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Noticing Master Xingyuan’s gaze, Ziche Duanyuan tightened his hold on the cat, trying to hide it within his wide sleeves. Master Xingyuan chuckled, glanced at Ziche Duanyuan, and then his eyes went right back to staring at Pei Bufan.
Pei Bufan wished he could shrink his entire body into the male lead’s embrace. Master Xuran raised his wine cup, looked at Xingyuan, then glanced at Ziche Duanyuan before suddenly speaking up. “I wonder which sect young friend Duanyuan plans to join.”
“I have recently begun forging my life-bound sword, so I will be taking the path of a sword cultivator.” As soon as Ziche Duanyuan said this, the members of the Ziche family were all astonished. He was doing perfectly well on the path of a spell cultivator, so why the sudden switch to sword cultivation? There had been no sign of this before.
Master Xuran sighed. “A pity. I was originally thinking that if you were to join my Youran Sect, I would ask the Sect Master to let you study under me. What a pity~”
This declaration sent an even greater uproar through the crowd. Master Xuran’s cultivation level was extremely high, yet he had always been unwilling to take a single disciple; not even an appeal from the powerful Baili family could make him nod. Yet now he was taking the initiative to ask for Ziche Duanyuan, clearly intending to take him as a personal disciple. Could Ziche Duanyuan possibly refuse?
“It is indeed a great pity,” Ziche Duanyuan said with a smile. “I have long admired Master Xuran, but alas, it is not our fate.”
Everyone: He actually refused!!!
Hearing Duanyuan’s reply, Ziche Liangxing didn’t know whether to feel happy or worried. He was happy that Ziche Duanyuan had spoken tactfully and not caused more trouble, but worried that such a rare opportunity was being wasted. Yet he couldn’t just ask Master Xuran to take other members of the Ziche family instead. After all, the one he had offered to teach was Ziche Duanyuan. Would they present someone with less talent than him? Wouldn’t that be looking down on the Master? For a moment, his heart was a mess of conflicting emotions1.
Ziche Duanyuan’s polite refusal did not cause Master Xuran to hold a grudge. He had never liked taking disciples in the first place, and had only spoken up because Xingyuan’s intense focus on Ziche Duanyuan had piqued his interest. He had felt a bit of regret right after saying it, so Ziche Duanyuan’s refusal actually suited him just fine.
How could Master Xuran, who had never once given a proper look to the common cat in Ziche Duanyuan’s arms, possibly know that Master Xingyuan’s sparkling eyes were, in fact, fixed entirely on Pei Bufan?
Pei Bufan was about to cry: Dude, can you rein it in a little?! If gazes had heat, this lord would be scorched by now!!
It wasn’t just Master Xuran; some of the more perceptive people in the hall had noticed Master Xingyuan’s heavy interest in Ziche Duanyuan’s direction.
Looking at Master Xingyuan, whose eyes were getting brighter by the second, the Ziche family head, Ziche Wenqing, muttered to himself. Could it be that this master also wants to take a disciple? But the Divination Pavilion recruits disciples based entirely on ‘heaven’s will’ and always waits for the right moment, never participating in these large-scale recruitment events. When fate arrives, they just head out with their tortoise shells, copper coins, bamboo chopsticks, and a white canvas banner (wait, is something wrong here?) to go pick someone up from the outside world…
Heaven’s will is rare, and the right moment depends on fate. That was why the Divination Pavilion had the fewest members.
Just as everyone was feeling uneasy and watching Master Xingyuan, he finally spoke.
The first thing he said to Ziche Duanyuan was: “That cat in your arm – its fur is so glossy and bright.”
“Pfft!” Master Xuran lost his composure for a moment and sprayed out a mouthful of wine.
Master Xingyuan, who was sitting directly across from him, shot him a look of disdain and took half a step back.
Hearing Master Xingyuan’s words, Pei Bufan’s fur instantly stood on end. And because of that one sentence, everyone’s gaze focused on the cat in Ziche Duanyuan’s arms.
Ziche Wenqing spoke up, “I hadn’t even noticed. Duanyuan, where did you get that common cat?”
“I hatched it from a rare beast egg I bought.”
“It’s not very useful, just…” Before Ziche Wenqing could finish, Master Xingyuan cut in: “One hundred top-grade spirit stones. Sell it to me!”
The second half of Ziche Wenqing’s sentence -“throw it away”- was instantly stuck in his throat. One hundred top-grade spirit stones was enough to buy a relatively common high-level spirit pet or a rare mid-level one. Yet Master Xingyuan was offering to buy a cat that could do nothing but act cute?
Was there something wrong with his eyes?
Of course, that was impossible. Anyone in this world could have bad judgment, but a member of the Divination Pavilion never could. This was especially true for their Great Elder, the man with the sharpest eyes in the world. In the Middle Realm, Master Xingyuan was renowned for his discerning eye2, the number one person when it came to understanding the secrets of heaven. Those small, squinted eyes of his might not look like much, but they could ‘see’ the future!
Therefore, anything he would offer to buy, especially for such a high price, could absolutely not be ordinary.
But that lumpy black thing trying to curl itself into a ball and burrow desperately into Ziche Duanyuan’s arms… no matter how you looked at it, it was just a common cat.
