148 148. Jumping to Conclusions

"… When we arrive at our destination, I will establish a new, independent sect."

Han De's words produced a variety of reactions.

Treebeard and Liang Cuifen inwardly nodded. The former expected something like this, while the latter had no idea what a "Sect" was supposed to be. Both were ready to go with the flow on anything.

Jin Shu raised an eyebrow, then understood the opportunities that could be brought by creating a new sect.

Yao Qing inwardly questioned whether this was a good idea, but of course, she did not voice her concerns.

Yu Xian swallowed his sigh. Of course. Of course, a Nascent Soul 'expert' would end up creating a new sect! Of course! How could he not see this coming from a billion li away?

'This isn't a bad development for me...' Yu Xian thought. 'Whether they have heaven-defying constitutions or not, I will eventually leapfrog their cultivations. Once I ascend, having a connection to higher beings through Han De isn't the worse idea.'

Meanwhile, Ning Bi felt her blood boil! Her master was going to establish a new sect?!?

Immediately, she tried to control her expression and body language. She was in front of her master! How could she let her emotions run wild?! Ning Bi used all her being to suppress her excitement.

Unfortunately, she couldn't do a good enough job to hide it from Han De. A Nascent Soul master's hearing was in a different league! How could Han De miss her heartbeat going crazy? And there was also the fact that her eyes had started to glow…

'Heh, I thought she might like this…' Han De didn't suppress his smile as he glanced at Ning Bi, but he still restored his Profound Master A persona before he spoke. "The new sect will not accept disciples for some time. And even when we do, the selection process will be strict. Quality over quantity."

The Starfall Mountain sect also put quality over quantity. As the three original disciples knowingly nodded, Han De continued. "As my direct disciples, all of you will be elders. Whether you want to be involved with the sect matters, will be up to you."

As MCs, they had a high chance to disappear for long periods of time! A hidden realm, a cliff that leads to a forgotten dimension, or simply cultivating at the same spot for the next 500 years! Any kind of MC-like development was possible! Naturally, Han De had already started planning around these events!

"You will know more in the following days. Now…" Han De said while profoundly looking at the six disciples, then focused his attention on the first three.

"The greatest cultivators are those that maintain some grounding to the more… physical realities of the universe."

Though Han De paused for effect, he was also paying special attention to Liang Cuifen's heart rate. He had used a video game quote, but there was no reaction from the lie detector. Was he telling the truth? Even Han De didn't know!

'… Actually… I probably shouldn't take too many risks. Yeah… Let's do one-on-ones until I get a better idea of the lie detector's abilities…'

Unexpectedly, during that brief moment of hesitation, Yao Qing bowed!

'… Ok, that's one way to wrap it, I guess. Now I don't have to say anyt-'

Then both Jin Shu and Ning Bi followed suit.

Only one quote was enough to teach them… something. Originally Han De was trying to mention usual Xianxia skills such as concocting pills, arranging arrays, or even creating talismans. But this was good too. Probably.

Treebeard and Yu Xian too, bowed shortly after, much to Han De's surprise. Then, Liang Cuifen's heart rate went off.

'The F#$%, why does she look enlightened? S#$%, I forgot. Her comprehension is at 8…'

Han De responded to his disciples with an affirmative nod. And made an extra-special mental note to follow up on what the MCs actually understood.

"… This will be all for now." Han De concluded.

Six disciples bowed once again before leaving. Once they were finally outside the range of his spiritual and reality senses, Han De breathed a sigh of relief.

'F#$%... It's getting harder to pretend…'

He stood up and started aimlessly walking around to gather his thoughts. After his brush with heavenly tribulation, he felt he deserved a moment of peace and quiet.

There was no shortage of places to go inside the needlessly large palace. And by luck, he ended up encountering the same place where Long Yanmei tried(?) to seduce him.

'Should I be thankful that she's not around anymore? Technically speaking, I have a fiancée now…'

Thankfully, both Long Yanmei, and the 'fiancée' were far away.

Though Long Ruolan did agree to Han De's joking suggestion to cancel the engagement after a thousand-year waiting period, after talking to her clone, Han De was certain that he had much less time than that.

