Sadness surged in Lin Zhusheng’s heart as he touched the results of his careful handiwork. He looked down at his senior brother, who was bending over to adjust his belt, and suddenly remembered something serious. He said, “If one day I change my appearance, will you still recognize me, senior brother?”

The senior brother looked up and replied, “No matter how you change, I will recognize you.”

It sounded like a simple comforting statement, but it was effective enough. Lin Zhusheng smiled and turned to chase the shadows of the swaying bamboo forest outside the window, casually saying, “Then you must recognize me when that time comes.”

After putting on his clothes and hanging the jade pendant, he felt he was truly dressed. The senior brother asked him to stand up and take a look.

Lin Zhusheng stood up, turned left and right, feeling an unprecedented sense of lightness. The azure hem of his clothes hung down, letting the light from the window shine through. Some of his soft hair fell in front of him, contrasting sharply with the moon-white lining. When he moved slightly, the jade pendant at his waist brushed past, and the deep blue tassel followed suit.

So this is how the clothes look when worn correctly. He retracted his previous criticism that the disciple’s outfit was poorly designed, quietly apologizing to the clothes in his heart, and also thanking his kind senior brother. He took out the 兰筠花 (Lan Jun flower) and some snacks he always carried with him.

The senior brother accepted the snacks.

After wandering around the courtyard and the house, Lin Zhusheng felt happy. After glancing at the time, he didn’t want to disturb his senior brother any longer and set off to find other friends.

He was quite busy today, needing to visit several friends to make it convenient for future visits, and he also wanted to explore the inner sect’s mountain peaks that had not been developed before.

After a day of adventuring outside, when he returned to Jing Si Peak, the sky was already darkening, and the lights on several peaks had started to turn on, casting a faint yellow glow around his waist.

There must have been quite a few disciples who made mistakes today; the Grand Elder probably returned later than him, just in time for dinner.

Sometimes, the Grand Elder had a pretty good eye. The moment he sat down, he noticed that Lin Zhusheng’s clothes looked quite different from this morning, much more pleasing to the eye.

Swallowing the food in his mouth, his disciple Lin praised his good eyesight and then said, “It was my senior brother who helped me put it on. Looks good, right?”

“…”

The Grand Elder paused in his tea-drinking action and asked, “Senior brother?”

He had a vague idea of who it referred to, but out of caution, he still sought confirmation, saying, “Is it Ling Xu Jun Wen Bozhou from the Zongzhu Peak?”

Lin Zhusheng nodded like a little chick and even demonstrated from all angles, saying, “His hands are really skilled, right?”

The clothes didn’t look so pleasing anymore.

No matter how good the relationship between ordinary brothers and sisters was, it wouldn’t reach the level of helping each other dress, especially with someone like Ling Xu Jun, who kept a distance from everyone. The Grand Elder’s brows twitched, and the words he had been brewing in his throat for a long time were ultimately swallowed down. He tactically took a sip of tea and asked about something else: “I remember you have 兰筠花 planted in your courtyard…”

“Wow, you can even recognize it just by how it looks,” Lin Zhusheng was a bit surprised at first, then nodded and smiled, saying, “That was planted to give to my senior brother.”

To be precise, it was intended for his senior brother, but it wasn’t certain. If his senior brother didn’t like it, he might give it to someone else who might appreciate the flower.

“…”

Receiving such a decisive and affirmative answer, the Grand Elder’s mustache twitched again, and he finally gulped down a large mouthful of tea, letting out a “So that’s how it is.”

Although the Grand Elder usually didn’t say much, Lin Zhusheng felt that he seemed particularly silent tonight, as if he had something on his mind. Thinking of himself as a considerate disciple, he offered him an extra sweet snack.

With the sweet snack in hand, the Grand Elder looked at him, and his worries seemed to deepen.

From a certain day onward, Wen Bozhou noticed that whenever he occasionally saw the Grand Elder, the other’s already not-so-pleasant expression became even worse upon seeing him.

Only the old man knew what he was thinking; Lin Zhusheng didn’t notice. After a day of rest, he returned to sword practice, went to the academy to sleep, and continued his repetitive life of being a wild person in the mountains.

