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It seemed that upon discovering Pei Bufan feared “losing all his fur” more than “obliteration,” the System now always had “shaving” on the tip of its tongue whenever it wanted to threaten him. This angered Pei Bufan so much he really wanted to take a razor and shave the System, if that scammer1 b*st*rd had any fur…
Pei Bufan ground his teeth. The male lead joining Sword Immortal Valley was something written in the original novel. What was the point of this sudden mission??
Didn’t it know he was desperately trying to curry favor with the male lead right now? Was it trying to make him drag the male lead down the path of demonic cultivation?
Wait a minute! The System wanted him to join the Tianwu Sect, not the male lead…
It wanted him, a Firewood Cat that anyone could see would never gain intelligence, to go to the Tianwu Sect?
Was he going there to seek apprenticeship in cultivation, or to be kept as a pet?
He’d rather be raised by the male lead than by them! At least this golden thigh was thick!
Ziche Duanyuan, the owner of said thick thigh, poked the dazed Pei Bufan. It’s just joining Sword Immortal Valley, is it really that unacceptable?
Sensing the displeasure on the male lead’s face, Pei Bufan immediately jumped up. His tail curled around a brush and wrote: ‘Can I cultivate?’
Ziche Duanyuan was taken aback, thinking Pei Bufan was depressed because of his current identity. And Pei Bufan had every right to be depressed; anyone would be, going from a human to a Firewood Cat that couldn’t talk or turn back into a person. But a Firewood Cat seeking apprenticeship? The image was too beautiful; he couldn’t imagine it.2
“The Tianwu Sect is the only one among the seven major sects willing to accept yao cultivators, but…” Ziche Duanyuan trailed off, but ultimately decided to tell the truth. “Rare beasts can go, of course. But the requirement to enter the selection is the ability to transform into a human form, even if it’s only a half-human form.” The so-called half-human form referred to having beastly features on top of a human form, such as horns, a tail, or scales. Those who couldn’t transform were not even considered, let alone those who couldn’t speak. You couldn’t have guests from other sects come over and see a bear sweeping the floor, a cat serving tea, and a fox sitting in the host’s seat, could you? Is that a sect?? Or a zoo??
A bolt from the blue + a critical hit. Pei Bufan’s health bar was empty, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. (:зゝ∠)
So I’m destined to lose my fur this time…?
Do you have to be so cruel?!
Seemingly realizing that the difficulty of this mission was a bit high, the system spoke up: [You may collect the mission reward in advance].
Mission reward? Pei Bufan glanced at the mission log and saw that the reward was a Transformation Card.
Transformation Card: Can transform into any creature with any appearance. Duration: 24 hours. Usage time can be accumulated.
“What does ‘usage time can be accumulated’ mean?”
[If the first use is less than 24 hours before transforming back to your original form, the next use will start from the time the previous transformation stopped. Time spent in your original form is not counted.]
Good stuff!! System, you finally have a conscience!!
[Friendly Reminder: Collecting the mission reward in advance means that all subsequent missions to obtain this item *must* be completed! Otherwise…]
“I don’t care anymore!! There’s a penalty for not completing it anyway! I want the Transformation Card!! Give it to me now!!”
System: He didn’t even listen to the full explanation… Don’t blame me if you court death.3 After stuffing the Transformation Card into Pei Bufan’s inventory, the system immediately ‘went invisible,’ not wanting to see this idiot anymore.
Having obtained the card, Pei Bufan happily rolled around in the male lead’s arms.
Ziche Duanyuan: I just told him bad news, why is he so happy?? Did he go crazy from the shock?
Three days later, an elder from the most diligent You Ran Sect sent a visiting card. He arrived as scheduled, coming to the Ziche family as a guest under the pretext of having tea.
The current head of the Ziche family, Ziche Wenqing, welcomed the guest. Ziche Duanyuan’s father, Ziche Tianshi, and mother, Tang Yuan’er, were not at home, so only Ziche Duanyuan was present. In addition, there were many disciples from the Ziche family’s main and branch lineages, as well as promising talents like Zhong Yanqing who had been taken in by the Ziche family. Due to the large number of people at the banquet, a running buffet was set up in the courtyard outside the living room.
Before the banquet even began, everyone was already seated. A hearty laugh was heard from outside the gate. “Aii~~ The You Ran Sect handles matters leisurely, but this business of recruiting disciples is not leisurely at all~ This old man ran with all his might, yet I still wasn’t as fast as Perfected Xuran!!”
Due to his cultivation, Perfected Xuran showed no signs of old age. Instead, his face was like jade, his eyes as bright as stars, and his hair as black as ebony. He had the appearance of a scholar.
“So it’s Daoist Friend Xingyuan from the Zhanyan Pavilion. Don’t you dislike the sun and prefer to stargaze? It’s truly rare to see you here.” Hearing the other’s witty teasing, Perfected Xuran not only didn’t get angry but replied with a smile.
Xingyuan wore a slightly worn Daoist robe, had an ordinary face, and looked to be no more than thirty years old.
