The air in Shen Yuan's room was thick with tension.
On one side stood four stern-faced elders, robes shimmering faintly with spiritual authority, their gazes sharp enough to shave a yak from twenty paces. On the other side stood Shen Yuan, bedhead tangled, chicken feather stuck in his sleeve, and a golden rune pulsing softly in his palm.
Between them hovered the scroll, still faintly glowing. The silence crackled like the static from Zap-Chan's tiny wings.
"Explain yourself," Elder Wu snapped. "How did a kitchen disciple gain access to a sealed relic meant only for inner court cultivators?"
Shen Yuan opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
Then decided to say the truth, mostly.
"I tripped."
The elders blinked.
He gestured vaguely toward the scroll. "There was a trial ground. I… sort of fell into it. There was a vine panther. A hologram ghost. A scroll that laughed at me. I survived. Barely. Can we call that fate and move on?"
Elder Mei narrowed her eyes. "This scroll has been sealed for over three hundred years. Even our formation masters couldn't activate it. And you..."
"Fell," he repeated. "Tripping is a skill."
Wu growled. "Enough foolishness. This is spiritual theft. You will be stripped of sect privileges and..."
[System Alert: Quest Timer – 1 day, 23 hours remaining]
[Current Objective: Avoid Expulsion]
Shen Yuan's thoughts raced. He needed time. Or distraction. Or both.
And so, he did what no disciple had ever dared in the face of judgment.
He offered the elders breakfast.
---
Fifteen minutes later, four elders sat in a pavilion, eyeing their bowls cautiously.
"You served us porridge in the middle of a disciplinary hearing," Elder Mei said, voice flat.
"It's spiritual porridge," Shen Yuan corrected. "Infused with Laughing Orchid essence. Calms nerves. Clears minor meridian blockages. Goes great with crispy lotus crackers."
Wu glared. "This is highly..."
He paused. Chewed. Chewed again. His eyes widened slightly.
"It's… good."
Shen Yuan beamed. "Cultivation begins with a full stomach, Elder."
Zhen chuckled softly in the background, sipping from a lacquered spoon. "He's not wrong."
"Still," Mei said, setting her bowl down, "we cannot ignore the fact that you now possess a Heaven-tier technique. That alone disrupts our sect's hierarchy."
"I didn't ask for it!" Shen Yuan said quickly. "I just wanted to pet a bird and not die!"
"Regardless," said the youngest elder, stroking his beard thoughtfully, "the sect must decide if you are a threat… or a fluke."
"Well," Shen Yuan muttered, "flukes don't usually come with systems."
The elders leaned forward. "What was that?"
"Nothing."
[System Alert: Use of system-related information is restricted to Host only.]
[Also, nice save.]
Mei folded her arms. "Very well. You will be summoned to the main court tomorrow morning. There, you will present your case before all elders."
"Do I get a lawyer?"
Zhen coughed into his tea.
"No," Wu said flatly.
"Can I bring a chicken?"
Wu blinked.
Zap-Chan shrieked from the rooftop and dropped a spark onto his head. He yelped.
Mei sighed. "Do what you want. Just don't explode anything before dawn."
---
That night, Shen Yuan sat beneath the old willow tree behind the outer disciples' hall, the scroll resting beside him like a sleeping dragon. His fingers traced the golden rune now etched faintly into the back of his left hand.
[New Passive Unlocked: Laughing Heart]
[Effect: Mental resilience increased. Qi stabilizes in chaotic environments.]
He exhaled slowly, gaze lifting to the stars.
"I didn't ask for this," he murmured. "And now I've got a cursed legacy, four elders watching me like hawks, and probably a death trial in the morning."
Zap-Chan climbed onto his lap, fluffed its feathers, and shocked his kneecap gently.
"I get it," he said. "We keep going."
A soft breeze passed through the trees. The scroll trembled. Then unrolled slightly again, just for a second.
And Shen Yuan heard a voice, not aloud, but within.
They'll never let you keep me. Not if they know what I am.
He stared.
Then what do I do?
Make them laugh… or make them afraid. Either will work.
---
Morning arrived with the weight of judgment.
The main sect hall was filled with rows of elders, inner disciples, and curious outer sect members. Whispers filled the air as Shen Yuan walked slowly toward the center robe clean, hair tamed, and Zap-Chan perched proudly on his shoulder like a lightning-infused parrot of doom.
Elder Wu stood at the highest dais. "Shen Yuan. You stand before the Mistcloud Sect Council under suspicion of theft, improper cultivation, and unorthodox inheritance activation. How do you plead?"
He cleared his throat.
"I plead... spicy."
The crowd blinked.
"I mean, I plead confused. Because I didn't take anything. It came to me. I survived the trial. And now it's part of me. So unless you want to saw my arm off, I don't think you're getting rid of this legacy."
A ripple of murmurs followed.
He continued, "But I understand your fear. I'm just a kitchen disciple. A cheerful weirdo. Not a noble heir or sword genius. So why me, right?"
He paused. Then smiled faintly.
"Maybe because this realm is full of anger. Of grim paths and bloodlines and death. Maybe it's time for someone who cultivates with something different."
He raised his hand. The golden rune on his palm pulsed.
Suddenly, laughter echoed faintly through the hall not from him. From the walls themselves.
Then the scroll, which he had hidden in a bamboo case on his back, shook and snapped open midair.
Golden energy swirled around it.
The crowd rose to their feet.
Elder Wu took a step back.
"What is this?!"
From the scroll, light poured out.
And within that light… a second figure emerged.
A masked silhouette.
Grinning.
"He is chosen," the figure said calmly. "And he has passed the first test."
Elder Mei shouted, "What first test?! What is happening?"
Shen Yuan stared, heart racing. "Wait. First?"
The scroll spun violently. Wind howled through the hall.
[System Alert: Hidden Trial Unlocked – Laughing Heavens Legacy Trial: Part II]
[Initiating…]
A portal opened beneath Shen Yuan's feet.
His eyes widened.
"Oh, come on!"
And then he was gone.
Vanished into the glowing vortex in front of the entire sect.