Chapter 1

“Senior, this is my gift to honor you as my master!”

The young man placed three rosewood boxes respectfully in front of Li Xuan.

“You’re mistaken; I’m not some hidden expert, and I don’t accept disciples. Take these back!”

Li Xuan said, appearing slightly exasperated.

The young man was named Xu Yan, a scion from a wealthy family in the prefecture city. His background was a source of envy to Li Xuan, who had transmigrated into this world. Unfortunately, Xu Yan wasn’t too bright and insisted on taking Li Xuan as his mentor, believing him to be a reclusive sage.

Li Xuan had been transported to this world for over a decade now. With no super system or cheats, and not being able to leave even the smallest village, what was worse was that he was now the only one left in this tiny village.

The small village was surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides. The only narrow path barely a few feet wide was the only way in and out. It was an ideal place for hermits’ dwellings. The ancestors of the village had moved here to avoid war and chaos.

Now, with no wars in the outside world, the younger generation in the village, unwilling to live an ordinary life in this little mountain village, started to venture out into the world.

The village was a hundred miles away from the nearest town, the journey fraught with danger. One would have to pass through a dense forest where fierce beasts and tigers would often surface.

Over the past decades, the population of the village continued to dwindle. By the time Li Xuan arrived, there were only a dozen households remaining, composed mostly of elders.

Including Li Xuan, there were only five strong young men left in the village. All of them, including Li Xuan, were dissatisfied with the village life and yearned for the city. But the journey was dangerous, especially through the thirty miles of the Deadly Woods, which was inhabited by ferocious tigers and beasts. Several young men who had left the village had died in the forest.

One day, ten years ago, a villager who had left to wander came back. He wanted to take his mother to live in the city and claimed to have learned the skill to kill tigers, fearlessly facing the beasts in the Deadly Woods.

So Li Xuan and a few other young men decided to join him on his journey.

The Deadly Woods, although roamed by fierce beasts, could be crossed safely with good luck, avoiding any encounters with the animals.

Luck wasn’t on Li Xuan’s side.

A spot-striped tiger appeared.

The man who had claimed to have learned how to kill tigers grabbed his sharp knife, roared loudly, and rushed forward in a sliding tackle…

Only Li Xuan escaped unscathed, returning to the small mountain village. He always believed that his survival was due to him noticing the sliding tackle and promptly deciding to run.

That skill of killing a tiger was utterly unreliable, leading him straight into the tiger’s mouth!

After this incident, Li Xuan was the only able-bodied man left in the village. The older residents, having lost their loved ones, passed away one by one over the next decade, until half a month ago, when Li Xuan bid goodbye to the last old person in the village.

Looking at the empty mountain village where he was the only one left, Li Xuan felt a surge of grief and anger. Other transmigrators either rose against the struggles or had extraordinary backgrounds.

And him?

He couldn’t even get out of a tiny mountain village!

Without any system or cheats, there was a good chance he would die alone in this tiny mountain village.

“Ah, I thought I could be the protagonist of an online novel, using Longsword to travel thousands of miles, slaying demons across the world, becoming a saint, and looking down upon the world. Clearly, I was thinking too much.”

Li Xuan sighed inwardly and made a self-deprecating remark: “I can’t even get out of a small mountain village, and I’m still dreaming about traveling thousands of miles with Longsword? Ha!”

Because of these self-deprecating remarks, Xu Yan, who had somehow arrived in the tiny mountain village, heard the phrase “travel thousands of miles with Longsword” and mistook Li Xuan for a reclusive expert. He immediately knelt down, insisting on taking him as his master.

“Senior, I have finally found you. Please take me as your disciple and teach me your unmatched martial arts!”

“What?!”

Li Xuan was taken aback. He stared at the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, dressed extravagantly with a Longsword hanging from his waist, and felt somewhat dazed.

“I am Xu Yan from Donghe Prefecture. From a young age, I vowed to find the true Martial Arts. Today, I am fortunate to meet Senior. I beg you to accept me as your disciple. I am determined to practice diligently and will not betray the traditions passed down by you!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Looking at the young man with fanatical eyes, reverently kneeling, Li Xuan was dumbfounded. The first thought in his mind was: this kid’s brain might not be fully functional!

