[The test result showed the Cultivator is now perfect, the System has no other teaching to offer, thus System disarmed. Goodbye.]

The mechanized voice left him dumbstruck, he staggered, “Damn it! Don’t, don’t disarm, yet!”

Li Nianfan yelled to the air, “I’m nowhere near perfect! Can you teach me a few more tricks? Or at least teach me how to attain godhood? System? System!”

No response.

“Are you really gone? At least bring me back to where I came from? Hello? Why’d you brought me here in the first place, if you’re to leave me alone now? System!” 

Li Nianfan pleaded in despair, still, no answer was made. 

“Screw you! Stupid System!” He swore at the System, angry and helpless. 

Five years ago, Li Nianfan was transmigrated here, bound with a system that had a funny-sounding name—the ‘Saint System’. At first, Li Nianfan believed he was on his way to the Immortal Cultivation, nevertheless, all this System had to offer was useless things such as language, maths, chemistry, physics, poem writing, and drawing.

Li Nianfan had no choice but to learn them all. He endured and persisted through, mastering all the teachings that the System had to offer. In return, he was awarded some cool titles including Saint Poem, Saint Art, Saint Chess, Saint Agriculture, etc.

And the System disarmed—

Well, these skills might have come in handy if he was back in the mortal realm, but now that he was in a foreign realm—which was likely to be the immortal realm—these skills did not seem very helpful at all! 

Sometimes, there were cultivators flying across the sky, there were also rumours of flesh-eating monsters in this realm, too. How would these skills help him survive in a realm like this? Unless he was to negotiate with the monsters. 

Out of fear, he picked a relatively hidden mountain to live a self-sufficient lifestyle. Although he was constantly in fear of being dragged into the fight of the immortals, he still held on to his faith, hoping that one day the System would guide him to cultivate immortality, and eventually fly into the sky freely as an immortal.

Little did he know, the System did not teach him any of these, but instead taught him unnecessary skills, then disappeared in a puff of smoke!

What a useless system!

To be fair, he did not actually want to depend on this system. Back when he first transmigrated to this realm, he looked for immortals, hoping to learn from them directly. Nonetheless, he was deemed to have no spiritual roots, meant to stay as a mortal being for the rest of his life. 

“Master, it’s lunchtime.” A robot walked out of the room and made an inviting gesture to Li Nianfan. 

“Oh,” he answered uninterestedly. 

Li Nianfan was not in the mood for lunch but went into the room anyway. This robot was awarded to him by the System when he mastered physics. In the beginning, he thought this was pretty cool, having a robot as his servant. As time went by, he realised the robot was as useful as the rubbish in this cultivating realm of immortals. 

Li Nianfan lived in a traditional four-part architecture, consisting of pavilions connected with small bridges above the running river. With the view of the mountains, it was comparable to a paradise. This architecture, like the robot, was rewarded to him when he mastered architecture. 

Indeed, most of his daily appliances were his rewards after he completed the tasks and and missions assigned by the System. In addition, he even earned the title of Saint farming, allowing him to provide his own daily meals. Therefore, he was self-sufficient even if he was to live in isolation, away from the outside world.

‘If worse comes to worst, it isn’t too bad to stay as a mortal for the rest of my life. At least the air is fresh and the view is good. These are already much better compared to the mortal realm I lived in. No job and no stress, it’s a pretty good deal to be fair,’ he consoled himself. 

‘The one thing I lack as of now is a girlfriend. I’m guessing all the immortal women must be beautiful, though they probably wouldn’t want to be with a mortal like myself.’ He shook his head as he returned to reality from his wistful day-dream. 

“Blackie, it’s lunchtime!” He yelled in the direction of his backyard. 

A dark-colored dog sprinted out from the yard, with his tongue sticking out. He looked at Li Nianfan expectantly waiting for the lunch to be served.

“You’re such a foodie.” Li Nianfan grinned while feeding the dog.

