Beautiful. Truly, undeniably beautiful.
Her skin was like freshly fallen snow. Her brows curved like a slender crescent moon. Her teeth were neat as polished jade seeds. Her eyes shimmered like autumn waters, twin pupils clear as if cut from liquid crystal—thousands upon thousands of unspoken thoughts hidden within, luminous and stirring.
Beneath her small, pristine nose were soft cherry lips, delicate and dewy like a blossom at peak bloom.
She wore a violet gown embroidered with painted hibiscus patterns, the trailing hem sweeping across the ground. The sleeves flared gracefully, and at the cuffs pale orchids were stitched in fine thread, accentuating her long, slender fingers—white and smooth as peeled scallions.
Across the entire plain, young and old alike stared wide-eyed, each heart harboring… indecent thoughts about peaches.
Suri, too, was momentarily stunned by the Holy Maiden's beauty.
But—
Why did she look familiar?
It felt as though he had seen her somewhere before.
Yet no matter how he searched his memory, he couldn't place it.
"…Forget it."
Suri was not the type to obsess over such things. If he couldn't remember, so be it.
At that moment, the Holy Maiden's destiny script had fully manifested.
Suri focused his gaze.
Hm?
He blinked and rubbed his eyes before looking again.
For a brief second, he genuinely suspected his vision had malfunctioned.
The script of the Holy Maiden of Qianling Holy Land—
Was black.
Not just black.
Pitch black.
Like a forehead darkened with ominous fate.
Worse yet, black deathly qi seeped from it in thick waves.
How was that even possible?
Filled with mental question marks, Suri opened the system-generated script.
[Holy Maiden of Qianling Holy Land — Aokawa Ningzhi]
A once-in-ten-thousand-years cultivation prodigy of Qianling Holy Land.
Praised as the future Holy Lord of the Sacred Land.
Ten thousand years later, destined to become the leading cultivator of Qianling Province and beyond.
After failing her third attempt to break through the Dragon Gate Realm, she is ordered by her master to oversee disciple recruitment at Ganlin Plain.
The Holy Maiden of the Black Demon Sect infiltrates under an ancient concealment technique and ultimately assassinates her.
Age at death: Bone age twenty.
A great regret of the cultivation world.
"…Ah, damn."
After reading that short description, Suri felt unwell.
This girl had it rough.
No wonder her entire script was radiating black death qi.
She was going to die today.
Closing the script, Suri let out a long sigh.
He sighed for her tragic life.
But.
As a model youth of the new era—morally upright, civilized, and well-educated—
Suri made a decision.
He would change her fate.
Yes.
Whether Aokawa Ningzhi was beautiful or not was irrelevant.
He was not the kind of man who judged by appearance.
What mattered was that, as a good person, he had a responsibility to let the righteous light of the Dao shine upon the earth and prevent demonic conspiracies from succeeding.
…Alright, fine.
Let's not kid ourselves.
The real issue was that Suri still didn't fully understand what the hell this "Script System" inside him actually did. It didn't even come with a manual.
It had been one week since awakening, and he was still experimenting.
But based on previous experience, altering someone's life trajectory seemed to grant him Fate Points.
And the higher the script tier, the greater the reward.
Aokawa Ningzhi was a cultivation prodigy.
If he altered her death flag and restored her script to its original color—
How many Fate Points would he gain?
Would there be additional rewards?
Suri really wanted to test it.
And saving her life would make her owe him a favor.
A win-win.
Just as he solidified his resolve—
Aokawa Ningzhi stepped onto the plain.
Her gauzy trailing gown flowed behind her, yet not a speck of dust clung to it.
At that moment, she did not seem mortal.
Rather, like a divine being mistakenly left behind in the human world.
"That one. And him. And her. And that little girl as well. Qingfu Peak will take them all."
As she walked across the plain, her pale finger extended lightly, indicating her selections.
Her expression remained calm and detached—like an iceberg empress strolling through a marketplace, casually declaring, "Wrap them all up."
"Yes."
At her command, the attendant maid bowed and hurried off to secure the recruits.
The Holy Maiden's method of recruitment could be summarized in one word:
Money.
Whatever cultivation resources Sword Hall offered—you doubled it.
Not enough?
Then double it again.
"Oh? That little girl wants to study the sword and refuses Qingfu Peak?"
Simple.
Bribe Sword Hall's elder.
Soon enough, that same elder would lecture the girl on "The Hundred Dangers of Sword Cultivation" and "How a Female Disciple Practicing Swordsmanship Turned from Mountain Peaks into Flat Plains."
Guaranteed to extinguish her sword ambitions.
After all, if money could solve it, it wasn't a problem.
The elders might grumble, but currying favor with the Holy Maiden was worthwhile.
What if she became Holy Lord a thousand years from now?
Sure, the Holy Son might also claim that position.
But investing in both sides was just good business.
Thus, whenever the Holy Maiden desired someone, conflict was rare.
Meanwhile, Suri kept observing the scripts of those being taken into Qingfu Peak.
Finally—
When the Holy Maiden selected the last disciple—
Suri's eyes lit up.
There.
That one.
But—
That little girl was adorable.
Damn it.
Why was she so adorable?
For a brief moment, upon seeing the black-dressed little girl, Suri felt his moral compass nearly run off with his facial features.
He forcibly steadied his Dao heart.
Focus.
The problem now was—
What was he supposed to do?
If he charged out shouting, "Demon! I knew at first glance you weren't human!"
He'd absolutely be labeled an idiot.
He was just a minor cultivator from Yushō Peak. Who would believe him?
The Holy Maiden would probably treat him as some bizarre mortal phenomenon at best.
Watching the black-dressed girl follow behind Aokawa Ningzhi toward the immortal ship, Suri grew anxious.
"Aokawa Ningzhi!!!"
Just as they were about to board, Suri burst out from the crowd and shouted toward her back.
Instantly, every gaze turned to him.
Aokawa Ningzhi slowly turned around.
Her hands folded before her, she raised her eyes toward Suri in the distance and tilted her head slightly.
"Fellow Daoist, what is it?"
Her voice was calm and distant—cold as a snow lotus atop an iceberg.
"Um…"
Suri's thoughts raced. He opened his mouth, then hesitated.
I finally managed to talk to a beautiful girl who isn't my junior sister—
And now I can't think of a single smooth line.
What do I do?
Urgent. Please advise.
Silence fell between them.
The entire plain quieted, everyone watching with bated breath.
At last—
Suri inhaled deeply.
His playful expression vanished.
His face turned solemn.
"Your Highness the Holy Maiden," he declared gravely, "I observe that your forehead is darkened with ominous qi. Today, you will suffer a calamity of blood."