'Yeah, Long R-… my great-grandmother looks like a surprisingly sensible person. She is still a higher being though, so her perception of time should differ than mine. Old monsters would think a few hundred years is a pretty short time, right?'

Regardless, Han De still had a rather big window to handle the engagement subplot. And since the fiancée in question wasn't there, Han De thought he could safely shelve these concerns for the time being. He tentatively assumed that he wouldn't be able to see them for a couple of arcs at least!

'That leaves the System hunters from the Li family as the potential threat. That woman, Li Ling, isn't a higher being. If she is an MC, she could slip through the cracks and find me, anyway. Wait, didn't Old Peng mention an intelligence report from the Long family?'

Knowing his own tendencies, Han De had ignored the report until the disciple acceptance ceremony was over. If there was something abnormal in the report, he definitely would've been stressed out during the ceremony!

Fortunately, the trusty lackey's spiritual sense was nearby.

<Peng.>

<… Yes, young master.>

Han De felt the ripples from the power of space, and a worryingly thin jade slip appeared right in front of him. If he didn't know better, he would've thought the jade slip would shatter from his touch alone. To be on the safe side, Han De used his Qi to suspend it in the air, only then sent his spiritual sense inside.

'…'

The report not only included summaries about the Wen and Li families but all other so-called Primordial families as well.

'This is good, but I really don't care about Song, Tang, or Ji families. Who the F#$% are they? This stuff is completely useless to me-…

'…

'The F#$%?

'The Ji ancestor is trying to raise a descendant to possess him? And this is the 5th attempt?!'

According to the report, the odds of success were around 20% this time. If this one was to fail before the cycle ends, the Ji ancestor was expected to perish due to injuries he received in the last primordial era.

'S#$%... I should never let a Ji get near my disciples…'

Han De inadvertently looked at the other families. Apparently, the Song family was expendable (whatever that meant), and the Tang family was in the process of retreating after failing in their attempts to resurrect the brother of their ancestor.

'… Huh… What about the Wen and Li families? What about Shen's?'

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Shen Family: Expected to dissolve in the near future.

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Han De's eyes lit up! But then, he realized the crucial point.

'That's it? Nothing else? Expected to dissolve? How?! Is my great-great-grandmother going to make a move?! How will they dissolve?!'

Of course, no answer came to his questions. He knew: not much could be written on a report when the concerning party was a higher being. The Long family may be powerful, but Han De himself was still a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he wasn't in the Long family homeworld anymore. Perhaps this much caution was to be expected.

'Yeah, maybe if there was more info, cockroach's father could catch a whiff of me or something. Maybe it's better not to know too much…'

Han De swiftly went back to the report.

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Wen Family: Currently nurturing the next in line, Wen Jiayi, as she has the most promising poison roots in the last few hundred cycles. They will leave the Whispering Realms once she elevates her existence.

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'… Surprisingly normal… Suspiciously normal…'

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Li Family: Currently nurturing talents to alleviate the restrictions from their legacy.

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Han De frowned. The legacy? Clearly, that was somehow connected to the System. And they were trying to lift the restrictions of it?

'Wait, they aren't trying to lift it, but trying to alleviate some of it? Why the F#$% didn't she say anything then?' Han De remembered that her great-great-grandmother was an old monster. And naturally, old monsters' minds would work in mysterious ways. Did she purposefully forget? Or did she really think nothing of it?

Either could be the case!

Inevitably, Han De thought of the illusion he saw in the celestial ship baths. 'Could they be somehow related to my System? One of the cultivation idiot's previous incarnations clearly lived on that planet. If it wasn't them, then where did I get-'

Han De froze.

'Huh… I feel like I should've thought of this before. Clearly, there's a connection between the origins of my System and theirs…'

Was he really that stupid enough to not make this connection before? In fact, Han De realized, he never questioned the System's origins in the first place.

'… Huh…'

Was this caused by the System? Did he already go through these steps and simply forgot everything after the System's intervention? Was he going to forget this moment too?