Because there were few inner sect disciples, their group of six could once again occupy a classroom. He slept soundly surrounded by his friends.

The only difference was in sword practice; he had gone from blending in with other disciples to an exceptional one-on-one training, practicing alongside the elders every day, ensuring he learned every move before teaching the direct disciples.

The good news was that although he had to teach, it wasn’t right now. The South Sea had opened a secret realm, and his level was just right to enter the realm, successfully obtaining a chance to experience a few days in the secret realm before returning to his usual life.

Usually, they practiced swords on their respective peaks, and the academy was when disciples from all peaks gathered the most. The third elder in charge of the secret realm selection completed the disciple selection at the academy for the trip to the South Sea.

The secret realm had strength restrictions; those at the Yuanying stage and above were prohibited from entering. In other words, only those below level 20 could enter, and to ensure the safety of the disciples, the sect set a minimum limit, prohibiting disciples who had not reached the Jiedan stage from going.

He happened to be right in the middle, along with Song Ming. The other four friends didn’t meet the requirements and regrettably had to stay behind.

The secret realm would open in three days, and they had half a day to pack their things, gathering at the training ground the next morning.

Waking up early, he originally planned to leave directly, but the Grand Elder was already awake and accompanied him all the way to the training ground, reminding him, “This time in the secret realm, there will be people from other sects. Chen Jinghao from the Qi Sect is frivolous; it’s best not to interact with him too much.”

“If someone causes trouble, don’t worry, just…”

With his eyes barely open, Lin Zhusheng didn’t care whether he heard clearly, just nodded like a little chick, standing all wobbly.

At the end, feeling something stuffed into his hand, his almost-closed eyes finally opened a bit, revealing a small jade pendant-like object.

The Grand Elder said, “This is a sound transmission jade pendant. If you encounter any issues, you can infuse spiritual power into it and use it to contact me immediately.”

Feeling a bit more awake from the cold jade, Lin Zhusheng looked at the pendant in his hand and exclaimed, “Oh, it seems my senior brother also gave me one of these.”

“…”

The Grand Elder’s mustache twitched.

Ultimately, it was the third elder who interrupted the conversation, stepping forward to pull away the Grand Elder, who had been giving endless advice, and directly took Lin away.

Having a precious disciple was indeed different; the Grand Elder could talk endlessly, but it still required him to take action.

Lin Zhusheng was thus taken onto the flying boat by the third elder. The advantage was that it was effortless, but the downside was that he attracted a lot of attention.

Still, with his thick skin, once the flying boat landed, he immediately became lively and energetic, greeting the other disciples who looked over with great politeness.

Finally, two disciples arrived, and with everyone present, the flying boat set off.

Upon reaching the destination, they didn’t head straight to the secret realm; there was still a period of rest. The third elder leading the group didn’t rush to discuss matters related to the secret realm, allowing all disciples to arrange their time on the flying boat as they wished.

Enthusiastic about socializing, Lin Zhusheng, after greeting everyone, unusually didn’t mingle with his friends but instead found a quiet corner to sit down and spend this time alone.

He wasn’t trying to enjoy rare alone time; he had to find a moment to consider the important matter of his face-changing card.

After careful calculation, he estimated that on the day they returned from the secret realm, he would have to perform a dramatic transformation in front of his fellow disciples. For both his sake and the sake of his friends’ hearts, he needed to think of a friendly way for both sides.

Feeling it was a good time to make money, the little cat jumped out of his clothes and sincerely suggested, “Why not buy another six months’ worth of face-changing cards?”

It said, “Although you’ll have to change your face again, I estimate no one will remember exactly what your face looks like, as long as it’s somewhat similar.” Or rather, even the person himself might not remember what he looked like.

A six-month face-changing card costs 9,998, but only 9,998 gold, and it supports installment payments.

Lin Zhusheng succinctly replied, “Cancel.”

Even if he invested all his savings, it wouldn’t be enough to buy a card, and it was only for six months. He hadn’t grown fond of that face to that extent.

The little cat said, “Oh.”

