Chapter 40: My Master... Is a Little Strange

Qin Xi and his companions had now reached the Great Thousand Sect, and when they beheld the environment of the sect, even the haughty Jiang Baiqiu could not help but be astonished.

Countless mountain peaks undulated like water ripples, layered upon one another without adhering to any known laws of physics. These peaks overlapped and intersected, as if a wild, cosmic painter had splashed them onto a canvas with reckless abandon. The silhouettes of the mountains shifted from clear to blurred depending on the viewing angle, appearing like a mirage. Whenever a breeze swept through, invisible ripples seemed to spread between the peaks, evoking a strange sense of spatial and temporal dislocation.

It was as if hundreds of mirrors had been pieced together into a massive polygon, with each mirror reflecting a unique, individual world.

Qin Xi rubbed his eyes, feeling that the sight before him resembled the fourth-dimensional space he had read about in the science fiction novels of his past life.

Wait... there was a more fitting analogy.

It looked like a security guard watching the monitors in a surveillance room.

Once that thought crossed his mind, the similarity between the scene and that mundane image instantly stripped away his sense of awe.

"Hahaha, marvelous, isn't it? Everyone has that same expression when they arrive at the Great Thousand Sect," the Third Elder said with a sense of pride. "The Great Thousand Sect is not like other sects that mark off land on the ground and divide themselves by mountain peaks. Instead, it is composed of countless 'small worlds' stitched together."

This was one of the reasons for the name "Great Thousand"—the profound nature of the Great Thousand Worlds was manifested here in its entirety within a single sect.

"This is all the work of the Book of Three Thousand Worlds. It uses an initial numerical value to derive and evolve, eventually opening up a brand-new small world. That is how every small world in the Great Thousand Sect came to be."

"As for you two, one will be under the care of the Fifth Elder, and the other under the Sixth. I shall send you to the Heavenly River Realm and the Azure Void Realm, respectively."

With a wave of his sleeves, the Third Elder sent Bu Weiwei and A-Ling floating upward. They drifted toward the "surveillance screens" and slowly merged into them.

"Qin Xi, let’s go on missions together in the future!" Bu Weiwei waved vigorously at Qin Xi before she vanished.

A-Ling simply cupped her hands in a salute; she was not one for words, and this was the only way she could express her sentiments.

Qin Xi returned a smile, though he knew his connection with this group of problem children would certainly not end here. As his companions found their respective masters, Qin Xi began to wonder: what kind of master would he end up with?

The Third Elder seemed to receive a telepathic transmission at that moment, nodding and murmuring to the air.

"Oh, you suggest having that young girl apprentice under A-Jiu? That is certainly possible. A-Jiu’s mastery of the sword is second only to the Sect Master; surely she can teach her well."

When the Third Elder received the next part of the transmission, his expression clearly wavered.

"You want this young man to apprentice under..."

He stopped, swallowed hard, and glanced back at Qin Xi with a complicated look in his eyes.

Qin Xi was bewildered. What was the meaning of that?

"Very well, then both of them shall go to the Youhuang Realm."

The Third Elder paused, looked at the small world before him, and nodded. "We have arrived."

"I do not know if you two are lucky or unfortunate, but since you are here, you must find peace in your circumstances. Work hard, and you will eventually succeed." Feeling that his tone had been too pessimistic, the Third Elder offered a final bit of encouragement.

"You two may enter now."

The Third Elder waved his sleeves again. Qin Xi felt the world spin, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself standing atop a mountain peak.

The mountain was densely forested, the canopy so thick it blocked out the light, much like the tropical rainforests he had seen on television in his previous life. If not for the flowing celestial energy and abundant spiritual aura, Qin Xi would have thought he had been dropped into a remote corner of the Amazon.

Jiang Baiqiu stood beside him, peering around with curiosity.

"Oh? So the golden boy and jade girl have finally arrived?"

A voice that sounded somewhat frivolous drifted over. Qin Xi followed the sound and spotted a female cultivator in emerald robes sitting on a tree branch, looking down at them from above.

"Little girl, I shall be your master from now on." The woman in green leaped down, her toes touching the ground lightly without making a sound.

Jiang Baiqiu looked the woman up and down, then shook her head. "No, I cannot have you as my master."