While Han De was unsure of what was going to happen, he felt a stare, and instinctively looked at the horizon. Then, it felt as if something in him snapped!

[Remaining requirements for Primordial Chaos Dragon bloodline awakening fulfilled.]

[Primordial Chaos Dragon (Dormant)]

[Concentration: 1.91%]

Han De couldn't even concentrate on the System prompt. He felt inexplicable annoyance, and the aura from Heaven Defying Tyrannical Scripture stirred in response.

Then, as if it was all a dream, the stare went away. It was then, Han De felt the familiar heavenly pressure.

**Rumble**

Han De, felt the "clouds" coalesce. A strange familiarity was underlining his usual panic. But a thundering voice came from far away in response!

"Break."

Han De turned back and saw Yao Qing's glowing eyes, silently alternating her gaze between him and the direction where the stare originated.

Unlike before, Han De did not feel the presence of her bloodline. Whether that was due to the nature of heavenly pressure this time, or simply because she intuitively grasped how to use her bloodline after the first time, Han De did not know. He didn't, or rather, couldn't give it much thought either. The matters regarding MCs would always defy common sense anyway.

Yao Qing took a step closer and gave a formal salute. "Master."

Han De responded with a generic nod. He wasn't sure what had happened just now, and the ever-present voice of panic was becoming louder by the second. Two brushes with heavenly tribulation in a single day…

The first, he could understand. But why was there a second heavenly pressure just now?

'Should be just a coincidence, right? Nothing to worry about…'

Of course Han De didn't think that! Even if somehow it truly was a coincidence, he would still take precautions!

While he was considering if there was anything he could do, Yao Qing sent a voice transmission.

<Master, this disciple is here for junior disciple Yu Xian…>

'… Where did that come from? Did that Harem S#$% do something already?!'

The mention of Yu Xian caught Han De's attention and successfully pacified his heavenly tribulation anxiety. Temporarily. Very temporarily.

Yu Xian was a Harem MC, he had to take extra care of anything concerning him and his other disciples! He stared at Yao Qing to indicate her to continue.

'… Oh… So he didn't do anything. Yet…'

As Han De breathed an internal sigh of relief, Yao Qing continued.

'… I forgot Ning Bi had some type of Reality Sense built into her Breach skill. Oh well.'

While Han De was evaluating his emergency flow charts, Yao Qing was observing his every move!

Yao Qing had no doubts that her master had no interest in primordial artifacts. Such would be the temperament of higher void beings! And as if to confirm her suspicions, there was no change in her master's expression! Perhaps he already knew and didn't care!

However, even if he didn't care, the same could not be said for others! Yao Qing tried to find the right way to explain this. To make her master understand.

<Master, there are many ancient, and primordial organizations like the Grand Path Library that collect these primordial artifacts. There are many ways to detect such treasures. Even if junior brother did his best to hide it, he would not be able to fool everyone.>

'…' Han De consciously had to control his demeanor after hearing Yao Qing's voice transmission. Because he… felt emotional!

This regressor MC… seemed to be developing some sort of embryonic common sense! Was the world about to end?!

This was such an earth-shattering moment, Han De couldn't help but smile at her cautiousness! <Yes, I am aware of his little treasure.>

A tiny, unassuming nod of approval accompanied his voice transmission. Excessive theatrics had their time and place, but this wasn't one of them. Han De wanted his "approval" to be subtle so that he could gradually build up an innate sense of cautiousness through natural means!

Though he kept his acting simple, he still paid special attention to his wording. He was 'aware of his little treasure'. The ambiguousness of his phrasing was important to cast doubt over its source. He didn't 'know,' he was simply, aware.

Yao Qing nodded to herself. Just as she suspected! Her master did not care for that primordial treasure. Perhaps there wasn't a treasure within Whispering Realms that could even catch his attention. Now, she was almost certain that Han De from her previous life did not die. Perhaps the Long family fulfilled their objective and simply left.

Han De thought her reaction was a bit off, but he didn't mind it. If one of his disciples was showing cautiousness and common sense, the only thing he could do was support them!

