The Transmigrator's Guest Appearance as Pavilion Keeper

To the east of the Great River Country, mountains stretch endlessly, and clear waters flow eastward.

The Cloud Stream Sect, built atop the peaks of countless mountains, boasts towering pavilions and soaring orioles, presenting a magnificent spectacle.

Behind the sect's vast plaza lies a small hill, upon which stands an ancient pavilion. In stark contrast to the sect's bustling prosperity, it remains as quiet as the night.

This pavilion is named the "Dao Seeking Pavilion." Whenever a disciple encounters difficulties in their cultivation, they may ascend the pavilion to seek guidance. The guardians of this pavilion throughout history have always been the sect's foremost elders, most knowledgeable in various ancient texts. A single word of truth from them is worth more than ten years of arduous training.

It is now high noon. A personal disciple stands respectfully within the pavilion, listening to the aged and soothing voice behind a bamboo curtain discussing the Dao: "You have been trying to comprehend the 'Severing Sword Art' for three years without success, because your approach is fundamentally flawed. Severing the sword is not about severing the enemy's sword, but rather a technique for cultivating 'sword intent.' The eight-character essence is: Macro Meridian, Expand Qi, Relax Weapon, Measure Opportunity. You must ponder these carefully."

The disciple is slightly startled: "Third Elder, the 'Severing Sword Art' as I've recorded only has the six-character essence of Macro Meridian, Expand Qi, and Relax Weapon. There are no 'Measure Opportunity' characters. What is the reason for this?"

"Nonsense!" the elder scolds. "The eight-character essence of the 'Severing Sword Art,' the first six characters are the foundation, and the latter two point to the direction. 'Measure Opportunity' refers to integrating your entire body's vital energy with the sword in your hand..."

After the explanation, the confusion in the disciple's eyes turns into pleasant surprise.

The pavilion bell chimes softly, signaling the end of the discussion. The disciple bows deeply to the bamboo curtain, takes out a package, and places it gently on the table. He then retreats from the Dao Seeking Pavilion, bows again at the entrance, and ascends into the air, returning with satisfaction.

As soon as he disappears, the bamboo curtain is gently lifted, revealing a young man's face.

This person appears to be seventeen or eighteen years old, with a refined and handsome appearance. His eyes are incredibly bright and alert as he glances around cautiously. He grabs the package on the table and slips out from the back.

Behind the pavilion is a small courtyard, where a young girl resides. This girl is about twelve or thirteen years old. Although not yet fully developed, her features are as beautiful as a painting. When she smiles, her nose wrinkles, making her look like a little princess from a fairy tale.

The little girl runs over: "Brother, no one saw, right?"

"How could they? My acting skills are already flawless," the young man pinches her little nose and takes out the package.

The contents of the package roll out: a hefty ingot of gleaming silver, and a wild chicken.

As soon as the girl sees the silver ingot, her eyes sparkle. She hugs it tightly: "Wow, five taels!"

"Go put it away!"

The little money-grubber picks up the silver and runs to her room. She pulls out a ceramic jar from under her bed. Clink, the newly acquired five taels of silver are added to their little treasury.

The girl excitedly runs out: "Brother, it's almost half full! I can't believe you've scammed so much in just ten days since Master left."

"What do you mean 'scammed'?" the young man glares at her. "I've told you this many times, this is called guidance from a famous teacher... with reasonable fees!"

"Mm-hmm, brother's scams are very reasonable..." the girl nods like a pecking chicken. "Brother, what are you going to do with this money?"

"What am I going to do with this money? That's a good question!" The young man gazes at the horizon at a forty-five-degree angle. "Normally, a man saves money to buy a car, a house, or pay for a bride. But in this darn place, things are different. I just want to save enough for travel expenses to go down the mountain and see the world."

The girl is startled: "Elder doesn't allow you to go down the mountain. He specifically instructed it."

"I know, but... what's the point of staying here?" the young man sighs. "This is a cultivation sect. Everyone is striving to ascend through cultivation and enlightenment. I don't even have a spiritual root. What am I doing here? If I stay for a few more years, I probably won't even be able to beat the rabbits in the sect..."

The girl looks up and says earnestly: "Brother, don't say that. In Xiao Yao's eyes, you are incredibly, incredibly amazing. Look at the disciple who came today, he's wearing purple, he's a personal disciple! And he still bowed to you respectfully?"

You've grown, girl. You know how to comfort people now...

The young man smiles slightly and gently ruffles her hair.

The girl squints, clearly enjoying it, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

Suddenly, the young man's hand movement stops, his gaze lifts, deep in thought...

A single sentence from the girl has struck him.

The disciple who came today was a personal disciple. What is a personal disciple? Only the direct disciples of the Sect Master or top elders are called personal disciples. Such disciples are the elite among disciples. How could he make such a low-level mistake?

He missed the two most important characters in the eight-character essence of the 'Severing Sword Art'!

This is not normal!

Where is the problem?

His consciousness sinks, entering his mind.

Within his mind, there is a hidden mystery: a withered tree with three branches.

