Great Yan, Qingzhou Citu.
On a post road, a carriage was moving steadily. Despite the bumpy terrain, the ride remained smooth, which was clearly proof of the extraordinary skill of the coachman.
The coachman wore a bamboo hat and, strangely, a straw rain cape even though it wasn’t raining which created an odd sense of disparity.
Inside the carriage sat a young man with handsome features. He looked like an easy eight out of ten.
His name was Chu Feng. A plain and simple name. He had arrived in this world just a few days ago. That’s right, Chu Feng was one of the now-all-too-common transmigrators. But unlike many others who were hit by dump trucks, he had been hit by… a bicycle.
Right… by a bicycle. Every time Chu Feng thought about it, he couldn’t help but cover his face in shame. What a disgrace to the transmigrator community.
When Chu Feng first arrived in this world, he blinked a few times, thinking he was dreaming.
Then—smack—
“Hiss! That hurts!”
It was only then that Chu Feng began to accept reality.
However, rather than worrying about how to survive long-term in this new world, he was more concerned about the immediate problem at hand: how the hell was he supposed to get out of this forest?!
Fortunately, Chu Feng had watched plenty of survival shows with Bear Grylls and Ed Stafford.
Wilderness survival? Bring it on!
Day one: found no food.
Day two: still no food.
Day three: couldn’t take it anymore; he was starving. Oh? Those berries look pretty good. Might as well try them.
And that’s when Chu Feng learned the true meaning of explosive diarrhea. There was no stopping it!
Chu Feng could practically see his great-grandma waving at him from the afterlife. If not for his unusually strong constitution, he would’ve already been up there, happily playing mahjong with her by now.
Luckily, the heavens never completely shut a door. He eventually spotted signs of human habitation.
Just as he was about to call for help, the man in the bamboo hat appeared out of nowhere and said, “Young friend, it must be fate that we meet. I happen to have…”
At that, Chu Feng immediately understood what was going on. He raised both hands in a shrug and said, “I’m broke.”
But wait a minute….he could actually understand the language of this world?
The man then asked Chu Feng for his name.
Huh?
Chu Feng raised an eyebrow and replied boldly, “I walk under this name, I sit under this name….I’m Zhang San!”
And then… nothing. The man in the hat promptly kidnapped him.
That said, the guy actually treated him pretty well. He got him new clothes, gave him a bath, and even fed him a good meal.
It almost made Chu Feng suspect. Could this guy possibly… be into him?
The very thought made Chu Feng’s rear end clench instinctively. No way! Absolutely not! If something’s gonna stab me in the back, it better be a knife, not something else!
Just as Chu Feng was about to make a run for it, the man in the bamboo hat caught him red-handed and shoved him back into the carriage.
No matter how much Chu Feng pleaded along the way, the man didn’t say a single word.
This is it. He’s totally taking me somewhere to harvest my kidneys! I just got to this world and now I’m about to get my kidneys stolen. What a joke…
Before long, the carriage came to a stop.
“It’s time to get out.”
The man lifted the curtain and spoke to Chu Feng.
“Big brother! I’m not getting out! Seriously, just let me go! I’ve been eating junk food since I was a kid. My body’s full of toxins, especially the kidneys!”
Chu Feng clung to the carriage like his life depended on it, utterly determined. No matter what, he wasn’t getting out of that carriage!
The man in the bamboo hat had no idea what Chu Feng was babbling about, but he had his orders: bring this young master to the sect, safe and sound.
When the man reached for his waist, Chu Feng panicked. Thinking he was about to draw a blade, he braced himself for a desperate struggle. But instead…
He pulled out a jade token.
“Take this.”
The man shoved it into Chu Feng’s hands, then yanked him out of the carriage in one swift motion.
As soon as he stepped out, Chu Feng was stunned.
What the hell?!
Flying swords! People were standing on flying swords!
He had thought he’d transmigrated into some ancient historical era….but no, this was a cultivation world. He was screwed. The difficulty level had just gone through the roof.
His last shred of hope crumbled. If it had just been ancient times, he could’ve made a living plagiarizing poems, making soap or trinkets, and maybe even married a few pretty wives and lived as a sleazy gentleman among the elite.
But now? Pfft. A cultivation world? What was he supposed to do… die creatively?
In front of him was a massive crowd. Looking up, he saw a colossal mountain piercing the sky. It was majestic and awe-inspiring, with a faint golden glow surrounding it.
As the shock wore off, Chu Feng suddenly realized. The man in the bamboo hat was gone.
Shit!
“W-Wait! Big brother! Where are you?!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
The only response was a bunch of people looking at him like he was crazy.
He was really gone!
Chu Feng was completely at a loss. He was frozen in place, unsure of what to do…when suddenly, the noisy crowd around him fell silent in an instant.
High above the crowd, three white-bearded elders stood in midair. The one in the center slowly began to speak:
“Everyone, today marks the seventh and final day of our Heaven’s Pinnacle Sect disciple recruitment. We hope you all seize this opportunity to become a part of our sect, and contribute your light and heat to its future!”
The moment his words ended, the crowd erupted like a volcano. The roar was so loud it made Chu Feng’s ears ring.
Heaven’s Pinnacle Sect?
Recruiting disciples?
What the hell was all this?!
As the elder’s speech dragged on, Chu Feng almost dozed off. To him, the whole thing could be summarized in two words: pointless blabber. Total waste of time.
Then the elder finally got to the point:
“Very well. From here on, anyone who can reach the peak of this mountain shall be accepted as a disciple of Heaven’s Pinnacle Sect!”
Chu Feng looked up. He couldn’t even see the summit. Climb that? That’s just crazy talk!
He was instantly reminded of that time he visited the base of Mount Tai, bragging that it’d be a walk in the park. But by the time he was climbing back down, his legs were shaking like jelly.
Without hesitation, Chu Feng turned to leave. But fate had other plans.
“Hey! Brother, stop pushing! I don’t wanna go forward. I wanna go back!”
Too late.
As soon as the elder finished speaking, the crowd surged forward like a tidal wave. Chu Feng tried to push against the current, but he was hopelessly outnumbered.
The next thing he knew, the crowd had carried him all the way to the foot of the mountain.
Looks like… there’s no choice but to climb.
Well, maybe that’s not so bad…once he gets halfway up, the crowd should thin out. Then, he could just quietly turn around and head back down.
As for why he didn’t turn around now. Chu Feng glanced behind him at the sea of people packed like sardines.
Yeah, moving forward definitely seemed like the smarter option.
***
Above the clouds, four figures were kneeling. Three of them were the white-bearded elders from earlier, but the fourth was a very beautiful woman.
Her long black hair flowed like a waterfall and was adorned with a phoenix-shaped jade hairpin.
Her face was flawless, striking and refined, with bright red lips pressed softly together. Her luminous, cool phoenix-shaped eyes gave off an elegant yet cold aura. Her pale, delicate skin looked as though it would bruise at the lightest touch.
She wore a flowing white palace gown that hugged her curves, enhancing her ample chest and slender waist.
Despite her cold temperament, there was an undeniable allure in her presence. Cold and seductive. Two traits that somehow existed in perfect harmony within her.
She slowly lifted her eyes. Just that one glance could stir a thousand hearts and set minds spinning; it was enough to make anyone lose themselves.
Her gaze swept across the crowd….until it stopped onto a young figure.
Her lips curved into a soft smile.
“Feng’er… at last… Master has finally found you.”
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