There was also something else Han De noticed!

Though he was always wary of exposition, especially of the unsolicited kind, he naturally knew he could not avoid the inevitable. Not for long anyway. And this was going to be one of those moments.

Instead of using a templated expression, he casually asked. As if his question was the result of a random moment of curiosity.

<What is this Grand Path Library that you speak of?> Han De tentatively asked. Since Yao Qing mentioned this organization by name, and it involved not only her, but potentially his other disciples as well, Han De thought it would be a good idea to learn more.

The question though, caught Yao Qing off-guard. If it was before, when she thought her master was a primordial, she wouldn't have been surprised. But that was before. If her master was a higher void being in the making… then, Yao Qing needed to guide her master with great care!

<… In my time, the Grand Path Library collected everything related to the first primordial era. They are collectors and scholars… and do not hesitate to use brute force if they don't get their way. Primordial families tend to avoid them, while ancient families don't even know they exist.>

Han De showed a mildly satisfied expression to indicate this was enough. 'It's a secret organization? …Very MC-like.' If the primordial families avoided them, there was no need for him to dig deeper. The Long family was but a thought away if they messed with him.

Probably.

Yao Qing did not know whether her gamble worked, but she breathed a sigh of relief anyway. She did not know how the Long family would fare against the Grand Path Library, and she didn't want to find out. Even if they were fairly matched, the zealousness of the Grand Path Library could not be underestimated!

Finally, the regressor decided to quit while she was ahead. What if her master suddenly became interested in the Grand Path Library again? Even the thought of that made her anxious!

<This disciple won't disturb master any longer.> Yao Qing bowed deeply.

Han De made an "En" sound and profoundly looked away, toward the horizon. A moment later he could not passively detect Yao Qing's spiritual waves anymore.

'… How sensible… Dangerously sensible…'

An MC… with common sense? Was that possible? Would heavens allow such an existence?

Han De fell into deep thought. The superpower known as Common Sense had eluded his disciples thus far. Jin Shu had even upgraded her ex-fiancé's MC status because of that! This development from Yao Qing, gave Han De hope.

'Yes, not just my disciples, but the new sect should be very attuned to Xianxia common sense. No need to create layered sect structures as heat sinks. Maybe one sect could be enough…'

Han De immediately made a new common-sense index of his disciples then cross-referenced it with their death-seeking index.

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Common Sense (SSS Best, FFF Worst)

Death Seeking (SSS Worst, FFF Best)

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Ning Bi

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Common Sense: D- (Xianxia enthusiast. Note: Check where her father learned those stories)

Death Seeking: B (Not accurate if there's a grudge, assume SSS if so)

Yao Qing

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Common Sense: B- (?????????)

Death Seeking: C (Probably adapted to her mid-level luck. Probably)

Jin Shu

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Common Sense: D+

Death Seeking: S (Tentative ranking, could be higher in reality)

Treebeard

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Common Sense: C+

Death Seeking: C (??? Note: Inherited from lackey days, need more observation)

Yu Xian

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Common Sense: FFF (Possibly lower due to prolonged harem exposure)

Death Seeking: A+ (Tentative ranking, in reality it could be higher than Jin Shu's)

Liang Cuifen

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Common Sense: B to D (Too early to tell due to her lie detector skill)

Death Seeking: Unknown (Too early to tell due to her lie detector skill)

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'… Let's not think about Ning Bi's ranking with a grudge. Yeah, let's improve the baseline first…'

Elevating the general Xianxia-common-sense of… well, anyone and everyone, was important. Of course, that wasn't possible in reality, so Han De would be beyond content with just improving his disciples. But he couldn't help but dream of a universe where everyone was aware… for a tiny moment, Han De dreamed.

And that, inevitably, brought Han De's thoughts back to the primordial families like Shen, Wen, and Li. What if they possessed that superpower? Wouldn't life become instantly easier?

In a surprising development, Han De's thoughts also started considering the System's possible connection with the Li family. Something that was staring at his face for a while now, yet he only became aware of it in the last 10 minutes!

