Chapter 1: Parting with the system

[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.

...  ...

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***