The first thing Bai Fan saw when he opened his eyes was a cracked wooden ceiling and a chicken pecking the top of his head.
The second was a pop-up interface, flickering like a broken TV screen.
[Welcome, honored External Soul — Transfer to Realm: Qian Xuan Complete]
[Body Rebuild: Success]
[System Initialization… Error]
[Initializing Auxiliary Support…]
[Heliox Core: Bonded]
[Daily Fortune: "A wise man plays weak. A dead man plays fair."]
"...Did I just get scammed into a poverty starter pack?" Bai Fan muttered, blinking at the pop-up before it fizzled out.
The chicken stared at him. He stared back. The chicken clucked once, approvingly, and waddled away.
He sat up slowly, brushing dirt off the tattered gray robes he wore — rough cotton, heavily patched, probably one wash away from spiritual disintegration.
Outside, a sagging gate creaked in the wind. A crooked sign hung from its rusted frame:
[Bai Sheng Sect – Rebuilding. Donations Accepted.]
A donation bowl sat beneath it.
It was empty.
"…Perfect," Bai Fan whispered, and smiled.
He stepped into the open courtyard, weeds crackling underfoot. A cracked stone platform lay at its center, probably once a proud training arena — now used as a nesting ground for the sect's only spiritual beast: a half-plucked, one-eyed chicken with qi sensitivity.
Three disciples stood stiffly in a row, wearing the same gray robes. Their faces were anxious, desperate, and entirely devoid of hope. Clearly, they had heard the rumors that their new sect master had arrived.
They hadn't expected… this.
The tallest, a gaunt young man with sharp eyes, stepped forward and cupped his fists.
"Disciple Zhang Gui greets Sect Master. We… we welcome you humbly to Bai Sheng Sect."
His tone suggested otherwise.
The second, a girl barely fifteen with huge eyes and a smudge of ink on her face, clutched a wooden sword. "I drew a picture of you in advance! You don't look anything like it."
Bai Fan smiled. "You'll get used to disappointment."
The third disciple, veiled and silent, said nothing. She just kept her eyes on him, a hint of judgment in her gaze.
"Disciples: Three. Morale: Low. Resources: Lower.
Reputation: Nonexistent. Chicken: Hostile."
Heliox Core Online.
A voice flickered in his mind. Calm. Elegant. Male.
"Administrator Alpha. Local qi density is insufficient. Recommend relocating or ruling over a better region."
Administrator Alpha? he thought.
"Name assigned due to lack of system permissions. You are currently the highest authority in this body. Until death, at least."
"Cheerful thing, aren't you," Bai Fan muttered aloud.
The disciples glanced at each other.
"I mean… encouraging," he added with a radiant smile.
He turned toward the courtyard entrance. Just beyond the gate, figures gathered. Twenty or so people — mostly youths dressed in garish outfits, bright colors clashing horribly. Some wielded swords, others had glowing HUDs over their eyes. They weren't cultivators.
They were players.
One of them was already streaming, a floating jade camera stone orbiting him.
[[Live] CultivatorStream: GodHunter69]
[Title: "Roasting NPC Sect Leader – Another Trash Sect?"]
Bai Fan could hear the idiot speaking.
"And here we are, guys — Bai Sheng Sect. The worst-rated NPC sect in the game! Let's see what happens when we trigger their 'Join as Disciple' script. Probably some emotional cutscene—"
He stepped into the courtyard.
The camera orb zoomed in. Viewers jumped.
[comment] Yo who's that??
[comment] That NPC looks bugged af
[comment] Is he barefoot??
[comment] Bro's walking like he owns the place lol
GodHunter69 swaggered up, raising his sword.
"Yo, trash sect master. Trigger the dialogue box and give me your weakest technique."
Bai Fan tilted his head. "What's your name?"
"GodHunter69. Top 500 leaderboard. Maybe you've heard of—"
Crack.
He didn't finish the sentence. Bai Fan's slap hit him so fast the camera didn't register it until the guy was already airborne, spinning three times before landing in a pile of horse dung beside the stables.
Silence.
Then:
[comment] AYYOOO
[comment] Wtf that wasn't an animation
[comment] Bro just got deleted
[comment] NPC just hit him like a human
Bai Fan turned to the camera and smiled. "Hello, stream."
He reached out and plucked the jade orb from the air.
[Hijack Stream? Y/N]
Heliox Core suggests: Yes.
"Why not," Bai Fan said, pressing the floating glyph. The camera flared.
Now he was the streamer.
He held the orb at arm's length, capturing the broken body of GodHunter69 in the background.
"This is the Bai Sheng Sect," he said calmly. "We are a humble sect with few disciples. But we have a strict rule."
He paused.
"No morons allowed."
He tossed the orb into the air.
It floated, stabilized, and broadcast the image of Bai Fan turning his back on the crowd with the elegance of a sleeping emperor.
Behind him, the chicken leapt onto GodHunter69's chest and began pecking his face.
[comment] NPC Sect is goated
[comment] I swear he just hijacked the feed
[comment] I thought he was a background character
[comment] I would kneel for that slap. Clip it. CLIP IT.
Inside the sect, his disciples watched in awe.
"Did you see the way he moved?" whispered Zhang Gui. "Like a ghost with debt collection energy…"
Li Mu'er hugged her chicken. "Sect Master's voice is nice. Like tea that bites you."
The veiled girl said nothing, but her hands trembled slightly.
Later that night, Bai Fan sat atop the stone platform, staring at the stars.
"Your performance has gained traction. External Soul viewership increased by 320%.
You are now flagged as a mid-tier encounter."
"Good," Bai Fan whispered. "Let them watch."
The wind rustled through the sect ruins. Chickens clucked softly.
Far from the outer reaches of Qian Xuan Realm, in towers of glass and fire, guilds and clans were already discussing him.
They'd seen the slap.
They'd seen the smile.
And they'd made a fatal mistake:
They thought he was just a lucky NPC.