Chapter 5: The Sword's Call and the Lazy Master's Decree
The morning sun over the Eternal Divine Sacred Land didn't just rise; it performed. It filtered through the purple-tinted clouds, casting long, ethereal shadows across the white jade courtyards. In the center of the main plaza, Ye Chen was currently engaged in the most strenuous activity of his day: deciding whether to have green tea or floral tea.
Xiao Hei, the Primordial Void Cat, was draped over Ye Chen's shoulder like a living scarf, its rhythmic purring vibrating through his robes. Every few seconds, the cat would swat lazily at a passing "Spirit Butterfly," which was actually a high-level elemental sprite that most cultivators would kill to possess. To Xiao Hei, it was just a noisy toy.
"Master, the tea is steeping," the Silent Empress murmured, appearing out of the shadows. As the Grand Elder, she took her duties with a terrifying level of seriousness. She had spent the morning recalibrating the sect's defensive arrays, making them strong enough to withstand a God-King's full-force assault—just in case a stray breeze was too loud for Ye Chen's liking.
"Good, good," Ye Chen sighed, sinking deeper into his floating chair. "Life is finally peaceful. No memory-filled ants, no noisy 'World-Breaking' formations. Just me, a cat, and—"
[Ding! System Mission Triggered!]
Ye Chen's left eye twitched. "Oh, come on. I just sat down."
[Mission: Sect Expansion - The First Harvest.]
[Context: In seven days, the Azure Cloud Kingdom in the Southern-East border will hold its 'Decennial Grand Recruitment.' Thousands of talents will gather.]
[Objective: Recruit the second Direct Disciple.]
[Target Data: Female. Physique: Nine-Hells Sovereign Sword Body (Unawakened).]
[Reward: High-Grade Sword Pavilion, 10,000x Supreme Spirit Stones, 1x 'Void-Crossing' Sect Carriage.]
Ye Chen stared at the blue screen floating in his vision. "A week? That kingdom is at least three thousand miles away. Even with my speed, that's... that's a lot of 'moving' I'd have to do."
[Ding! Reminder: The Nine-Hells Sovereign Sword Body is currently being suppressed by a 'Broken Heart Curse.' If not recruited and healed within the week, the talent will wither and the candidate will perish.]
Ye Chen groaned, rubbing his temples. The "lazy" part of his brain was screaming for him to ignore it, but the "Eternal Divine God" part—the part that now felt a strange, cosmic responsibility for his "Sect"—won out. Plus, a Sword Pavilion sounded like a great place to store his junk.
"Lin Feng!" Ye Chen called out, his voice echoing across the mountain peak.
A streak of golden fire blurred across the training grounds. Lin Feng landed a few feet away, his movements fluid and sharp. His Eternal Sun Robes shimmered, and the Solar Flare Blade hummed on his back. Since reaching the 5th Stage of Foundation Establishment, the boy looked less like a beggar and more like a young God of War.
"Master! I have completed my three thousand swings!" Lin Feng reported, bowing deeply. Behind him, General Yan stood like a bronze pillar, his molten spear resting against his shoulder.
"Change of plans, kid," Ye Chen said, shooing a butterfly away from his tea. "Pack your bags. We're going on a road trip. There's a recruitment fair in the Azure Cloud Kingdom, and apparently, your future junior sister is currently having a bad time."
Lin Feng's eyes lit up. "A junior sister? Is she strong, Master?"
"She's a sword-wielder. Or she will be," Ye Chen said, finally taking a sip of his tea. "General Yan, you're coming too. But listen carefully."
He looked at the bronze giant. "The System—I mean, the Sect Laws—have bonded you to Lin Feng. I know you're a God Emperor, and you're used to only fighting 'worthy' foes. But if a Dharma Phase expert or even a Golden Core brat tries to kill my disciple, you don't wait for a 'Saint-level' threat. You intervene the moment his life is in actual danger. I don't want to come back to a pile of 'Direct Disciple' ash because you were waiting for a challenge."
General Yan's eyes flared with a subatomic heat. "The Sect Master needn't worry. My spear does not care if the enemy is a god or a worm. If they threaten the Young Master's life-thread, they shall be erased."
"Good. Now, how do we get there without me having to walk?" Ye Chen muttered.
[Ding! Utilizing 'Sect Carriage' reward in advance...]
Outside the palace gates, the air rippled. A carriage made of white 'Void-Silk' and 'Dragon-Bone Wood' appeared, hitched to four ethereal horses made of pure starlight. These weren't normal horses; they were Void-Steppers, creatures capable of running through the fabric of space itself.
"Classy," Ye Chen approved. "Empress, stay here and keep the fog thick. If I find any 'ants' in my tea garden when I get back, I'm making you do the sweeping."
The Silent Empress bowed, her face as cold as ever. "I shall guard the mountain with my soul, Sect Master."