Lin Zhusheng propped his chin in thought, suddenly leaning over to shake the little cat and said, “Otherwise, I could say I’m some kind of mutant creature that starts changing at a certain time.”

Just that, unlike ordinary mutant creatures, only his face would change.

The little cat summarized, “When the time comes, they’ll see you and think you’re a freak.”

Lin Zhusheng sat back down, “Oh.”

The result of their discussion was that they ultimately didn’t come to any conclusion. By the time the flying boat was nearing its destination, Lin Zhusheng’s mind was filled with only the words “freak development.”

He didn’t seek out his friend Song Ming; instead, Song Ming came to find him, and they prepared to disembark together.

The South Sea was far from the sect, completely beyond the territory of the Tianzong, entering the domains of the Qi Sect and the Hehuan Sect, among others. They set off early in the morning and arrived near sunset, landing at a port specifically for flying boats.

As they stepped off the flying boat, a breeze blew in from the water’s surface, accompanied by the sound of waves. The lights by the port had already turned on, reflecting on the water and creating rippling waves of light.

This time, they were accompanied by a steward who had arrived a day earlier to arrange accommodations and was already waiting at the port, ready to greet them as they disembarked.

After confirming that everyone had gotten off the boat, the flying boat shrank back to its original size and was collected by the elder. The steward greeted them and briefly explained the current situation as he led them to the inn where they would be staying: “We share an inn with the Qi Sect and the Hehuan Sect, who arrived yesterday. Other sects that can be named have basically all come.”

The South Sea secret realm opened randomly every few years, and there were plenty of good things inside. Every sect would send disciples to explore. The inns here hadn’t opened for years, but when they did, they would be fully booked by disciples from various sects.

The steward’s words were indeed true. From the port to the street, the number of people noticeably increased, and at a glance, there were various styles and colors of disciple robes, resembling a large sect gathering.

The Tianzong was still relatively well-off, and the inn they booked was in the center of the street, the most eye-catching and elegant one.

This was Lin Zhusheng’s third outing since the game started, completely forgetting about the face-changing card he had been pondering on the flying boat. Player Lin was having a great time, looking around the street with his friend Song Ming, like someone from the countryside visiting the city for the first time.

Just before stepping into the inn, the third elder stopped, recalling something important. He turned his gaze over the crowd of disciples and reminded them, “Do not provoke the disciples of the Hehuan Sect, regardless of gender.”

He then added, “It’s best not to interact with the disciples of the Qi Sect either.”

The group of disciples, in high spirits, quickly agreed.

It was only during such verbal agreements that they were quick. The third elder patiently reiterated his warnings before finally allowing the group of disciples to enter the door.

Having guessed that Tianzong people had arrived when he saw the steward leave, the elders from the Hehuan Sect and the Qi Sect were already waiting in the inn’s lobby. They stood up when they saw the newcomers.

A few elders caught up on old times while the steward led a bunch of disciples to assign rooms.

Lin Zhusheng was assigned a room on the second floor, near the edge. When he received the key, he casually weighed it in his hand, finding it light and without much weight.

The room was nothing special, just a bed, a table, a bathing tub, and a decorative screen, not much different from a hotel he had stayed in before, though it looked a bit more elegant in some aspects.

With everything in his backpack, there was nothing much to tidy up. After taking a look around, he went downstairs.

It seemed the other disciples were in the same situation. When he went downstairs, the lobby was already filled with a crowd.

Although the elders had previously advised against provoking the disciples of the Hehuan Sect and the Qi Sect, the reality was that his fellow disciples had just entered and had already gotten involved, or rather, had been involved with them. Three completely different styles of disciple robes mixed together, completely lacking the boundary the elders had hoped for.

Lin Zhusheng scanned the crowd and spotted his friends, along with a group of Hehuan Sect disciples who had gathered around them at some point.

As expected of the Hehuan Sect, none of them seemed socially anxious and were quite friendly.

His friend had a blank expression on his face, and judging by the frequency of his lip movements, it seemed he was trying to respond word by word, already entering a perfunctory state.

