Chapter 6: Protagonist Template!
Facing the wooden sword pressed against his throat, Li Xingtian immediately gave in. After all, in his previous life at the sect, he had yielded countless times. He raised both hands high and said, "I'm not, I don't know the people you're talking about."
Li Yingling's gaze tightened as she said coldly, "Then what are you doing here?"
Li Xingtian's mind raced, thinking of an excuse to muddle through. But from the direction of the temple came a faint voice.
"It must be that our sect's fame has spread far and wide, and this young talent has come to join us, right?"
Li Xingtian turned his head and saw a handsome young man in a worn-out Daoist robe leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with a smile.
Li Yingling was speechless. "Master, I think… that's not very likely."
If she still didn't understand what kind of reputation their so-called sect had, she would truly be a fool. Her master's cultivation might be decent, but even if he couldn't dominate the entire Xuanwu Nation, his identity was mysterious, and no one knew where he got those top-level cultivation arts.
But to say their name was famous enough to attract disciples—pure nonsense.
Chu Xingchen walked over slowly, carefully sizing up the young man before him.
Short hair, a bit thin, yet though a sword was pointed at his throat, his gaze remained calm.
He glanced at the system.
[Target: Li Xingtian]
[Cultivation: Second Layer of Qi Refining]
[Golden Trait: Reincarnator]
[Purple Trait: Ruthless and Decisive]
[Blue Trait: Loyal and Righteous]
[Meets Disciple Acceptance Conditions]
Just moments ago, the system had notified him that someone nearby met the conditions for taking as a disciple.
With a sweep of his divine sense, he discovered that Li Yingling had already caught the person.
Chu Xingchen clicked his tongue in wonder.
Good heavens—a reincarnator! This was clearly the protagonist template.
Especially that "Loyal and Righteous" trait—it screamed "future favorite disciple." What a pity he was male.
A disciple delivered straight to his doorstep; no matter what, he couldn't let him slip away.
Li Xingtian was startled by Chu Xingchen's penetrating gaze. He hadn't expected that the one to come wasn't the protector but the master himself.
Taking a deep breath, he asked cautiously, "May I ask, senior, which sect you belong to?"
At this question, Li Yingling also looked curiously toward Chu Xingchen.
She didn't know either. Every time she asked, her master would brush her off and never answer directly.
In truth, this question had puzzled not only Li Yingling but Chu Xingchen himself for quite some time.
As someone afflicted with a chronic naming problem, he had long wanted a name that sounded both meaningful and elegant.
Now, seeing Li Xingtian's puzzled look, Chu Xingchen knew he had to say something—otherwise, this prospective disciple might just run off.
He looked up at the sky, then said leisurely, "Our sect is called the Heavenly Dao Alliance."
Heavenly Dao Alliance? Li Xingtian's pupils contracted. To dare use the name of the Heavenly Dao itself?!
So it was his own vision that had been too narrow before.
He had long heard that in the Central State there were many hidden immortal sects. It seemed these two were likely from one of them.
Li Xingtian quickly cupped his hands and said, "I was only passing by, with no intent to intrude—"
Chu Xingchen immediately raised his hand to interrupt, narrowing his eyes as if sensing something.
"There's a trace of karma on you. This is… time?"
Hearing that, Li Xingtian's heart pounded wildly. He dared not even lift his head to meet Chu Xingchen's gaze.
This man could see through the karma of time itself?!
What kind of cultivation was this? Divine Transformation or Tribulation Crossing?
That such a powerful figure could appear in a remote corner of the Southern Continent?
Could he also have come for the Bone Jade?
But in his previous life, he had obtained the Bone Jade himself—meaning this senior must not have found it then!
What Bone Jade was he even thinking about now? Was this the time to still care about that?
This man had already seen through his temporal karma. Wait—did he know he was a reincarnator? Could this expert be planning to capture him for research?
While Li Xingtian's mind raced in panic, someone else was also racking his brains, trying to come up with a way to fool the reincarnator before him.
After a while, Chu Xingchen finally spoke in a calm voice, "Boy, the great karma you carry is not something easily defined as good or bad."
Li Xingtian was startled. It seemed this senior was trying to warn him about something, and he quickly asked, "Senior, what do you mean by that?"
Chu Xingchen said in a deliberately profound tone, "Time is a current, a great tide, a law. To go against the flow is to either shatter to dust or rise to eternal fame."
Li Xingtian took a deep breath, seemingly understanding Chu Xingchen's hidden meaning, and replied firmly, "Whether I shatter or rise to fame, I now know what I must do in this life."
Nodding in satisfaction, Chu Xingchen revealed a look that said, "Good lad, I like your spirit," and added, "Cultivation itself is an act against the heavens."
Chu Xingchen hesitated briefly, then sighed. "Forget it. You and I share some fate. Are you willing to become my disciple?"
Li Xingtian was stunned, staring at Chu Xingchen in disbelief, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Chu Xingchen naturally saw through his worries—it was nothing more than fear that this might be a trap.
Since Li Xingtian was a reincarnator and his current cultivation was only at the Second Layer of Qi Refining, with his feet bloodied from walking, it was clear that something inside this ruined temple was of great importance to him.
And what could that be? Obviously, it was his greatest opportunity, his destined treasure for turning his fate around.
Seeing through Li Xingtian's thoughts, Chu Xingchen smirked. "You still underestimate the people of this world. What you consider a supreme treasure, to us, is something dispensable. Go inside and claim your destined chance."
Li Xingtian's secret was instantly exposed. Shocked, he looked at Chu Xingchen in disbelief.
Chu Xingchen maintained his lofty demeanor. "It's a pity that your vision is too short-sighted. You don't even know what true fortune is."
Li Xingtian struggled inwardly, but finally cupped his fists and said, "Thank you for your generosity, senior. However, I'm not used to the restrictions of a sect. I hope you can forgive me."
Chu Xingchen silently shook his head, turning aside without another glance.
"Yingling, let him go."
Although Li Yingling had no idea what her master was pretending at, nor what the two had been mysteriously discussing, when it came time to give her master face, she did so without hesitation.
She sheathed her wooden sword and respectfully bowed to Chu Xingchen. "Yes, Master."
At the same time, she secretly winked at Chu Xingchen from a side angle where Li Xingtian couldn't see, signaling that she was being obedient.
Chu Xingchen nodded in satisfaction.
Li Xingtian bowed once more in thanks, then climbed the small slope again without daring to look back, stepping into the temple.
The temple now bore many signs of life, quite different from when he had first come.
Even the wooden planks under the statue platform had been completely removed.
Li Xingtian's heart skipped a beat. He hurried to the statue and reached down to touch the floor—but the small stone from his memory was gone.
What was going on?
Did the senior take it? But with his calm tone and profound cultivation, if he truly wanted to seize something, he could have done so easily. There was no need to deceive him.
Then where did it go?
"You're looking for that thing? I used it to prop up a table leg," came Chu Xingchen's voice from behind.
Li Xingtian didn't turn to look but followed Chu Xingchen's words, glancing toward the table corner.
There, his long-coveted Millennial Bone Jade was indeed wedged beneath the leg, serving as nothing more than a support.