“Bai Xinyue!”
His cousin’s sister, the one whose Dao Bone was taken away and was even banished from the clan.
Bai Zihan was most fearful of her because if she was one of the Heaven Chosen, then he was definitely the villain destined to be killed by her hands.
This was all due to his mother.
“Why did Mother even do this?”
Bai Zihan muttered, a bit resentful.
He knew his mother had done it for his sake, thinking that transferring the Dao Bone to him would grant him the same abilities his cousin had shown.
However, there was no change.
The System didn’t even show the Dao Bone in his constitution—which it should if it were really there—and although it was technically present, it just sat there doing nothing.
Seriously, it was like the Dao Bone knew it wasn’t in the right body and refused to help him in any way.
All it did was give him an enemy who might trample him beneath her feet.
“Why is she here?”
Bai Zihan didn’t know why Bai Xinyue was here.
Although he hadn’t paid much attention to her before, he did know one thing—she had vanished, with her whereabouts completely unknown.
She had gone into hiding, likely because of the very real possibility that Bai Zihan’s mother might try to finish the job.
That’s why, for the past five years, there hadn’t been a single trace of her—no sightings, no rumors, nothing.
But now, she appeared here?
Was the Heaven Sword Sect protecting her?
Bai Zihan wasn’t sure, but with such an apparent enemy around, he knew he needed to be more careful.
Who knew whether Bai Xinyue would sneak up and assassinate him to reclaim her Dao Bone?
Unlike the others, Bai Xinyue’s entry wasn’t filled with dramatic excuses.
She wasn’t in seclusion.
She wasn’t injured.
She wasn’t on some faraway mission.
Her record simply said she was currently residing on Azure Cloud Peak.
By now, she should know he was in the Heaven Sword Sect.
“I don’t know whether she would refrain from killing me because of the sect.”
She couldn’t just kill him—at least not while he was in the Heaven Sword Sect—or else she’d be turning the sect into her enemy.
Without any backing, she surely wouldn’t dare.
That is… if she doesn’t have backing. And Bai Zihan knew that if she had the protagonist’s destiny, she wouldn’t be lacking it.
Additionally, she had always been talented—whether intellectually or in cultivation—that is, until her Dao Bone was taken away.
But now that she had been admitted to the Heaven Sword Sect, perhaps she had reawakened her cultivation talent.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been accepted as a disciple—let alone as an Inner Disciple.
Unless, of course, she came through the backdoor like him.
Which he found hard to believe.
Still, he found it surprising that Bai Xinyue hadn’t shown up in front of him yet.
Or maybe… it just wasn’t time. Maybe she was biding her time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
After all, simply killing him wouldn’t be enough—not after everything she had suffered.
“Shit!”
He didn’t think he’d encounter her already.
“Is Heaven Sword Sect a gathering of protagonists?”
There was already Lin Xuan. Now Bai Xinyue might be another.
And he hadn’t even seen much of the sect yet.
He hadn’t seen a single Heaven Chosen from the Bai Clan, despite it being one of the strongest clans.
(My clan is really a villain clan!)
Anyway, there was no need to deal with Lin Xuan—he already felt grateful to him.
Though Bai Zihan didn’t know how long that would last.
At the moment, his focus was on Bai Xinyue.
Bai Zihan lacked information about her.
He needed to collect information—and he had just the person in mind.
“Kong Zhanhong!”
The moment Bai Zihan muttered the name, he tapped his finger against a smooth, jade-white slip that hung at his waist.
A faint spiritual ripple echoed outward as a soft glow enveloped the surface—like ripples through water—and the message inscription process began.
This Jade Transmission Slip was an artifact—something like a private spiritual communicator.
Its main function?
One-to-one, short-range messaging. Ten miles, max.
Although with higher-grade Jade Transmission Slips, longer range was possible—but those were ridiculously rare and expensive.
What Bai Zihan was using was already one of the best—so much so that even some Heaven Sword Sect elders had limited access to them.
“Yes, young master?”
Kong Zhanhong replied.
“I need you to urgently gather information on someone. The faster and more detailed the info, the better the reward you’ll get.”
Kong Zhanhong’s reply came instantly, with a hint of excitement in his voice.
“Who should I investigate, young master?”
