The Thousand Radiant Divine Swords Sect, like all other sects of the 3rd rank, was located on a gigantic mountain. Normally, when establishing a sect, the all-wise immortal founders would choose a lonely mountain in the middle of a sprawling valley or a dense eternal forest. However, by the time the Great Immortal Daoist Dragon Slashing Other Dragons with a Single Strike of His Sword decided to settle down and lay the foundation for the continent's new great power, all suitable locations had simply run out. It was for this reason that he decided to establish the sect not on a lonely mountain, but on the largest mountain of the western Tian Shi mountain range, Teng Li Feng.
The Great Immortal, who was initially embarrassed by his failure, told everyone that he had always intended it that way, saying, "The mountain ranges are rich in demonic beasts, which helps to quickly replenish the stocks of beast cores of both the sect and the cultivators living there; the mountains are full of qi enriched metals; and in general, when the enemy sees a lonely mountain, he will immediately realize that the sect is located there, which is very unsafe, but try and find it in a huge mountain range where there are thousands of mountains."
He lied so shamelessly and convincingly that he somehow managed to persuade even himself that he wasn't lying. Indeed, the new disciples arriving to receive the knowledge and protection of the mighty cultivator quickly took root in the unusual environment, and they all began to like it at some point.
The mountain range was truly rich in resources, which helped the newborn sect quickly grow strong and gain immense power. It rapidly became the strongest sect in the Western Setting Sun Region and was able to subjugate all the other pagodas, palaces, sects, kingdoms, and empires in the surrounding area. It only took it about a thousand years to do so! To think that this sect's record of 145,000 years ago has not been broken by any other major newly rising or already established power to this day is baffling.
The nature and views of the sect also appealed to absolutely everyone. The Great Immortal Daoist Dragon Slashing Other Dragons with a Single Strike of His Sword really put his whole soul into its creation. Not only is it full of a huge number of high-end defense formations, but the architecture itself was created with the landscape in mind. Normally, when building sects, the peak of a mountain would simply be cut off and leveled with a single powerful blow, but in the case of this one, not a single piece of the mountain was sliced off.
At the very base of the mountain range is the first line of defense against Demonic beasts and cultivators, and all other hostile individuals. It is a huge gate of 200 meters high and 50 meters wide. On the gate itself, there are thousands of swords carved along the edges and two statues of Asuras in the center. The swords are a kind of landmine for ill-wishers, and the Asuras should jump off the gate and join the battle.
After passing through the main gate you can see a massive staircase leading upwards. Walking up the stairs you can reach the main square, where all the commercial establishments, the mission hall, and the administrative office are located. There are many roads, alleys, and passages leading from the center, but the main are three. One leads to the right, the second to the left and the last to the top of the peak.
The road to the left takes you to the main library, training, and educational facilities. There is also a medical hall and a punishment hall. Walking from the main square to the right, you will come across the disciples' dwellings. On the lower levels are the dwellings of the outer disciples of the sect, and on the higher levels are the inner disciples' residences. The inner and outer elders live next to the disciples. This proximity to each other was planned so that in the event of an attack, the elders could quickly organize everyone into a coherent fighting unit instead of scurrying around the entire sect.
At the highest peak of the entire sect is the founder's tower and just below it is the palace of the sect patriarch. Directly below them are the palaces of the core elders of the sect where they live with their families, disciples, and servants. Core elders occupy the position below the patriarch and perform the role of his advisor and the main fighting force of the sect. As the saying goes – the strength of the sect is not in its patriarch, disciples, or resources; it is in the sect's core elders. It is from their ranks the new patriarch is elected.
It is in this beautiful place, in one of the inner courtyards of core elder Sheng Zuzhang's Palace, in the shade of a spiritual acacia tree sat a boy of five years old with a long sword on his lap. He could already be described as incredibly handsome at such a young age. The boy has a noble face and fiery red long hair falling down to his chin. The boy is quite tall for his age, which means that when he matures he will break the heart of more than one fairy sister or jade beauty.
Thick willful eyebrows are above his closed eyes, which together with his pose suggest that the boy is in a state of deep meditation.
This is him, our protagonist, an ordinary high school kid who got hit by a truck on his way home. I didn't tell you this, but he shit his pants at the very same time, hehe. When the truck-kun hit him, the kid's previous body was blown to pieces, and his shitty pants ended up on the face of a random passerby. This made the situation even worse, as the number of casualties increased by one person, even if the trauma was more psychological in nature.
After that, he was reborn in this world to finally become someone, to have a harem of beauties, and to become a powerful immortal, handing out smacks to various young masters along the way.
At a meeting with the manager of the juvenile reincarnators in the interworld, he was given a set of cheats to help him stop being a sissy and become a real man!
That's where I – Spirit Guide MeiMei – come in. My current task is to activate the system and to inform the fresh rebornee of the terms and conditions of our further cooperation.
I was about to wake the boy up and start a dialog when I felt the tip of the blade on my neck and a huge pressure on my mind.
"Who are you?" the guy asked me. His eyes were now open. They were of a menacing golden color, with red lining around the Iris. I'm taking my words back, he is definitely not handsome! He is freaking scary! Even his voice is like a chilling gravelly menace.
"I-I-I-I-I-I'm M-MeiMei."
"Glad to meet you, MeiMei, I was wondering if anyone would show up for my soul. You're floating in front of me, but I sense that I'm the only one who can see you. Your hair sways in the wind, but you are not present in the tangible world. That suggests that you are either a spirit or a ghost. But you don't look like a Spirit of Vengeance, and I can sense your mind, which is impossible with Force ghosts. So answer me, what are you and why are you here?"
Strangely enough, his voice creeps me out even more. How can I describe it? It carries a hint of a clipped cadence, the vowels sharp and precise. Yet, beneath this surface lurks a subtle undercurrent. A hint of darkness lingers in the pronunciation, a subtle rasp that betrays the power coiled beneath the veneer of control.
"Will you maybe put the blade away?"
"No." Calmly replied the little boy. "Answer me, NOW!"
"Y-yes sir! I am a Spirit Guide MeiMei – an intelligent Artificial living being, of the series Isekai OP3C, XXVYM69, which stands for Xianxia Villainous Young Master 69!"
My voice betrayed me, and I replied with a squeal.
"Don't you remember getting hit by a truck?" I asked.
"No, I don't."
"And the time you met the juvenile rebirth superintendent in the interworld?"
"I don't recall that either."
"I'm here to activate the system and outline the terms of cooperation."
"Now, I remember something like that. That underdeveloped afterthought of a human said something similar."
"STOOP! You're not a schoolboy from earth?"
At my shout, the guy only grinned wickedly and sinisterly. So much so that my soul escaped from my body.
"You're probably about five years too late. I'm the one who devoured that weakling's soul."
"No-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o!"