He remembered how the other had almost blurted out “get lost” when dealing with similarly enthusiastic people outside the sect. He jumped down a few steps and squeezed into the center of the crowd, reaching out to pat someone on the shoulder.

The familiar blue and white sleeves brushed past his eyes, and Song Ming turned his head, raising his gaze to meet a smiling face.

Like the Hehuan Sect disciples, he was unafraid of socializing. He didn’t sit down but casually draped an arm over his friend’s shoulder, physically separating him from the others, while also greeting the surrounding disciples.

His greetings were so natural, as if he had known them for eight hundred years. The people around hadn’t reacted yet, staring blankly in response, and only after coming to their senses did they realize this was a face they hadn’t seen before.

Or rather, it was a face that could be seen anywhere on the street. But the jade pendant at his waist was not ordinary; others couldn’t tell, but the Hehuan Sect disciples who often sought out the Jian Sect disciples for dual cultivation recognized it as the jade pendant of a direct disciple.

After some conversation, they discovered that this person was actually the first disciple the Grand Elder of the Tianzong had taken in a hundred years, a fact that had spread widely.

He was different from what they had imagined. The gaze that couldn’t find any distinctive features on his face drifted away, and the appearance-focused Hehuan Sect disciples felt a bit disappointed, turning their attention back to the rarely encountered young master of the Song family, trying to strike up a conversation again.

Patting his friend’s shoulder, Lin Zhusheng smiled and said, “Don’t be fooled by his outgoing face; he actually doesn’t talk much. If you have something to say, you can chat with me. I quite enjoy chatting.”

Finally realizing that the young master of the Song family was indeed unapproachable, the Hehuan Sect disciple stopped wasting words and left, saying time is money.

They left, but only halfway. Some really stayed behind, sitting down to chat with him.

No longer needing to separate his friend from the others, Lin Zhusheng also sat down and got into a lively conversation with those who remained.

Laughter occasionally erupted from their table, and when they were chatting until their mouths were dry, the waiter happened to bring over freshly brewed tea and snacks.

The snacks were regionally limited and couldn’t be easily replicated, and they were pushed in front of Lin Zhusheng.

Having not ordered this item himself, he thought for a moment and turned to the person next to him, asking, “Did you order this?”

Song Ming nodded and said, “I thought you might want to try it.”

It had just taken a while to prepare because the place was busy.

As a professional snack connoisseur, Lin Zhusheng was indeed eager to try it and thanked him.

A few Hehuan Sect disciples hit it off with him, almost forming a brotherhood on the spot, chatting about the Hehuan Sect’s gossip and the affairs of the Qi Sect’s young master without any pauses.

When the Qi Sect’s young master was mentioned, Lin Zhusheng took a bite of the snack, looked around, and curiously asked, “Why haven’t I seen him?”

He remembered that the Qi Sect people were also staying here.

One disciple glanced around and, not seeing him, said, “We saw him earlier today; it seems he went out to hang out with the senior sisters.”

The Qi Sect’s young master didn’t engage in dual cultivation; he simply appreciated beautiful faces and enjoyed playing, maintaining good relationships with several senior sisters in the sect, often going out to have fun together.

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion came from outside, and amidst the chatter, a group of people crossed the threshold of the inn, their laughter ringing out, and even from a distance, one could hear the sound of women giggling.

Just as the young master was mentioned, he arrived.

Having been out for a while, Chen Jinghao was already a bit tipsy, holding a wine jug in one hand and an Hehuan Sect senior sister in the other, laughing and swaying as he entered the inn with his group.

Upon entering, he noticed the Tianzong disciples in the lobby. With his bleary, drunken eyes, he scanned the crowd, and after retracting his gaze, he took another swig of wine from the beauty’s shoulder.

“…?”

Halfway through his drink, he suddenly realized something. Maintaining his drinking posture, he awkwardly shifted his gaze back to the crowd.

It was not an illusion; he met a pair of faint eyes from the crowd, seeing the familiar light-colored pupils.

“…”

With a snap, inexplicably, Chen Jinghao quickly withdrew his hand from the beauty’s shoulder and stood at attention.