“I observed the celestial phenomena last night and discovered that a strange star has suddenly entered, changing the general trend of the world. I was curious and came to take a look.” Perfected Xingyuan greeted the Ziche family head and then unceremoniously found a seat, right across from Xuran.
Hearing the words “strange star,” both Ziche Duanyuan and Pei Bufan, who were standing behind their elders, frowned slightly.
“Oh? I wonder what this great trend is?” Perfected Xuran asked with a hint of curiosity.
“It cannot…”
“Cannot be said, right?” Xuran interrupted him with a laugh. “Actually, you just came to freeload. Who doesn’t know that you people have to look at the stars, then check the almanac, and finally burn a turtle shell before recruiting anyone, and then count the number of steps you take when crossing the threshold, and whether it’s your left or right foot. Why don’t you just count whether your hair is an odd or even number? Tsk tsk, by the time you leave, the sky will be dark.”
A few low chuckles came from the crowd.
Xingyuan’s eyes widened, and he slammed the table angrily. “You insolent whelp!!”
“Try a new line next time,” Xuran said, shaking his head. “I’ve already memorized that one.”
Xingyuan huffed and saw that there was wine. He immediately snatched it up and poured it into his mouth. He secretly glanced over and, while Xuran wasn’t looking, swiped the other’s wine as well.
Xuran shook his head helplessly again.
Pei Bufan’s whiskers twitched. When he wrote the novel, he did mention that these two were free-spirited individuals who didn’t care for formalities. But looking at them now, these hundred-year-old men, both at the elder level, were so disrespectful of their age! Especially that Xingyuan, a complete old rascal! Where was the immortal aura? Did they eat it all?
These two were truly the oddballs of the cultivation world.
Xuran had reached Foundation Establishment before he was even ten, a genius unrivaled for thousands of years. He became an elder of the You Ran Sect at thirty, and now, at just over a hundred years old, his cultivation had already entered the Integration stage,4 with ascension just around the corner. And although Perfected Xingyuan was also at the Integration stage, he was already over eight hundred years old. It wasn’t at all out of line for him to call Xuran a ‘stinky brat.’ This elder had also played a part in Xuran’s entry into the cultivation world. Although the two often bickered, their relationship was extremely good.
“Are you here to recruit a disciple?” Xingyuan asked, looking at Xuran. “Speaking of which, you don’t have a disciple yet, do you, kid?”
Xuran shook his head. “I am here to recruit, but not for myself.”
“Boring,” Xingyuan huffed.
Seeing that the two had finished their conversation, the Ziche family members came forward to greet them. They first introduced a few of their key members, and then the banquet began, with everyone eating and chatting. The dishes, fruits, and wine at the banquet were all imbued with spiritual qi, beneficial to cultivators.
“I heard the Ziche family has a child with a single spiritual root and excellent talent?” Xuran didn’t eat much, just held a cup of wine and sipped it from time to time.
“Yes,” Ziche Wenqing nodded. With a wave of his hand, he called over Ziche Duanyuan, who was sitting further back. “This is Ziche Duanyuan, my nephew. He has a single water spiritual root.”
When Ziche Duanyuan came out, everyone’s eyes focused on him, especially Ziche Liangxing, whose heart leaped into his throat. Brother, don’t say anything stupid!!
Ziche Duanyuan smiled, bowed his head, and greeted the two elders. He was the very model of a polite and well-mannered child.
Ziche Liangxing’s heart relaxed. At the same time, he looked with some confusion at the greatly changed Ziche Duanyuan, and the little black cat that had been by his side since who knows when.
Xuran nodded. He was not the same as the arrogant and domineering person from the rumors. Thinking about his spiritual root, he felt relieved. It wasn’t unheard of for rumors to be deliberately slanderous. Back then, the slander from those who were jealous of him was even worse.
Xingyuan’s attitude was different from Xuran’s. His eyes gleamed as he looked at Ziche Duanyuan, then glanced at the black cat, Pei Bufan. Finally, his eyes fixed tightly on the black cat, staring so hard it almost made his fur stand on end.
Could it be, I’ve been discovered?!
********
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Reika’s Notes:
- This text was translated by Kotori Translates, and given to BC Novels to publish.
- I helped with the footnotes, formatting, grammar, etc., the usual stuff that is needed to post this on the website.
- Please let me know if there are any errors. Thanks for reading!
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- 坑爹 – to cheat on someone
- This is a sarcastic internet phrase. “The image is too beautiful I can’t look” (画面太美我不敢看, huàmiàn tài měi wǒ bù gǎn kàn) is used to describe something that is so cringeworthy, awkward, or bizarre that one can’t bear to witness it.
- The original phrase is 自己作死 (zìjǐ zuòsǐ), a very popular internet slang term that literally means “to make death for oneself.” It refers to someone who brings trouble upon themselves through their own foolish actions, akin to “digging your own grave” or “you have no one to blame but yourself.”
- 合体期 – a very high level of cultivation, far beyond Nascent Soul. It’s one of the final stages before ascending to immortality.