Blackie was only a small puppy, almost dying from hunger when Li Nianfan saw him. He decided to adopt Blackie and they have accompanied one another throughout the years. Li Nianfan grew fond of it as it was good and obedient. When Li practiced writing and drawing, Blackie would sit and observe quietly by his side, especially when he practiced piano which Blackie thoroughly enjoyed. Indeed, even a dog from the immortal realm was different!

At the same time, two ladies were walking up from the heel of the mountain. 

One of them was dressed in a white dress, pouting with her exquisitely tiny face. The beautiful young lady seemed unhappy but in an adorable way. 

As she walked in anger, she muttered bitterly, “Stupid Father Emperor! Bad Father Emperor! How dare him to even consider marrying me off to that disgusting douchebag! I won’t forgive him!”

Behind her, a young maid in a green dress followed hastily. “Princess, please don’t say that! If anyone hears us, we might as well be dead.” The servant trembled as she spoke, her face turned white in fear. 

“I’m about to be married off to Duan Muli, what else can I be afraid of?” the Princess grumbled, “If he insists on it, I’d rather be dead.”

Panicky, her maid knelt down, pleading in fear, “Princess, please don’t do that! Please don’t scare me.”

“Damn it! I’m just saying, I don’t wanna be dead,” the lady in white muttered, with a cheeky glint in her eyes. “Actually, I could find a place to hide away from Father Emperor, if he keeps insisting! This forest doesn’t seem too bad, let’s start looking right away!”

“Pfft, you scared me to death! Please, don’t say things like that again.” The young maid patted her chest as she stood up from the ground. She seized up their surroundings and shrunken her neck in fear. “There’s no one around in this desolate forest, there are probably some beats lurking around. It’s too dangerous, I think it’s better if we go home!”

“Duh, my Qi is almost condensed, and I’ll be able to break through to the next stage anytime now, why’d I be scared of beasts?” With that said, the Princess ran up the mountain excitedly.

“Princess, wait up!”

One running, and the other one chasing, it was not long before an antique-looking architecture came into view. It was covered in bushes, sitting peacefully below the floating white clouds in the sky. 

The young maid starred with her eyes widely opened. “There’s someone living in the forest?”

...“This is such a unique architecture—almost antique as if a place in painting is coming to life!” The Princess curiously looked at the four-part architecture in wonder. ...

The style of the architecture stood out from all the others she had come across. Although it was not as grand as the palace she lived in, this architecture exuded a sense of extraordinary, blending in with its landscape seamlessly. It was breathtaking. 

‘I might be mistaken but this architecture is not inferior to the palace, could it be that a hidden expert is living here?’ the Princess thought to herself. With a glint in her eyes, she jogged in excitement. “Come on, let’s check this out! Remember, don’t call me Princess, just call me Miss.” 

The young maid was worried, yelling from behind, “Princess, be careful!”

The Princess arrived at the front yard, seizing in the surroundings with curiosity. There was a small vegetable garden, a wicker chair, and a stone table with four stone stools.

...  ...

The layout was simple and ordinary. 

“Hello, is anyone home?” The Princess shouted at the door. 

Click!

The door was opened.

Li Nianfan peaked from the door, this was the first time in five years that a visitor ever showed up at his door. His eyes glinted in awe when he saw a beautiful lady standing at his door.

‘Could this be god answering my prayer? I asked for a girlfriend and now He’s sending me one?’ He quickly shook off his thoughts. 

The lady exuded an ethereal sense of Qi and she seemed to be a cultivator. With her elegant manner and outlook, she was likely to be of a noble family. How would she ever want to be in a relationship with Li Nianfan?

At the same time, the Princess was sizing up Li Nianfan as he did to her. A hint of disappointment flashed through her eyes when she found out he was just an ordinary man. She was expecting to meet a hidden expert who could help her to solve the difficult situations she was facing at the moment. 

Nevertheless, since she was already here, she said in a natural and poised tone, “Nice to meet you, I’m Luo Shiyu. May I come in?”

“Of course you may.” Li opened the door and made way for her to enter. 

He had no reasons to reject this cultivator, who was also a beautiful looking lady. After all, it was nice to make some friends. 

“Thank you.” Luo Shiyu entered the house with her maid. 

