Ueshō Peak, Kirishō Holy Land
Inside a small bamboo cottage, Suri sat on a simple bamboo stool.
The girl named Chiyun carried dishes out from the kitchen and placed them gently on the wooden table. The faint fragrance of freshly cooked food filled the hut.
Chiyun's cooking was excellent. Though only sixteen, she already possessed the steady hands of a seasoned artisan.
She first scooped a full, perfectly rounded bowl of spirit rice for Suri. Then she ladled almond tofu soup into his bowl. Finally, she placed his chopsticks neatly before him.
Only after finishing everything for her senior brother did she serve herself.
The entire process was soft and quiet. Not a single unnecessary sound.
It was calming.
Just like her.
Every time Suri looked at Chiyun, he felt that his junior sister resembled Yakumo Tsukamoto from School Rumble. Aside from the difference in hairstyle—one long, one short—their temperaments were almost identical.
Gentle. Quiet. Serene.
And yet—
Before eating, Suri glanced once more at the golden script floating above her head.
Within Chiyun's destiny script, her future Dao achievements were boundless.
But why—
Why did she have to ascend while holding his head?
It reminded him of that infamous scene of a certain anime protagonist's head sailing across the world on a boat.
It was… deeply uncomfortable.
"Senior Brother? Is today's meal not to your liking? I can make something else."
Seeing that he hadn't touched his chopsticks, Chiyun gently set hers down and spoke softly.
Since childhood, Suri had never seen Chiyun experience extreme joy or sorrow. At most, she would purse her lips faintly.
Her voice was always warm, like spring wind brushing across one's heart.
"No. As long as you cooked it, I'll eat it," Suri shook his head. "It's just…"
"Hmm?" She tilted her head slightly, a small invisible question mark hovering above her.
"Chiyun." Suri put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at her seriously. "Tell me honestly. Do you… dislike your senior brother?"
Her tone remained gentle. "Why would Senior Brother say that?"
"Eh? You don't?"
Chiyun lowered her eyes thoughtfully, considered for a moment, then looked back up.
"No."
"So if you don't dislike me… that means you like me?" Suri's confidence began to swell.
"Yes. I like Senior Brother and Master."
"…That's not the kind of like I meant."
"There are different kinds of liking?"
"…Never mind. Let's eat."
"Mm."
Only the quiet sound of chopsticks echoed within the bamboo hut. Neither spoke further, yet the silence felt neither awkward nor strained.
Halfway through the meal, Suri couldn't resist asking again.
"Chiyun… if I ever do something you dislike, you must tell me."
"Mm." She nodded while holding her chopsticks between her lips, though she had no idea why he was saying such things.
After lunch, Chiyun washed the dishes, swept the courtyard, and then handed Suri a small pouch.
"Senior Brother, these are the spirit stones we have left from last month."
Suri glanced at the stones inside and sighed.
"Chiyun… did you save your own cultivation portion again and give it to me?"
Spirit stones were the universal currency of the cultivation world.
Whether for daily living or cultivation, spirit stones were indispensable.
Each month, Suri and Chiyun received a stipend—but it was barely enough.
So Chiyun would deduct living expenses and give all remaining stones—including her own share—to Suri.
Suri had long since realized this and told her not to do it.
She never listened.
In the end, he accepted them, bought spirit herbs and flowers to aid cultivation, and then lied—claiming they were leftovers from his own usage—so that she would use them.
Even so, Chiyun would secretly save some herbs for him.
It gave Suri constant headaches.
Her own cultivation had been delayed because of it.
But now, things were different.
He no longer needed spirit stones to cultivate.
He needed that damned system.
In the future, he could give his own share to her.
"I'll take them for now," Suri said.
He would have to fabricate some "new income source" and return the stones to her later.
"Mm." Seeing him accept them, Chiyun nodded. "Senior Brother, a crow delivered a letter today. The decennial Disciple Recruitment Assembly is about to begin. They asked whether we plan to attend."
Kirishō Holy Land recruited disciples in two ways.
One method: elders and peak masters traveled outside, discovering talented individuals and bringing them back.
That was how Suri and Chiyun had been "abducted" by Ueshō Peak's master.
The second method: the once-every-ten-years Recruitment Assembly.
There was no threshold. As long as one possessed a spiritual root, they could participate. The various peak masters and elders would personally select disciples.
Previously, Suri would never have attended such an event.
But now?
He had just awakened the Script System.
What if he stumbled upon a hidden future Immortal Emperor seed?
Wouldn't that be pure profit?
"We're going," Suri said after a moment of thought, voice firm.
"But Senior Brother…"
"Hmm?"
Chiyun blinked at him.
"Ueshō Peak is very poor. Would anyone really be willing to join us?"
Suri: "..."
...
At the same time, deep within a secret realm of Kirishō Holy Land, a woman slowly opened her eyes.
Within her pupils swirled countless phenomena—vast and brilliant, more dazzling than the galaxy itself.
Her long hair fell like a waterfall to her waist. Skin like snow. Bones like jade. Flawless features. Eyebrows curved like crescent moons.
She wore a lotus-white gown that wrapped around her graceful, exquisite figure.
Kirishō Holy Land possessed two such secret realms.
One belonged to the Saintess.
One to the Saint.
"Ningzhi… your heart is unsettled…"
An elderly female voice echoed slowly.
"Master…" The young woman—having already failed three times in her attempt to break through to the Dragon Gate Realm—pressed her red lips together, guilt evident in her peerless face.
A soft sigh echoed.
"As expected. That little girl remains your heart demon. The world is vast. I have sent people to search for years. I have even calculated heavenly secrets—yet nothing. I fear she has already left this world. As a cultivator, you must learn to let go."
"..." The girl named Ningzhi lowered her head in silence.
"Very well. Tomorrow's Recruitment Assembly—you will attend in my stead. See if there are any promising seedlings. Clear your mind."
Rising gracefully, the young woman bent her slender figure in salute.
"Yes."