The Azure Cloud Kingdom: A City of Swords
Six days later, the capital of the Azure Cloud Kingdom was buzzing like a hive. The 'Decennial Grand Recruitment' was the biggest event in the region. Dozens of minor and mid-tier sects had sent elders to scout for fresh blood.
In a corner of the crowded capital square, a young girl sat on a wooden crate, clutching a rusted iron sword to her chest. Her name was Su Qingchan.
She wore a tattered gray dress, and her face was pale, almost translucent. Every breath she took seemed to cost her a great deal of effort. To the passing cultivators, she looked like a sickly beggar, her "meridians" appearing shattered and cold.
"Look at her," a young man in silk robes laughed, pointing at her. He was the Third Prince of the Kingdom, a "prodigy" who had reached the 3rd Stage of Qi Refining at the age of sixteen. "The Su family's 'fallen genius.' Qingchan, why are you even here? Your sword heart is broken, your blood is poisoned. You're a waste of space."
Su Qingchan didn't look up. Her knuckles were white from gripping her rusted blade. I'm not a waste, she thought, though the pain in her chest—the 'Broken Heart Curse' placed on her by her own stepmother—felt like a thousand needles. I can still feel the sword. It's screaming for me.
"Prince, don't waste your breath on a corpse," an Elder from the Cold-Moon Sect said, walking past with a look of disdain. "Her talent is negative. She wouldn't even pass the first stage of the testing stone."
Su Qingchan closed her eyes, a single tear trailing through the dirt on her cheek. She had come here as a last resort. If no one recruited her, she would have no resources to fight the curse. She would be dead by the next full moon.
Suddenly, the noisy square went silent.
It wasn't a gradual silence; it was as if someone had sucked the sound out of the air. The sky above the capital, which had been clear and blue, suddenly turned a deep, shimmering indigo.
Four horses made of starlight descended from the heavens, pulling a carriage that glowed with a soft, divine light. The carriage didn't land; it hovered ten feet above the ground, right in the center of the recruitment square.
"What... what is that?" the Third Prince gasped, falling to his knees. The mere presence of the carriage felt like a mountain was resting on his head.
The carriage door opened.
Lin Feng stepped out first. His golden robes caught the light, and the sheer heat of his Nine-Suns aura made the nearby fountains start to steam. He looked around the square, his golden eyes scanning the crowd with a ferocity that made the "Elders" of the other sects tremble.
"Master, there are a lot of people here," Lin Feng said, his voice carrying a natural, booming authority. "And most of them look like trash."
"Watch your language, Lin Feng," a lazy voice drifted from inside the carriage. "Trash is useful for compost. These people aren't even that."
Ye Chen stepped out, yawning and stretching his arms. He was wearing his usual snow-white robes, with Xiao Hei perched atop his head like a fuzzy crown. To the average observer, Ye Chen looked like a pampered young lord with zero cultivation. But to the "Saints" hiding in the shadows of the city, he was a black hole—a void that defied all logic.
Ye Chen's gaze wandered through the crowd until it landed on the girl on the wooden crate.
He smiled. It was a small, lazy smile.
"Found you," he whispered.
He walked toward Su Qingchan, the crowd parting before him like the Red Sea. The Third Prince tried to stand in his way, wanting to demand who this arrogant newcomer was, but before he could even open his mouth, General Yan—who was invisible to everyone else—simply released a microscopic grain of his intent.
The Prince's legs turned to jelly, and he urinated himself before collapsing into a heap.
Ye Chen stopped in front of the girl. He leaned down, looking at the rusted iron sword in her lap.
"That's a terrible sword," Ye Chen said conversationally.
Su Qingchan looked up, her eyes wide. She saw a man who looked like he'd rather be napping, yet he was the only person who hadn't looked at her with pity or disgust. "It's... it's all I have."
"Well, if you come with me, I'll give you a sword that can cut the Nine Hells into pieces," Ye Chen said, reaching out a hand. "Also, I'll kill whoever put that nasty curse in your heart. It's making your aura smell like sour milk, and I hate sour milk."
Su Qingchan trembled. "You... you can see the curse?"
"I can see everything, kid. Including the fact that you're supposed to be a Sovereign of the Sword." Ye Chen's voice grew a bit more serious. "My name is Ye Chen. I'm the Sect Master of the Eternal Divine Sacred Land. We're small right now—mostly just me, a very loud giant, and this fire-breathing idiot behind me—but we have the best naps in the universe. You want in?"
Su Qingchan looked at the hand. She felt the 'Sword Body' inside her—a sleeping dragon that had been suppressed for years—suddenly roar.
She reached out and took his hand.
[Ding! Second Direct Disciple Recruited: Su Qingchan!]
[Initializing Direct Disciple Package...]
[Warning: The Su Family and the Cold-Moon Sect are approaching with 'Malicious Intent.']
Ye Chen didn't even turn around. He just sighed and patted Su Qingchan's head. "Lin Feng, General Yan... someone's about to interrupt my recruitment drive. Handle it. And remember... don't get blood on the carriage."
End of Chapter 5