Upon entering, a cobblestone path led to the inner court. Across the path was filled with different varieties of plants and colourful flowers, releasing an intoxicating fragrance. It was pleasing to the eyes and senses. In the middle of the courtyard stood a beautiful pavilion surrounded by the living room and bedrooms. 

Luo Shiyu felt a surge of serene peacefulness the moment she set foot in the courtyard, as if the yard had some kind of mysterious power to calm the souls.

The robot walked out from the room, welcoming the guests in a friendly tone, “Welcome to the house.”

Shocked, the young maid ran in front of Luo to protect her from the robot. “Ah, Pri—Miss, be careful!”

Li Nianfan reassured, “Ladies, don’t be alarmed. This is my housekeeper, Xiao Bai, he is a robot,” he then turned toward the robot, and ordered, “Xiao Bai, apologize to the two ladies.”

“My apologies to have startled you ladies.” Xiao Bai apologized fluently and bowed like a gentleman. 

Luo Shiyu stared at Xiao Bai in disbelief, “A robot? He seems to have Spiritual Intelligence. Is he a Spiritual Robot?”

‘A Spiritual Robot is a legendary treasure, according to the legend, only the top graded Spiritual Machines could make a Spiritual Robot. Most importantly, this Spiritual Robot seems to have an extraordinarily high Spiritual Intelligence, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is actually an Immortal Robot.’ A sense of fear came across her face the more she thought about it. 

Li Nianfan saw her face, and reassured her smilingly, “Miss, you’ve been mistaken. Xiao Bai is just an artificial intelligence, made with advanced technology. This is nothing close to a Spiritual Robot.”

“Artificial intelligence? Advanced technology?” Luo Shiyu repeated dubiously, not understanding a word she was saying for the first time.

“Just some small tricks, nothing special.” Li Nianfan was speechless. Unbothered to explain further, he turned to the robot. “Xiao Bai, please pick a watermelon from the backyard to serve our guests.”

“Okay, Master.”

Did Li Nianfan actually call a Spiritual Robot with Spiritual Intelligence ‘some small tricks’?

Flabbergasted, Luo Shiyu took a deep breath to calm her exicitement. She heard that many of the senior experts who had reached Transcendence, enjoyed pretending to be mortals in order to experience living the ordinary life. Could she have bumped into one today? 

With the thoughts in her mind, she held on her breath nervously, both excited and worried at the same time. 

Li Nianfan walked them to the pavilion, with a genuine smile, he gestured, “After you, ladies.”

“Oh, thanks.” Luo staggered, recovering from her thoughts.

She looked around and saw an exquisite Changqin placed by the corner, she asked, “Sir, do you enjoy music?”

“Just something to kill time with,” Li answered casually.

Luo Shiyu seemed to be keen on making friends with this ‘expert’—or at least she suspected. She added, “A dear friend of mine is a wonderful musician, why don’t I introduce her to you the next time we meet?”

“I’ll give it a pass. I don’t really know much about music.” He waved his hands with a bitter smile. 

‘If Luo Shiyu is an Immortal Cultivator, her friends must be cultivators as well. There’s absolutely no way for me to make music with them. What if they don’t make music with with soundwaves but give out electromagnetic waves? Won’t I be killed by accident?’ Li Nianfan thought bitterly, although he did earn the title of ‘Music Saint’.

His thoughts were interrupted when Xiao Bai brought out a watermelon, finely cut and prepared. “I hope you enjoy the watermelon.”

Once again, Luo Shiyu was greatly impressed by this Spiritual Robot. Other than its weird outlook, it was just like a real person. Out of all the other Spiritual Robots, Xiao Bai must have been one of the best. 

“Please, help yourself.” Li Nianfan picked up a piece of the watermelon and started munching away. 

To him, it was the perfect time for a cooling watermelon, under the warm heat as he was just getting thirsty after his lunch. 

Luo Shiyu saw him enjoying the watermelon and picked one up for herself. To her, watermelon was something ordinary. As a Princess, she was served with immortal fruits and spiritual juice. Watermelon was a fruit for ordinary people and not for someone like her. Yet, she had to pay the due respect to Li Nianfan, as she suspected him to be an Expert. She noticed something different about the watermelon. 

