"From this day forth, you are the Sect Master of the Azure Firmament Sect. Take good care of your junior brothers and sisters."
Former Sect Master Lin Xunfeng of the Azure Firmament Sect left these words behind and then departed without a backward glance. With his back to his disciples, his face, which looked to be only in his early thirties, was set with grim determination.
As he made his way down the mountain path, Lin Xunfeng's cyan robes fluttered gently in the wind, the very picture of a wandering cultivator's effortless grace.
It was dusk. The setting sun painted the sky in hues of crimson, and the distant mountain ridges seemed traced with lines of fire. Its farewell was a thing of poignant beauty.
Standing before the sect's gates, Li Qingqiu's face was a mask of indignation. He had exhausted every argument, every plea, but his master was adamant about leaving, obsessed with seeking out the immortals.
As the senior disciple of the Azure Firmament Sect, Li Qingqiu was only sixteen. His six junior siblings were even younger, the youngest barely ten.
Being left to raise them on his own? Wasn't this just ruining his life?
He wanted to roam the world with a sword, living a life of unrestrained freedom. He'd had his fill of this boring, idle life on the mountain. He even found himself longing for his past life, for the days spent aggressively grinding through shooter games at home, then collapsing onto the sofa to scroll through short videos when he got tired.
"Master, if I run the Azure Firmament Sect into the ground, don't blame me!"
Li Qingqiu's voice rang out, youthful and slightly petulant, echoing through the mountains. Lin Xunfeng, who had already reached the edge of the woods, merely raised a hand in a casual wave without turning around.
A small hand reached from behind, tugging at Li Qingqiu's sleeve. He turned his head to find ten-year-old Li Sijin, his youngest junior sister, looking up at him timidly. "Senior Brother, will you abandon us too?"
The fire in Li Qingqiu's heart instantly subsided. His gaze swept over the others. Apart from his annoyingly contrary third junior brother, Jiang Zhaoxia, the other five junior siblings were watching him with expressions of nervousness or worry.
He felt the heavy, undeniable weight of responsibility.
But this wasn't the transmigrator life I asked for!
Just then, lines of text suddenly materialized before Li Qingqiu's eyes:
[You have become a Sect Master for the first time. The Daoist Legacy has been activated. Beginning scan of the Azure Firmament Sect.]
[Scan successful. Beginning evaluation of the Azure Firmament Sect.]
[Evaluation successful. Rank: Unranked.]
[As this is your first time becoming a Sect Master, you have received one Destiny Selection opportunity and one Legacy Inheritance opportunity.]
Staring at the text, Li Qingqiu froze, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. But even after rubbing them, the words remained suspended in his vision.
He glanced at the other disciples. None of his junior brothers or sisters seemed to notice anything.
Could it be... his cheat code was finally kicking in?
His heartbeat quickened. He wondered how to temporarily hide the prompts, and the moment the thought crossed his mind, the text vanished. When he wanted to see them again, they reappeared instantly.
This confirmed it for him. He wasn't hallucinating.
Having lived two lives, Li Qingqiu's mentality was far beyond that of a typical sixteen-year-old. He immediately spoke up. "That was just anger talking, what I said to Master. If he wants to leave, let him. From now on, we have only each other."
Hearing this, his junior siblings' faces lit up with smiles. They were actually more dependent on Li Qingqiu than on Lin Xunfeng. Lin Xunfeng was always away, leaving Li Qingqiu in charge of the Azure Firmament Sect most of the time. Aside from the third disciple, Jiang Zhaoxia, the others always clung to Li Qingqiu.
After spending a good while comforting them, Li Qingqiu was eager to get back to his room and thoroughly investigate this "Daoist Legacy" prompt.
"Yuchun, you make dinner. Dongyue, keep an eye on Man'er, Sifeng, and Sijin."
Having rapidly assigned the tasks, Li Qingqiu turned and headed back into the inner courtyard.
