Tianyuan Prefecture, Xiandao Mountain.
Dao Xi, clad in a flowing white robe, sat by the small pond at the foot of the mountain, holding a fishing rod.
Next to the pond stood a stone totem, on which the name of the pond was inscribed—Sea of Bitterness.
Ding! The Strongest Sect Master System has been activated…
Host identified as ignorant and lacking skill. Main quest will now be assigned at random.
What? A system? A main quest?
After a brief moment of shock, Dao Xi regained his composure.
He was originally from the Flower Planting Nation. After arguing online with a group-buying socialite, he was cursed to death by public backlash, coughing up blood and dying—only to transmigrate into this world of immortal cultivation.
Unfortunately, he had neither a prestigious background, nor natural aptitude for cultivation, nor the golden finger typical of transmigrators. He had already been here for three years and was still stuck at the third level of Energy Gathering.
Even the cultivation technique he practiced had been earned through mining black ore for a ninth-grade sect.
He had intended to live a quiet and mundane life, so he randomly chose this small mountain and gave it a bold name—Xiandao Mountain. The small pond at the foot of the mountain, he named the Sea of Bitterness.
Though he couldn't even catch a single mountain pheasant, he fantasized daily about slaying a Divine Phoenix of the Nine Heavens and becoming the Supreme Immortal Emperor who crossed the Sea of Bitterness.
Now that he had a system—did this mean his dreams were finally within reach?
"System Daddy! Is there a newbie gift pack? One of those full-level-at-start ones?" Dao Xi cried out in his heart.
Ding! Host request detected. Presenting the following options:
Option One: Max-level Sunflower Immortal Canon, instantly elevating the host's cultivation to Immortal Emperor.
Side effect: Self-castration required.Option Two: Claim the novice gift pack. Travel to the Land of Ascension and accept a Chosen Child of Fate as your disciple.
Reward: Upgrade for the Sea of Bitterness.
Host must complete the mission within 24 hours, or face obliteration!
Upgrade the Sea of Bitterness? What good would that do? How could that possibly compare to becoming an Immortal Emperor?
And to complete the task of taking on a disciple? At only the third level of Energy Gathering, what kind of disciple could he possibly attract?
Was this even a choice? Of course it had to be...
"I choose Option Two!" Dao Xi declared.
Becoming an Immortal Emperor is great and all—but how could that be more important than his little brother? He could cultivate slowly toward becoming an Immortal Emperor, but without his little brother, this life would have no joy.
Ding! Novice gift pack activated. Granting host special skills:
Clairvoyant Eye: Detects a disciple's innate talent. Only effective on Children of Fate.
Misty Immortal Fog: Conceals cultivation level, preventing detection.
Special Items:
Land of Ascension Teleportation Talisman (2 uses)
Indestructible Golden Body Trial Card (5 minutes of invincibility against all attacks)
Looking at the meager contents of the gift pack, Dao Xi's face fell.
What a stingy system! This was all it gave for a beginner's bundle?
However, upon seeing the teleportation talisman, Dao Xi was slightly puzzled.
"How do I activate the teleportation talisman?"
Ding! Activation phrase recognized. Teleportation talisman activated…
Buzz!
The space around him trembled violently. Before Dao Xi could even curse, his vision blurred—and when he opened his eyes again, everything had changed.
He now stood on a vast and boundless plain. Nine towering stone pillars rose from the earth, each topped with a platform.
All sects under the Heavenly Dao Alliance, from ninth grade to first grade, were here to recruit disciples.
Mortals who dreamed of cultivating immortality referred to this place as the Land of Ascension.
"Aiyo… back here again." Dao Xi's face darkened with gloom.
Back in the day, he had come here hoping to enter a first-grade sect. But when his talent was tested, even the worst ninth-grade sects refused to take him.
How cruel that had been!
As he watched the endless stream of hopefuls, Dao Xi couldn't help but feel disheartened.
"If it were just about taking in any random mortal as a disciple, that'd be easy. But a Child of Fate? Isn't that the same as competing with the major sects?"
"Even a disciple from a ninth-grade sect could crush me with ease."
Sighing repeatedly, Dao Xi stood beneath one of the massive stone pillars. No one spared him a glance.
All around the pillars, spiral staircases led up to the trial platforms, and the hopefuls were slowly ascending them.
Dao Xi activated the Clairvoyant Eye skill and scanned the crowd—but received no notification.
Damn it. In one day, not to mention taking in a Child of Fate, just finding one would be difficult!
Depressed, Dao Xi wandered among the various stone pillars.
"Did you hear? Over at the Blood Fiend Sect, a peerless genius just appeared!"
"A youth from some small village—when his talent was tested, a phantom black flood dragon emerged! His aptitude is astonishing!"
Excited chatter spread through the crowd, and people surged toward the seventh-grade stone pillar where the Blood Fiend Sect was stationed.
A genius?
Dao Xi's eyes lit up, and he quickly followed.
After squeezing through the throng, he finally managed to catch a glimpse of the talent-testing platform. Disciples of the Blood Fiend Sect surrounded a young man like stars encircling the moon.
The young man wore simple clothes, yet he had a strikingly handsome face and carried an air of proud arrogance between his brows.
Name: Chen Hao
Race: Mortal
Talent: Body of the Black Jiao (greatly enhances physical strength)
Fate Grade: Grade D
With the Clairvoyant Eye activated, Dao Xi saw through the youth's details at a glance.
"A Grade D Child of Fate? But he's already been accepted by the Blood Fiend Sect. What now?" Dao Xi frowned.
At the moment, he only had the Indestructible Golden Body, a passive defense skill. It wasn't nearly enough to steal someone away.
As Dao Xi was pondering this, two raggedly dressed youths—a boy and a girl—ran over. The dark-skinned boy called out excitedly:
"Haozi! I heard you got accepted into the Blood Fiend Sect?"
Just as the dark-skinned boy stepped into Dao Xi's field of vision, the system gave a sudden prompt:
Ding! Grade B Child of Fate detected. Touch his body to automatically activate his innate talent.
Name: Chen Heitan
Race: Mortal
Talent: Dominant Black Dragon Physique (not yet activated)
Fate Grade: Grade B