‘Hmm? This is so pretty! It glows like a red ruby! This is nothing like the watermelon I have eaten before!’ 

She took a bite. 

Slurp!

‘So crispy! So sweet!’ She was amused as the juice blasted upon her bite and flowed in her mouth, like naughty children running around1.

In an instant, a strong scent bursted at her taste buds, Luo Shiyu moaned with pleasure. ‘Ah! This is so delicious! Yum!’

How would a watermelon taste so fine, so delicious? This was no ordinary watermelon! Or so she thought. 

Gulp!

When she swallowed, the watermelon juice streamed down, washing her throat. However, what happened next was magical. She felt the liquid turning into a gas spreading throughout her body.

‘Is this…Spiritual Qi?’

She could not help and took another bite—a big bite. 

Again, so cooling and refreshing. At the same time, a big swarm of Qi entered her body and bursted in her belly.

Qi, that was really Spiritual Qi! Even one bite of the watermelon was as good, or even better, than one whole Spiritual Fruit!

Slurp! Slurp! 

Luo Shiyu got lost in the moment. All her rational thoughts vanished along with the sweet, delicious and densed Qi she was gulping. She had only one thought left in her brain—eat! 

Swiftly, she munched on one piece, two, then three!

Li Nianfan stopped eating after his second piece and observed Luo Shiyu feasting uncontrollably. His eyebrows twitched with a glint of suspicion in his eyes. 

Was she really a cultivator? It was just a watermelon, was it not?

Luo Shiyu did not stop until she had eaten six pieces of watermelon. Finally, she became aware of the mess she caused and her face flushed with shame. She lowered her head slightly, too embarrassed to look at Li in the eyes. 

Before she knew it, a surge of scorching heat filled up her body with endless Spiritual Qi bursting out from her belly.

...  ...

A mysterious sensation flashed through her brains, relaxing the pores on her skin. All of a sudden, she felt refreshed and suddenly understood all the obscure things that were once inaccessible to her. 

Foundation Established!

Luo Shiyu looked at the watermelon skin in front of her in confusion. 

Unbelievable! The watermelon not only had Spiritual Qi, it even came with Insights! 

Insights, also known as the Basics of Wisdom, played an important role in the sudden breakthrough of a cultivator. In other words, the Insights were rare and precious. Although there might be just a hint of Insights in the watermelon, it already enabled Luo Shiyu to bypass the bottleneck. 

Instantly, she became a fangirl of Li Nianfan. She stood up swiftly and bowed respectfully to Li Nianfan, “Thank you, Senior, for helping my breakthrough to have established foundation.”

As Li Nianfan heard his title went from ‘Sir’ to ‘Senior’, he was not pleased at all. Although she meant it as a good gesture, Li Nianfan did not understand what was happening. 

“As I said, I’m just an ordinary man and this is just an ordinary watermelon. What does your breakthrough have to do with my watermelon? Also, why’re you calling me ‘senior’? Do I look that old to you?” Li Niandan challenged her in a slightly raised tone, feeling offended.

He thought she was mocking him for serving her an ordinary watermelon. The more he thought of it, the more humiliated he felt. It was as if a billionaire thanked him for his one-dollar bill. What an insult! Did she think she could humiliate everyone just because she was a cultivator? 

Luo Shiyu was startled and confused. Did she offend the Expert unknowingly?

‘That’s right, the Expert disguised himself as an ordinary man in order to experience living an ordinary life. I almost revealed his identity just now, of course he’s pissed at me! Ah! How careless of me!’ Luo Shiyu reflected as Li Nianfan’s face darkened. 

Hastily, she apologized, “Se-Sir, I’m truly sorry to have offended you, I got excited.”

‘Hmm, this young lady does have a good attitude, she’s beautiful and not arrogant about it, such a nice cultivator,’ Li Nianfan thought to himself. 

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind.” He waved it off. 

Luo Shiyu was relieved. She gritted her teeth and brought out a jade from her waist pocket.