The Azure Firmament Sect might sound impressive, but in reality, it had only eight members. As of today, that number was seven. The sect grounds consisted of just three small courtyards: one where Lin Xunfeng trained, one where the disciples lived, and one used for storing odds and ends.
As the senior disciple, Li Qingqiu had a room to himself, a fact that made his junior siblings quite envious.
Sitting on his bed, Li Qingqiu wondered how to check this "Legacy." Immediately, a translucent panel materialized before him, filled with lines of text:
[Sect: Azure Firmament Sect (Rename available)]
[Sect Master: Li Qingqiu]
[Number of Disciples (Click for details): 7]
[Rank: Unranked (Click for development details)]
[Protective Grand Formation: None]
[Guardian Divine Beast: None]
[Available Destiny Selections: 1]
[Available Inheritance Rewards: 1]
...
Looking at the panel, Li Qingqiu felt a strong sense of deja vu, like he was playing a game. Come to think of it, in his past life, he'd enjoyed playing some xianxia mobile games. This sparked a deep interest in the Daoist Legacy.
He mentally "clicked" on the disciple count. The panel shifted, displaying seven portraits, each with a name beside it, including his own.
They were arranged by seniority: Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, Wu Man'er, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin.
All seven were orphans their master Lin Xunfeng had brought down from the mountain. Their backgrounds varied, and Lin Xunfeng never discussed them. However, having been conscious since birth in this life, Li Qingqiu knew his own origins.
Even with Lin Xunfeng gone, he had no intention of seeking out his birth parents. In his heart, that familial tie was already severed.
Li Qingqiu focused his attention on Zhang Yuchun's portrait. Instantly, Zhang Yuchun's information appeared:
[Name: Zhang Yuchun]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 15]
[Loyalty (Sect Master/Sect): 89/23 (Max 100)]
[Cultivation Aptitude: Mediocre]
[Comprehension: Fair]
[Destiny: Administrative Prodigy, Forbearing]
...
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. His second junior brother's loyalty to him was 89, but to the sect, it was only 23?
Did that mean Zhang Yuchun was likely to leave the Azure Firmament Sect when he grew up?
He focused on Zhang Yuchun's Destinies. Detailed explanations for "Administrative Prodigy" and "Forbearing" popped up.
The explanations were straightforward. "Administrative Prodigy" meant he had a natural gift for management and internal affairs. "Forbearing" meant he could endure hardships and provocations.
Li Qingqiu suddenly realized how powerful this Daoist Legacy was. With these attribute panels, he could see every disciple's natural talent, innate gifts, and loyalty. Managing people and training disciples would become much easier.
He then turned his attention to his third junior brother, Jiang Zhaoxia.
When they were younger, Jiang Zhaoxia had clung to him too, but for the past two years, he'd become incredibly rebellious, constantly opposing him, which irritated Li Qingqiu to no end.
However, Jiang Zhaoxia's loyalty score surprised him.
Jiang Zhaoxia's loyalty to him was a staggering 96, even higher than Zhang Yuchun's. His loyalty to the sect, though, was a mere 1 – he could betray them at any moment.
What's wrong with this kid?
He likes me this much, yet he's always picking fights with me?
Looking further, Li Qingqiu was delighted.
[Cultivation Aptitude: Excellent]
[Comprehension: Outstanding]
[Destiny: Sword Saint, Hidden Dragon of the Mortal Realm]
[Sword Saint: A natural-born sword cultivator, possessing unparalleled comprehension of the Sword Dao and absolute mastery over any blade.]
[Hidden Dragon of the Mortal Realm: Born from a troubled past, overcoming the calamities fated for him will allow him to transform into a soaring true dragon, his momentum and fortune becoming unstoppable.]
Holy crap!
That powerful?
Li Qingqiu suddenly understood why Jiang Zhaoxia had been so hostile these past two years. Two years ago, Lin Xunfeng had gifted him a treasured sword – the only sword in the entire Azure Firmament Sect, aside from Master's own. Back then, Jiang Zhaoxia had asked for it, and Li Qingqiu had refused.