Well, after the reward Bai Zihan gave him earlier, of course he’d be eager now.
“Bai Xinyue of Azure Cloud Peak. I need a full report—cultivation level, habits, daily routine, temperament, who she hangs out with, who hates her, who’s simping over her—everything.”
“Understood, young master!”
Bai Zihan leaned back in his chair, fingers drumming against the armrest.
With Kong Zhanhong, he didn’t need to personally investigate anything.
And once again, he realized just how useful the guy was.
After giving those orders, Bai Zihan returned to cultivating—this time with even more urgency.
“I need to break through to the Golden Core Stage as soon as possible!”
Unlike with Fang Jinyan, it would be impossible to take on Heaven Chosen with his Core Condensation Stage cultivation.
One day later, Kong Zhanhong arrived with the information, written down on a scroll like last time.
Bai Zihan handed him the reward—the same as before.
Kong Zhanhong had no complaints. This time, the target of the investigation was just a single person.
In a sense, he got the same reward for far less work.
The report was detailed—absurdly so.
Bai Zihan skimmed through the scroll, eyes narrowing with every line.
Recently admitted!
That was the first thing that caught his attention.
Bai Xinyue hadn’t been in the sect for long. In fact, according to the report, she’d only been accepted a few months ago.
And yet… she was already being called one of Azure Cloud Peak’s most promising new disciples.
Apparently, her talent had reawakened—or maybe it had never left to begin with. Maybe it had just gone dormant after the Dao Bone was torn out of her.
In any case, she was already in the Golden Core Stage despite being the same age as him.
Her comprehension was off the charts, mastering new techniques in a matter of hours.
With such talent, it would be weird if Heaven Sword Sect didn’t accept her as a disciple.
“Her cultivation was last tested to be Mid-Level Golden Core Stage!”
(Looks like she’s regained her talent—at least partially.)
Previously, her talent was said to be equal to or even greater than Bai Xueqing’s.
If her talent had returned recently, it was understandable that she had reached the Mid-Level Golden Core Stage.
But if it had never disappeared and she only managed to reach Golden Core Stage, then she hadn’t regained the full extent of her previous potential.
Or perhaps she had something more amazing than a Dao Bone, though Bai Zihan believed that would be too ridiculous.
Even for Chosen Ones, giving her something better than a Dao Bone? That’s just overkill.
If that’s the case, then once she regains her Dao Bone, wouldn’t she become an unrivaled genius—one that no one could even hope to compare to?
Well, Bai Zihan stopped thinking about it as there was no way that he could confirm it at the moment.
Then came another interesting part.
She was offered a spot at Mystic Moon Peak.
Yes, Bai Zihan’s own peak.
More specifically, his master, Elder Qinglan, had wanted her.
According to Kong Zhanhong, Elder Qinglan had been very interested in Bai Xinyue.
She’d even gone out of her way to personally extend the invitation—something that almost never happened.
Everyone assumed Bai Xinyue would accept.
Mystic Moon Peak was the most exclusive of all the peaks.
And with Elder Qinglan being one of the strongest, many disciples dreamed of joining her, especially the girls.
But Bai Xinyue refused.
Flat out!
Didn’t even hesitate.
Instead, she chose Azure Cloud Peak.
Kong Zhanhong mentioned that he didn’t know the reason and it seems like other people also didn’t know.
However, Bai Zihan knew. How could he not?
It was probably to avoid being with Bai Xueqing. She saw everyone in Bai Zihan’s family as enemies, and Bai Xueqing was likely no exception.
“She really hates us, huh?”
Understandably so.
But still… At the moment, she wasn’t a match for Bai Xueqing. Perhaps she wouldn’t even seek revenge against her.
But he was definitely on her list.
Probably at the top.
He leaned back and chuckled darkly.
He looked down at the report again.
“With her talent, it seems like a matter of time before she’s admitted as a Core Disciple of Heaven Sword Sect. Likely to happen in the next Core Disciple Assessment.”
Bai Zihan ran a hand through his hair.
“Of course she’s getting fast-tracked…”
Bai Xinyue had all the marks of a Heaven Chosen—reincarnated talent, tragic backstory, terrifying growth rate, ice-cold determination.
Though to confirm, Bai Zihan has to rely on System’s ability.
“Looks like I need to go meet with her!”