Master Xingyuan stared intently at Ziche Duanyuan. Ziche Duanyuan felt a little displeased. He had finally found a companion he truly liked, and now someone was coveting it…
“He is mine.” Ziche Duanyuan’s long fingers stroked down Pei Bufan’s back. The light touch sent a wave of goosebumps over Pei Bufan.
And yet, right now, he couldn’t complain about a single thing.
“Five hundred!” Master Xingyuan held up one hand. Without hesitation, Ziche Duanyuan shook his head.
“Ahem!” Master Xuran coughed forcefully and shot a look at Xingyuan. “If you’re here to buy a spirit pet, turn right when you go out. There’s a shop that sells spirit pet eggs.” Xingyuan kept his eyes locked on Ziche Duanyuan, realizing that the young man genuinely had no intention of giving the cat up and wasn’t just holding out for a higher price. He slumped into his chair, defeated, feeling a trace of anger and embarrassment at Xuran’s words. How could this one be the same as those others?! If this black kitty weren’t so incredibly special, would I, I, I really have come all this way to fight a junior for it?!
“Forget it.” Xingyuan shook his head and sighed. “Young friend Duanyuan, don’t take it to heart. I just get lonely sometimes, and seeing how adorable this cat is, I wanted it to keep me company. I meant nothing else by it.”
Everyone: Who the hell believes you!3
“Hehe, of course this junior doesn’t mind.” As if!4
“I recall the Ziche family has another child with a single spiritual root. I wonder who that might be,” Master Xuran said, clearing his throat to change the subject.
At the back of the crowd, Zhongyanqing’s eyes lit up. He slowly squeezed his way to the front. When Ziche Wenqing mentioned him, he immediately stepped forward and bowed his head to greet Master Xuran.
Master Xuran looked at Zhongyanqing and said a few pleasantries.
Even so, Ziche Wenqing was delighted and clapped Zhongyanqing on the shoulder, praising him loudly. “This child, Yanqing, has excellent aptitude. He possesses a single lightning spiritual root and is very insightful in his cultivation. He’s a good seedling. Don’t you agree, Liangxing?”
But Liangxing just nodded. “Mm, he is very diligent.” And nothing more.
The atmosphere unexpectedly turned cold again.
Ziche Duanyuan raised an eyebrow. In his past life, Ziche Liangxing had used a great deal of praise, lauding Zhongyanqing in front of Master Xuran, which had left an impression on the Master and led to Zhongyanqing being accepted as a disciple under another elder. But this life was already so different from the last. In his past life, his relationship with Zhongyanqing had already been established by this point. In his past life, he didn’t have this black cat in his arms, nor was there a visit from the Divination Pavilion…
Considering all that, Ziche Liangxing’s change in attitude toward Zhongyanqing wasn’t that big of a change after all.
Not receiving the praise he expected from Ziche Liangxing, Zhongyanqing was displeased, a flash of resentment crossing his eyes.
Noticing this change in Zhongyanqing’s expression, Master Xuran took a sip of wine and remained silent.
This child has no gratitude. He is the type to repay kindness with hatred.
But the Ziche family head had brought him here, in the hopes that he would take him into the Youran Sect. If he accepted disciples with dual or even triple spiritual roots from the Ziche family but rejected this one with a single spiritual root…
But accepting him… he really didn’t want to bring such a person back.
What a difficult situation…
He knew he shouldn’t have rushed over so quickly. It was all the Sect Master’s fault for insisting he get here ahead of everyone else to pick the best disciples. What’s the rush?5 Those who want to come will come, and you can’t beg those who don’t. It’s just the new disciple tournament after recruitment, it’s not like we’ve never lost before.
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Translator’s Notes:
- Master (真人 zhēnrén): A title for a powerful Daoist master or high-level cultivator in xianxia/wuxia stories.
- Life-bound Sword (本命剑 běnmìng jiàn): A sword spiritually linked to a sword cultivator. Its strength is tied to the cultivator’s own, and it’s a core part of their power.
- Spirit Stones (灵石 língshí): The standard magical currency in cultivation worlds. Top-grade spirit stones are extremely valuable.
- Single Spiritual Root (单灵根 dān línggēn): In this setting, having fewer types of spiritual roots means purer talent. A single spiritual root marks someone as a rare genius.
- Past Life (上辈子 shàngbèizi): Ziche Duanyuan’s internal monologue reveals he has memories of a previous timeline, a common trope (“rebirth” or “transmigration”) that gives him knowledge of future events and different character dynamics.
- Divination Pavilion (占验阁 Zhānyàn Gé): The name of Master Xingyuan’s sect, which specializes in prophecy, fate, and seeing the unseen. This is why his interest in a “common cat” is so significant.
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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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- 百味杂陈 – literally “a hundred flavors mixed and arrayed”
- 慧眼识珠 – literally “to recognize a pearl with a discerning eye”
- 谁特么的信你 – a piece of modern, informal slang. 特么的 (tème de) is a common, slightly censored online substitute for the curse 他妈的 (tāmāde). The whole phrase translates to “Who the hell believes you!” expressing total disbelief.
- 才怪 – common colloquialism used to sarcastically negate the previous statement. It functions exactly like saying “…not!” or “…as if!” at the end of a sentence.
- 急个毛 – an informal, coarse slang expression. Literally “Anxious for what hair?” 毛 (máo) is used here as a dismissive suffix. The phrase means “What’s the rush?” or “Why the hell are you in such a hurry?”