"Oh? Interesting." The woman in green was clearly taken aback, then let out a few laughs. "To think there is someone who would refuse their assigned master after joining the Great Thousand Sect?"

Perhaps this was what it meant to refuse a transfer.

Jiang Baiqiu clearly possessed her own pride and said with great confidence: "A teacher is fine, but a master is not. The only one who can be my master is the Confucian..."

Qin Xi immediately clamped his hand over Jiang Baiqiu’s mouth and asked, "May I ask who you are..."

"You may call me Fairy Four-Nine. As for my status, it’s not worth mentioning—I am the current Sect Master of the Great Thousand Sect," the woman in green said with a grin.

"You are the Sect Master!" Qin Xi was startled.

"Indeed. This is a direct appointment from the Sect Master, and this little girl still doesn't appreciate it. Interesting. I have decided to take you as my disciple." Fairy Four-Nine’s smile was brilliant. "If you don't want to call me Master, that’s fine. Call me whatever you like; I will use my charisma to make you willingly call me Master."

Jiang Baiqiu remained unconvinced. After all, she possessed the spiritual roots of a Confucian Sage—one of the greatest powerhouses of the ancient era. Asking a Confucian Sage’s spirit to apprentice under a mere sect leader felt like a waste of talent.

Of course, Qin Xi was not as stubborn as Jiang Baiqiu and asked humbly, "Then, Sect Master, may I ask about my own master..."

"Your master? Over there. Go find them yourself." Fairy Four-Nine pointed toward a cave dwelling in the distance.

The cave was hidden deep within the dense forest, shrouded in a hazy, ethereal mist, as if it were some sort of secret realm. It certainly had an air of mystery.

After thanking Fairy Four-Nine, Qin Xi began to walk slowly toward the location.

Ancient trees towered overhead, and sunlight filtered through the sparse branches, casting mottled shadows. Beneath his feet lay a thick carpet of fallen leaves. The gaps between the trees shifted from narrow to wide, creating a winding gallery. Although it did not look far, he soon learned the truth of the saying that one can see a mountain but run a horse to death; it took him nearly half an hour to reach it.

Amidst the interplay of light and shadow, Qin Xi arrived before the cave dwelling.

It was exactly as he had imagined—the kind of place where a terrifying boss would spawn, the sort of place where stepping inside would cause a health bar to appear on the screen.

But there was no helping it; the Sect Master wouldn't lie to him.

Qin Xi took a deep breath and gathered his courage to step inside. The path began narrow, barely wide enough for a person, and after walking a few dozen steps... it became even narrower.

After struggling through for a few more paces, Qin Xi finally saw a glimmer of light.

He was nervous. Could his master be some devilish tyrant sealed away by the Great Thousand Sect? Or was he merely a sacrifice to be offered to some Elder who needed human lives to extend their own? Had he been tricked? Did the Great Thousand Sect not intend to recruit disciples at all, but rather treat them as high-talent blood-nourishment for their own cultivation?

The more Qin Xi thought about it, the faster his heart raced.

Suddenly, a loud bang echoed.

"Boom!"

The sound made Qin Xi jump. Fortunately, Jiang Baiqiu was not far behind, so he could use his "Words of Power"! But would his "youth version" of the ability cause any damage to such a terrifying existence?

Just as Qin Xi reached the peak of his anxiety, a faint, weak voice drifted over.

"W-welcome..."

The surroundings suddenly brightened, and the previously gloomy cave became as illuminated as day.

A female cultivator with an unusually tall, statuesque frame and a very voluptuous chest appeared before him.

Large.

It is said that objects of great mass have strong gravity, and Qin Xi felt this to be true; his gaze was inevitably drawn downward by those surging assets.

No, this is not the time to be looking at that!

His better judgment finally took control, and he managed to avert his eyes. He felt a sense of relief that his lower self did not assert its own authority.

However, contrary to her appearance, the woman seemed afraid to speak to Qin Xi. Her eyes darted away, her shoulders were hunched, and she held her arms tightly across her chest, showing no aura of power at all.

She was a textbook example of a socially anxious, natural airhead.

"So... I will be your master from now on..." she gathered her courage and shouted with all her might: "Thank you for being willing to be my disciple! Thank you very much!"

Qin Xi didn't know what to say.

My master is socially anxious. What should I do? Waiting online, it's urgent.