“Sir, this was given to me by my father when I was growing up. Please accept this as my appreciation for the watermelon today.”

The jade felt good in the hands. A phoenix was engraved on it and it reflected light. It seemed special. 

The young maid beside Luo Shiyu covered her mouth with shock, she pulled Luo Shiyu over and said, “Miss, you can’t give this away!”

Li Nianfan, too, was shocked by the generosity of Luo Shiyu, he shook his head and said, “Miss Luo, you’re being too polite. It’s just watermelon, I can’t take your jade.”

‘Who’d exchange such a jade for watermelon? Is she insanely rich?’ Li Nianfan thought to himself.

“Blackie, come have some watermelon!” Li Nianfan yelled at the backyard.

Swiftly, Blackie came out rushing, drooling at the watermelon. Most of the time, Blackie stayed in the backyard to guard the farmland. Although Li Niandan had never been attacked by monsters, it was better off being armed and protected. They lived in the forest, after all.

Li Nianfan casually threw over the leftover watermelon to Blackie, he smiled, “Look at you! Eat!”

Gulp! Gulp!

Blackie knew what he was getting at. He stuck his face into the watermelon, not wasting any bits of it including the skin.

Luo Shiyu stared with wide eyes. “Sir, this is too wasteful!”

This was a watermelon containing Insights and it probably worth more than a Spiritual Fruit. Why would he feed it to a dog?’

Luo Shiyu looked closely at Blackie again. He was just an ordinary dog from the mortal realm.

On the other hand, Li Nianfan was shocked at how frugal this noble lady was. This gave him a good impression of Luo Shiyu, and he laughed it off. “It’s just watermelon, I’ve plenty here. It’s not considered wasting if Blackie eats it.”

“Of course, you’re right,” Luo said with her lips twitched. 

She felt embarrassed, of course, the watermelon meant nothing to an Expert like him. She also decided that she must make acquaintance with Li Nianfan, even getting to know him would be a big blessing for her. 

Luo Shiyu insisted Li Nianfan accept the jade. “Sir, the forest isn’t the safest place to live in, after all. My family is considered powerful in this area, if anything ever happens to you, this jade would save you lots of trouble”

“Well…if you insist.” Li Nianfan considered for some time and accepted the jade. “You’re always welcomed to come by for some watermelon whenever you wish!”

He examined the jade on his hand and realized the texture was quite rough. Although it had the shape of a phoenix, it had no charm at all. With its rough cravings, he was tempted to improve on it at some point. 

Luo Shiyu was pleased that he accepted the jade, she thanked him with her eyes glowing with happiness. 

The young maid was dumbfounded. She did not understand why Princess was treating this ordinary man with such respect. Even the noblemen did not get this much attention from her.

“Thanks for your time today, Sir.” Luo Shiyu knew the acquaintance was made and she was ready to leave.

Li Nianfan stood up and walked them out. 

… 

Luo Shiyu seemed unusualy cheery as she walked out from the house. If it were not for her breakthrough, she would have thought this was all but a dream. She was amused by how lucky she was, to be able to make acquaintance with an Expert hidden in disguise. 

Behind her, the young maid asked in confusion, “Princess, why were you being so polite to him? Isn’t he just an ordinary man?”

The Princess turned around and in a straight and serious face, she warned, “Lv Luo, don’t mention a word on what happened today. Also, don’t disclose this location to anyone, understood?”

Luo Shiyu reasoned that if the Expert had chosen to live in this forest, it was likely that he did not want to be disturbed. She could not afford to offend him again. 

Lv Luo had never seen the Princess so serious about something, she agreed hastily, “Yes, Princess.”

“Ah, I forgot to seek help from the Expert!” Luo Shiyu exclaimed.

She wanted to get rid of the marriage arranged by Emperor Father, perhaps the Expert might have been able to help. Yet, it would seem inappropriate to return to him now. 

“Ah, I guess I can only wait till next time then!”

As she looked up at the house, a heavy mist somehow coiled around the trees below the house; the house almost seemed to have disappeared.