He'd refused because he felt Jiang Zhaoxia, only twelve at the time, couldn't handle it. Giving a sharp blade to a young kid was just asking for trouble.
A Sword Saint encountering a sword and being denied it? No wonder Jiang Zhaoxia held a grudge. If they weren't so close, Jiang Zhaoxia would probably have tried everything to get that sword.
Li Qingqiu's resentment towards Jiang Zhaoxia instantly evaporated, replaced by sympathy.
Third junior brother, this senior brother misunderstood you. It's okay, I'll definitely get you a fine sword in the future. Then you can shine for the Azure Firmament Sect.
Thanks to the Daoist Legacy, Li Qingqiu had already fully embraced his role as Sect Master, thinking about problems from a long-term perspective.
He continued checking. Li Dongyue, Wu Man'er, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin all had decent loyalty towards him, but the highest was still Jiang Zhaoxia. Their aptitude and comprehension were better than Zhang Yuchun's, but not as good as Jiang Zhaoxia's.
Their Destinies weren't as flashy as Jiang Zhaoxia's either, mostly just highlighting their personalities.
Wu Man'er did have one good Destiny: Mighty Thews, Elephantine Strength. The kid had always been freakishly strong for his age. His only drawback was his immaturity.
The only one who gave Li Qingqiu pause was his sixth junior brother, Li Sifeng.
Li Sifeng and his younger sister, Li Sijin, had been brought back together by Lin Xunfeng. They were biological siblings, with Li Sifeng being two years older. They hadn't originally been surnamed Li; Lin Xunfeng had given them Li Qingqiu's family name.
Now twelve, Li Sifeng was lively and mischievous. Li Qingqiu was quite fond of him, always including him in whatever fun he was having.
But Li Sifeng's Destiny tags were "Wolf's Heart" and "No Means Too Base."
These Destinies meant exactly what they sounded like. He was prone to nurturing wild ambition, never satisfied, and would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
If this kid ever set his sights on my position as Sect Master, would we end up as enemies?
Li Qingqiu looked at Li Sifeng's loyalty score and decided he was probably overthinking it.
Li Sifeng's loyalty to him was 92, and to the sect, only 40. He'd just need to be careful in the future.
After reviewing the attribute panels of all his junior brothers and sisters, Li Qingqiu felt the Azure Firmament Sect had real potential. His only regret was that he couldn't see his own cultivation aptitude and comprehension.
Jiang Zhaoxia could be trained as the main enforcer, Zhang Yuchun could handle management – the core civil and martial roles were covered.
He had to admit, Lin Xunfeng had a good eye for picking disciples. He'd wandered the mortal world and encountered countless orphans, but he'd only brought back these seven, which meant he was selective.
Lin Xunfeng had also taught them some basic martial arts over the years, though in Li Qingqiu's opinion, it was all pretty amateurish stuff.
Li Qingqiu continued exploring the sect's development details. There wasn't much to see there; the Azure Firmament Sect obviously had no real foundation to speak of.
He scrolled down to examine the Destiny Selection and Legacy Inheritance opportunities he'd been given.
[Destiny Selection: Allows you to select one Destiny from among the sect's disciples and replicate it as your own.]
[Inheritance Reward: Grants a random inheritance, which may include cultivation methods, spells, divine abilities, ultimate techniques, formations, miscellaneous arts, etc.]
Li Qingqiu was thrilled. Even though he had talented disciples now, he had nothing to teach them. How could the Azure Firmament Sect grow? Thankfully, the Daoist Legacy provided the inheritance.
With one Destiny Selection and one Inheritance Reward, he could finally get started.
Without hesitation, he clicked on Jiang Zhaoxia's portrait again, his gaze fixed on the Destinies displayed there.
Junior brother, your talent is immense. Now, it's mine too!