At dawn the next morning, Chiyun followed her usual routine.
Carrying a basin of warm water, she walked toward her senior brother's room to wake him and help him wash up.
Only to discover that he was already awake.
Not only awake—he was in the courtyard… dancing.
At least, that was what it looked like.
According to Suri, however, this was not dancing.
It was a "radio calisthenics routine" called "Seven-Colored Sunshine."
When Suri finally completed a full set of the strange, rhythmic movements, Chiyun stepped forward and handed him the tool he had personally invented—a curious object he called a "toothbrush"—already dabbed with fine salt.
After he finished brushing, she passed him a freshly wrung towel, its warmth perfectly tempered.
"Chiyun, you really don't have to do this for me anymore," Suri said as he accepted it.
He had grown so accustomed to being taken care of that it worried him. What if, one day, they accepted a new junior sister? What if that junior sister misunderstood and thought he was bullying Chiyun—forcing her to wait on him hand and foot?
That would be troublesome.
"No," Chiyun replied softly.
Pinching the towel between her slender fingers, she gently wiped the salt from the corner of Suri's mouth. The gesture was intimate—yet utterly natural to them.
"If Senior Brother does it himself, you'll think it troublesome and end up using cold well water to brush your teeth and wash your face."
Suri: "..."
Looking at Chiyun—so gentle, so quietly devoted—Suri truly couldn't understand it.
Why, in her golden destiny script, did it say she would ascend to the Dao while holding his head?
Was this damned system broken?
[Ding. This system reiterates: performance is flawless. Please refrain from slander.]
Suri: "..."
The moment he complained, the mechanical voice responded in his mind.
He chose to ignore it.
—
After breakfast, Chiyun hung the laundry to dry.
Half an hour later, Suri arrived at the outer grounds of the Qianling Holy Land—at a vast plain capable of holding hundreds of thousands.
The Ten-Year Grand Recruitment had not yet begun. The entire plain was sealed off by a curtain-like black formation, obscuring everything within.
Elders from every peak could only wait outside.
The tension in the air already smelled like gunpowder.
The Qianling Holy Land wasn't a singular, monolithic sect—it resembled a grand cultivation academy. Every peak and hall had its own specialization.
And today, each of them had come to recruit fresh blood.
Once the formation lifted, any promising disciple with good roots would spark a chaotic bidding war.
Of course, no matter how fiercely the elders fought, the final choice always rested with the new disciples.
"Entry permitted."
With the administrator's announcement, the black formation dissolved.
The instant it vanished, Suri felt gusts of wind rush past him—
Like a school cafeteria throwing open its doors at lunchtime.
Terrified, Suri instinctively grabbed Chiyun and hugged her tightly for emotional stability.
Chiyun blinked calmly.
Her soft, boneless hand gently rested over the large hand encircling her waist.
Around them, madness erupted.
"Young man! I see extraordinary bones—once-in-a-century martial genius! I possess a palm technique that descended from the heavens! Fate has brought us together—come with this old master!"
"Little brother, do you enjoy fencing? My Violet Qi Peak's swordplay ranks number one in Qianling Province! Care to learn with uncle?"
"Little sister, I'm from Orange Peak. Do you hate men?"
"You look exactly like my long-lost sister—unrelated by blood but bound by destiny! Come to Divine Fist Peak! In ten years, your inch-force will split the heavens!"
"You there! Join Lick-the-Hook Peak! Independent courtyard housing, complete bedding, and a complimentary 'Lick-to-Enlightenment Manual'! Remember our motto—prove the Dao through licking! Lick long enough and you'll have everything!"
"If heaven hadn't birthed you, little sister, the sword path would be an eternal night! Join Sword Hall! When we say sword, we mean a real sword!"
"Student! Do you like assassination? Infiltration? I am Ouhara, welcome to discuss the assassin's way."
The elders of Qianling Holy Land had already locked onto their chosen prey.
It truly felt less like a sect and more like a comprehensive university recruitment fair.
Departments competing for enrollment.
Naturally, friction was inevitable.
An elder from Ghostfire Hall started fighting an elder from Coffin-Carrying Corpse Hall over a boy.
The Gu-Insect elder and the Painting Peak elder were literally rolling on the ground over a girl.
Several others had descended into bare-knuckle brawls—no spells allowed—heads bloodied while someone nearby shouted, "Stop fighting! You're not even killing each other!"
Honestly, even Suri was shaken by the spectacle.
Chiyun glanced at her senior brother, awaiting his decision.
For her, whatever Senior Brother chose, she would follow.
"Chiyun, let's split up for now," Suri said. "We'll each look for promising seedlings, then meet back here."
"Mm."
She nodded and walked off in the opposite direction.
—
Once separated, Suri—dressed in white, elegant, devastatingly handsome—closed his eyes and activated the Script System.
When he opened them again, countless destiny scripts appeared before him in a spectrum of colors.
White. Blue. Green. Cyan. Red. Purple. Gold.
Seven tiers in total.
The color represented a person's fortune.
Ordinary mortals without spiritual roots were white. Only cultivators possessed colored scripts.
Since awakening the system, Suri had seen only one golden script—
Chiyun's.
He suspected the Holy Son and Holy Maiden of Qianling were probably gold as well.
As for his own script?
He couldn't see it at all.
Walking across the plain, Suri had to admit—the elders' eyes were sharp.
Almost every youth with a green script or above had already been claimed.
The rare purple scripts were being fought over with life-or-death intensity.
A few red scripts had slipped through the cracks…
But Suri wasn't interested.
They were all male.
Generally speaking, those with good cultivation talent and excellent roots rarely had poor fortune. Talent itself was a form of destiny.
"Looks like there won't be any opportunities," Suri murmured after a full incense stick of searching.
He wasn't disappointed. It was expected.
Finding hidden treasures wasn't easy.
Just as he turned to go look for Chiyun—
Something soft bumped into his stomach.
"Sorry."
Suri bent down to help the person up—
And then—
A blinding golden radiance exploded before his 24K titanium alloy eyes.
In his ears, he could almost hear the echo of an old card game announcer proclaiming victory.
Gold.
Legendary.