I simply cannot look past this." the fourth elder said sternly.
Xu Fei jumped at those words.
'Damn it, he really didn't forget about me bringing those humongous waves of beasts!'
She was sweating nervously as she saw some elders nod at him. Oh god! Even the kind-looking first elder nodded at those words. Seeing that everyone else agreed with him, the fifth elder's expression softens.
'Please somebody defend me... please someone! Please, please! He's so scary!'
Her thought wandered around, thinking about what sort of hell-like punishment this demonic elder would give out. Would he throw her into a pot and boil her alive? Would he throw her into a pit of snakes and watch as she was slowly eaten alive? Even if she have nine lives, she was more than sure this elder would kill her ten times!
Then all of a sudden, a familiar sound rang in her ear.
Ding!
[ A new quest has been triggered! ]
[--------------------------QUEST----------------------------]
JUDGMENT DAY
You have been found to be guilty as charged. You made a severe and continuous lapse in your judgment, and you don't expect to be forgiven. And in this place, you shall accept your fate as a vile criminal and be punished accordingly... Or will you?
type: Main Quest
Difficulty: Hard
Objective: Convince the elders to reduce or cancel the punishment.
On Success:
> Disciple badge
> Disciple garb
> The elders like you slightly better
> Ninth Elder hates you slightly less
> ???
On Failure:
> Be a test subject for two years
[----------------------------------------------------------]
Xu Fei was stupified. Convince the elders? How!?
She then glanced back toward the elders at the gathering table and found out that they are now staring at her like a predator.
'Hiiieek!!'
There's no doubt about it. Right now, they must've been thinking about how to cook her into a delicious meal. They must have been curious about her holy physique and wanted to run a few experiments on her! This cannot go on. She must convince them somehow!
She then cups her fist with shaky hands as she bowed to them.
'I-Is this how they greet their seniors in Xianxia novels!? I don't know!!'
She then said with a shaky voice,
"E-Elders, please calm down. B-Before you make your decisions, please know that I didn't do it on purpose..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Utter silence...
None of the elders were moved in the slightest by her words. Some directly ignored her as if she was just a rock, some of them got a little angrier, and some of them even facepalmed as if they have just lost a few brain cells after hearing her words.
Xu Fei can't help but cry on the inside. She immediately wanted to smack herself on the head with a metal pipe and give stern lectures to herself from ten seconds ago.
'Xu Fei, you idiot!! That was the worst excuse anyone could have thought of!!' she cursed herself.
But even though she failed miserably, she didn't give up. She straightened her posture, albeit slightly, and tried her best to gather some confidence to face these powerful figures. Gather your courage, Xu Fei! You cannot be discouraged by just one small failure!
'Think... think about anything that comes to your mind...'
She wracked her brains out as she tried to keep a straight face in front of the elders. She tried to recall what happened inside and outside the forest during her chase, and who she met along the way. Eventually, she managed to recall something very important,
'Ah, that's right! There were some black-robed men that were fighting the girl just outside the forest when I was running away from those beasts!'
She suddenly had an ingenious idea. What if she put all the blame on them?
She then tried to make up some stories while grinning internally and finally faced the elders again.
"Lord elder, back then I was walking around the forest to relieve my boredom when all of a sudden, I saw a group of black-robed men that was attacking an outer disciple of this sect."
Xu Fei then looked around and sure enough, their interests were piqued when she mentioned the group of black-robed men. Seeing that her deception worked, she continued her fake story,
"I tried to help her since I was stronger than everyone else in my village, but who would have thought that they would be so cowardly as to lure strong beasts from the forest with a weird scented incense and ran off."
Xu Fei then tried to act like a victim, like a poor maiden whose act of justice was truly wronged as she put on a sad face.
"Please, understand me. I had no choice- uh no, WE had no choice but to seek protection in this place since it is our only beacon of hope..."
She then ended her story with a dramatic pose, with both of her kneels on the ground and the back of her palm on her forehead. Although she has never practiced acting, she could tell that it was working as she even believed the fake story herself for a second. Maybe she should develop her acting skills in her free time.
Most of the elders also nodded as their gazes toward Xu Fei softens. They then started to discuss her story to confirm it.
"I can confirm that there is a small village quite close to the forbidden forest she talked about. I think she might have used to live around those parts." one of the elders said casually.
"Yes, she also said that she was stronger than anyone else in that village and that was probably because of her holy physique..."
"I have also sensed some foreign presence around the forbidden forest. I first thought that might have been some guards that a merchant hired, but it seems to be the group of black-robed men from her story..."
"That's true..."
"Yes..."
"..."
"..."
Xu Fei sighed in relief as her fake story seems to be believable enough. They started to discuss it between themselves and the room started to get lively for once.
'Yes, yes... It was a true story, I promise! Hehe...' she quietly mocked them in her mind.
"Huhu... Interesting."
All of a sudden, a gentle voice reverberated throughout the room as every elder went silent. Whether they were prideful and arrogant or gentle and humble, everyone suddenly gave a respectful attitude to the owner of the voice.
A gentle breeze suddenly brushes her face as she saw a middle-aged woman fly down into the building.
She has a beautiful mature face that is complemented by her pinkish-white skin and luscious lips. Her long white hair flowed through the air along with her loose white robes, accentuating her already voluptuous body. She then scans the surroundings with her sharp golden eyes and finally fixes her gaze upon Xu Fei.
Xu Fei had her eyes wide open, what a divine beauty!
Unlike the fifth elder who has a serious and fiery temperament, this woman has gentle and soothing vibes around her. If only all the other elders were like her, then she would definitely not be as panicked as just a few moments ago!