'Clearly there's something, but considering I almost summoned yet another frickin' tribulation, it's probably best to… not think about it…?'

Did the System finally throw in the towel and stopped affecting his thoughts? There was no way of knowing, because naturally, there was no response from the System.

'Feels super wrong to leave things like this though. Maybe I should've absorbed that splinter or shard or whatever that Li Ling was carrying.'

Was the System's lack of action a result of his bloodline? Did it not care about pretenses now that the Primordial Whatever Bloodline could be activated?

Han De shook his head. 'Yeah, no. Unless it is literally my last hope, I'm not going to awaken anything until I'm certain my body can handle it.'

Han De forcefully turned his thoughts back to the intelligence report. His mind had never felt so fragmented. Somehow, soldiering on was like an instinctive defense mechanism. So he tried to focus on something else.

Now that his disciples were running around, he had to quickly establish a new sect. The matters of the System could wait.

'Yes, let's try out… not thinking about it! That should be fine, right?'

The last section of the report -that he just realized he didn't finish reading- was an addendum regarding Wen Jiayi and Li Ling.

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Wen Jiayi: Due to her mother's constitution, she inherited mutated poison roots and constitution. Expected to reach the 3rd step within a few thousand years.

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'That's… fast? Yeah, that should be fast. The 3rd step starts at the 13th realm, and she should be at the 7th. 6 major realms in a few thousand years, that's definitely MC-level progress.'

Still, regardless of the Long family's intentions, wasn't this report a huge breach of privacy? If this was about some random heir of a random ancient/primordial/heavenly family, Han De would not even blink. But this was about his fiancée.

'Maybe it's just the Long family trying to make her more appealing? What would cultivation idiot care about, if not cultivation?'

The section about the Wen family was over. Another familiar name came up next.

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Li Ling: Inheritor of the Grand Path Library that studies and collects primordial artifacts to research the restrictions of their legacy. Confirmed to have received the legacy of the Li family.

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The same thoughts and questions returned. 'They are collecting artifacts? To study the System? What do treasures have to do with the System? Can she assimilate items or something?'

Li Ling had the stereotypical assimilation System. Straightforward and potentially very OP. Inevitably, Han De's thoughts went back to the earlier information.

'They were trying to "alleviate" the restrictions, weren't they? Now why would they need to do that?...

'… Are they being screwed over by the System too?'

Han De couldn't help but smile for a moment. Unfortunately, he froze once he saw the single black chrysanthemum flower blooming just a few inches away from his feet.

The connection seemed suddenly obvious.

'… F#$% me, I really have to manage my thoughts from now on?!'

Ominous flower had appeared without warning, but the heavenly pressure was missing. A detail that Han De did not fail to notice! Then his mind focused on the Li family, not purposefully, but because he simply couldn't help it.

'Let's see… If I were to assume the worst, they must be collecting System fragments to alleviate the restrictions. Makes sense. Not something that I would do, but makes total sense for a normal functional individual in a Xianxia universe.

'But what if… Their overarching goal is to make the System leave?'

Han De wanted the same thing in the past. Though nowadays his thoughts on the matter changed, he could understand why someone else would want to get rid of an unknown entity that gave life-threatening tasks on a regular basis!

Not all System users would be MCs. Sometimes people would get a System through bad luck. What could they do with it if they lacked the necessary MC halo? Han De was the prime example! He wasn't an MC, yet he had a System. He was barely getting by, but most of that was thanks to his family! What would've happened if he wasn't in the sect when he got the first quest? He would've died, and the System would've hopped on to another poor soul and continued the process until it finally landed on a proper MC.

'… What if the Li family were doing experiments? What if they experimented on my past incarnation, and actually managed to transfer a System onto me? Then an unknown number of lives later, the System activated; or maybe the attack on my soul destroyed the Li family's seal or something?'

Was that even possible? Han De had no idea. But it certainly sounded Xianxia-plausible! Too plausible, in fact…

'… Let's… Let's not jump to conclusions… Feels too neat to be true.'

Making too many assumptions could only lead to one's death!

Another black chrysanthemum bloomed.

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