No matter how much Li Xuan denied that he was a hidden expert, nor how he denied understanding the cultivation methods of martial arts, Xu Yan refused to believe it and insisted on pledging his loyalty as a disciple. His fanaticism gave Li Xuan a headache.

“I’m not a hidden expert, nor do I understand the methods of martial arts cultivation. You got the wrong person. I am also looking for someone to teach me martial arts!”

“Impossible!”

Xu Yan looked resolute, and said, “Honoured elder, stop trying to deceive me, you are definitely a hidden expert!”

“Look at this place, surrounded by precipitous cliffs, with enchanting scenery. It’s clearly a recluse’s hiding spot. If you aren’t a hidden expert, why would you live here alone?”

“Elder, please accept me as your disciple, I promise never to let you down or waste your teachings!”

Xu Yan continued to kowtow, his eyes brimming with zeal and a determined look.

“I’m not a hidden expert, I have no method of cultivation, I do not take disciples, you’ve seriously got the wrong person…”

Li Xuan looked helpless. Just how stubborn was this kid? He had no idea how he’d gotten through the sinister forest to reach this small village.

Has he become irrevocably obsessed searching for a hidden expert?

“I understand!”

Xu Yan suddenly stood up, with an enlightened expression on his face.

“Becoming a disciple is a matter of great importance, how can it be rushed? I will go back and prepare a ceremonial gift for becoming your disciple!”

As Li Xuan stood there bewildered, Xu Yan ran off and quickly disappeared from sight.

Half a month passed by in the blink of an eye.

During this half month, Li Xuan had been full of regret for not seizing the opportunity to gather more information about the outside world from Xu Yan, or possibly even the chance to leave this small mountain village.

Who would have expected Xu Yan to return again?

and moreover, he brought a gift for becoming his disciple!

He’s completely determined to acknowledge him as his master!

No matter how much he denies it, he stubbornly thinks of him as a hidden expert.

Li Xuan didn’t want to deceive anyone, especially not someone with such an unusual background. He had no cheats or systems, he couldn’t even bear to think about what would happen if his lies were exposed.

So he rejected it again and again, denied it again and again, but Xu Yan was so inflexible, firmly believing that he was a hidden expert, and this belief was unshakeable!

“Honoured elder, here is three hundred taels of gold. I know that practical objects don’t catch an expert’s eyes, but a gift for becoming a disciple cannot be absent, this is my sincerity!”

Xu Yan opened one of the boxes, within which thirty gold bars were neatly arranged.

Li Xuan looked at the gold bars, swallowing his saliva, somewhat tempted, but in the end, he gritted his teeth and insisted, “I don’t take disciples! I’m also not a hidden expert, quickly take it back, I’m only a few years older than you!”

“Although the elder looks young, it must be because of your high cultivation that you maintain your youth!”

Xu Yan was still firmly convinced that he was a hidden expert, and opened the second box.

“This is a thousand-year-old ginseng treasured by my Xu Family, it’s my second ceremonial gift, I hope the elder will accept it!”

Li Xuan swallowed again, looking in the box at that root-complete, thousand-year-old ginseng that was already formed in a human shape, its faint scent of ginseng penetrated into his nostrils, and his whole being seemed to be invigorated.

A thousand-year-old ginseng was undoubtedly a rare luxury. The elder in the village once said that a hundred-year-old ginseng could extend the life of a dying person for three days, greatly increase vitality, and it had miraculous longevity effect.

With its amazing effects, a thousand-year-old ginseng must have even more divine power.

Li Xuan was somewhat tempted, but he gritted his teeth again and continued to say, “Take it back, I really am not a hidden expert and I do not have the method of cultivation!”

Xu Yan opened the third box: “Honoured Elder, this is a Nine Leaf Elixir, my third ceremonial gift!”

Nine Leaf Elixir!

Li Xuan found it difficult to look away. The village elder once said that the world’s most precious herb, the Nine Leaf Elixir, when taken, could make one immune to all diseases, mind clear and hair not turn white, and life can be extended by twenty years!

It’s a rarely seen treasure in the world!

Li Xuan looked at the box, the jade white colour, shape like a lingzhi mushroom, the stem growing nine purple leaves of the Nine Leaf Elixir. He took a deep breath, forced himself to look away, and sighed deeply pretending to be profound.

“Alright! Since you are able to come here, it must be fate. I will accept you as my disciple!”

He really couldn’t refuse because Xu Yan had given too much!