Then every elder stood up and cupped their fist.
"We greet the grand elder!"
The woman then nodded and weaved her hand casually as everyone sat back down. She smiled slightly as she said,
"The sect leader cannot attend this gathering, because he was too busy 'taking care' of something."
She then glanced at Xu Fei again.
"At first, I thought this girl is only lucky enough to be born with such a divine physique... but I didn't expect for her to be a clever one as well..."
She then flew closer to Xu Fei until she stood right beside her. Xu Fei's head was still facing downwards, afraid that she would accidentally offend her as this is a different world. The norms may also not align with her previous world.
But suddenly, she felt a hand on top of her head that was patting her softly. She jolted as she felt shivers running down her spine.
'W-What is this woman doing!?'
The grand elder is patting her head in front of the whole council!
At first, she thought the grand elder would act way more mature and reserved due to how respected she was, she would have never thought the grand elder would do something like this!
Xu Fei's whole face became red like a tomato out of pure embarrassment and the grand elder smiled faintly.
"It seems like she is just a teenager after all. It seems my worries were unfounded." the grand elder said casually.
Xu Fei's expression immediately froze.
'Huh? I am just a teenager? Isn't that very obvious? What is she worrying about...'
Xu Fei then raised her head and looked around, she saw most of the elders breathed out a sigh of relief. Seeing this, she tilted her head to the side in confusion.
She was about to ask a question when the grand elder raised her hand, indicating an order of silence.
"That's enough for now. From a distance, I have observed most of your conversations and I shall make a decision. I shall take her in as my sole disciple and she will be under my guidance for the next two months. As for her punishment, she will not be promoted to a core disciple or inner disciple but shall be reduced to an outer disciple right after two months of my guidance. Does anyone have an objection?"
Every elder that was present silently shook their head. The fifth elder hesitates a little bit, before staying silent. With that, the meeting has concluded.
Ding!
[ The quest, Judgment Day has been completed! ]
[ Rewards have been received! ]
[ Rewards have been sent to the inventory! ]
[ Level up! ]
[ Level up! ]
[ Level up! ]
Xu Fei saw that she only leveled up thrice. She already knew that the more you level up, the harder it will be to level up more, but isn't this just too few?
She was a little bit disappointed, but at least she was not made into a test subject.
Then, she was snapped back to reality when the grand elder, now her master, was waving her hand up and down in front of her face.
"A-Ah, yes! What is it, master?" Xu Fei said, surprised.
"Sigh, did you not hear me just now?"
Did her master say something to her? She was too focused on the system and her train of thought to notice her speaking.
Then, her master sighs as she facepalmed.
"Forget it, I'll explain things to you on the way. For now, you shall stay in my residence until your training with me is over."
The grand elder lifted her with an invisible force as they flew up into another floating island a couple of kilometers away.
The island was beautiful. Lush greeneries that were composed of exotic plants and small ponds filled with fish were erected everywhere around the island, making it look like a paradise. They then landed on the edge of the island and walked slowly into the center of the island.
At this time, the grand elder asked her,
"Do you know why we are all very harsh and on guard with you during the whole meeting?"
"Um, no, master."
She then chuckled as she explained,
"Since you were still a mortal, you probably had not known anything beyond your home village. Then, I shall explain everything from the start..."
Xu Fei was listening intently as her master slowly explained their sect's current situation at the very moment. After listening for a while, she finally understood.
Basically, the world she was living in was split into six continents. She was currently on the Eastern Continent, where their inhabitants are mostly humans and most of the forces here are sects. The sects are divided into righteous and demonic, and both of them have been enemies with each other since the beginning of civilization.
Hundreds of years ago, there was even a righteous-demonic war where all righteous sects allied together to purge the demonic sects, and they succeed. The demonic sects are mostly destroyed and the remaining ones flee into hiding. Since then, an age of peace was formed and people live in true justice and order.
However, recently, demonic cultivators have been appearing quite often and sometimes they even appeared in large groups to raid villages, attack small sects, or even went to random locations to find inheritances. The righteous sects are trying to find their goals and locate their headquarters-, but to no avail.
Back then, Xu Fei was suspected by the Flowing Sword Sect elders to be a trap set up by the demonic sects. They thought she was a demonic cultivator in disguise to secretly spy on their activities. And because of that, they tried to test her in that gathering to see her reaction and see if it matches that of a demonic cultivator.
But their suspicion instantly disappeared like smoke when she was infatuated by the grand elder's beauty. Demonic cultivators are mostly cold-minded, there's no way they would act like a hot-blooded teenager just like Xu Fei did.
"And with that, we have arrived at this current situation." her master said patiently.
Eventually, the walk ended when they arrived at the center of the island.
In there, lies a humble house that is neither shabby nor luxurious. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all made out of wood and stone. Xu Fei was confused, this house does not look like something immortals like her master live on. She was very sure her master has countless riches, so why did she choose to live here?
Her master, the grand elder, saw her reaction and chuckled,
"Oh you, don't give me that look. I just chose to have my house look like this because I prefer living in modesty..."
To be honest, Xu Fei was still somewhat confused, but she chose to not ask anything anyway.
They then entered the humble house. The interior has three rooms, two of them are small bedrooms while the other is a medium-sized living room. Her master patted her on the back and said casually,
"You should rest now since it is already quite late. Although it looks bright outside, it is already nighttime in the outside world, because this whole island is covered in an illusion array. Come outside at the time of the rabbit (5 am - 7 am) and we shall start your training."
In an instant, her master disappeared just like smoke and she was left alone in a small bedroom. Without anything else to do, she simply got on the bed and slept peacefully...