The leftmost withered branch shows a hint of green, with dozens of leaves. One leaf magnifies in his mind, revealing itself to be the sect's secret manual, the 'Severing Sword Art.' The young man's consciousness acts as his eyes, clearly seeing the inscription: "Macro Meridian, Expand Qi, Relax Weapon, Measure Opportunity..."

This is his secret.

A secret no one knows.

His name is Lin Su, and he is a transmigrator!

The first thing he encountered upon transmigrating was this tree in his mind.

He doesn't know if this "withered tree" is a benefit for transmigrators or a skill the original body possessed, but he knows this skill is incredibly powerful. As long as he touches a book, his withered tree in his mind will grow leaves. Each leaf perfectly replicates the book. With this skill, he has almost completely copied all the cultivation manuals below the second floor of the sect's library. Furthermore, with his understanding and knowledge far surpassing this era, he can interpret them perfectly and achieve mastery in a short period.

It is precisely because of this super cheat that he could play the role of "pavilion guardian" when his master left the Dao Seeking Pavilion, guiding disciples and incidentally changing the bad habit of free services to earn a little travel money.

Scamming for food, drink, and money... not yet for sex. Everything was going smoothly until today's unexpected event – the scripture comprehended by the personal disciple was inconsistent with the scripture he had copied.

This is not a small problem!

This is a major problem that concerns his livelihood!

If his knowledge system isn't authentic, he can't even scam with confidence...

Lin Su looks up: "Xiao Yao, I'm going out for a bit. You pluck the feathers off this wild chicken. I'll make you braised wild chicken when I get back..."

A clear drop of liquid unexpectedly trickles down the girl's lips. She picks up the wild chicken, wiping her drool as she plucks its feathers. It turns out that it's easy to impress the girl. If a tael of silver doesn't work, add a roasted chicken, and it's a sure thing.

Lin Su leaves the Dao Seeking Pavilion and heads to the library. He flashes his "registered disciple" nameplate and goes up to the second floor.

He found the "Severing Sword Art" and flipped to the second page. Beneath the general principles...

Lin Su was stunned!

The "Severing Sword Art" recorded on it truly had only six characters!

Yet, after his brain copied it, two more characters appeared. And it wasn't just those two; the entire sword art had gained more than a third of its content!

He had seen perfect copies before, but who had ever seen a copy more detailed than the original?

He couldn't be sure if this copy was the same one he had encountered for the first time. He needed to find another one and conduct an experiment on the spot!

Lin Su had basically finished copying the texts on the second floor. He couldn't access the third floor due to his status, so he could only look for any omissions. The omitted texts on the second floor were mostly incomplete manuals. He quickly found an incomplete manual, "Scattered Steps."

As soon as he touched it, a leaf formed in his brain, and a complete "Scattered Steps" appeared, ten times more substantial than the incomplete manual in his hand. The so-called incomplete manual was no longer incomplete...

Suddenly, a collective shout came from beside him: "Greetings, Saintess!"

Lin Su's thoughts snapped back from their chaos. He stared in the direction the disciples bowed, and with just one glance, his heart skipped a beat. A poem popped into his mind: "Her clothes recall the clouds, her face the flowers' bloom, with dew-kissed grace she graces the spring breeze's room. If not on Jade Mountain's peak, then where but Moon Terrace could she be found?"

This poem was written by Li Bai to shamelessly flatter a woman, but at this moment, Lin Su felt he could forgive Old Li.

If not on Moon Terrace, where else could such an immortal being be found?

This woman's face was as exquisite as if carved by a master craftsman. When her gaze shifted, it was like a celestial being looking down upon the masses. Her skin was as white as jade, and her elegance was unparalleled. If this woman appeared on a modern street, it was highly probable that passing drivers would crash their cars...

But this woman was aloof. She drifted past, not even nodding her head in response to the disciples' bows. With one step, she left the ground and ascended directly to the third floor.

She left behind a wisp of lingering fragrance.

Someone nearby said, "The Saintess seems to be in a bad mood. Did her southern journey not go smoothly?"

Another person replied, "It wasn't smooth, indeed. We encountered a big fish..."

Having said that, he seemed to have touched upon a taboo and quickly stopped speaking, leaving the library.

Lin Su lightly scratched his head, full of suspicion. Encountered a big fish? What did "big fish" refer to? And why "a" big fish, not "one"?

Never mind, most cultivators are illiterate or semi-literate. What would they know about quantifiers?

He wouldn't bother with it anymore. He would go back and roast a wild chicken for Xiao Yao, then continue his con tomorrow. He wanted to earn enough travel expenses as soon as possible to leave this wretched place. He didn't have the constitution for cultivation and couldn't enter the path of cultivation, but he refused to believe that cultivation was the only path in this world.

A modern person transmigrated to ancient times. To compete with them in their own domain, wouldn't that be foolish?

When he returned to the small courtyard, Xiao Yao had already plucked all the feathers from the wild chicken. Lin Su picked up the cleaver and began to chop, and soon, with a sizzle, steam rose from the iron pot, and the aroma of roasted meat filled the entire courtyard.

She ate the first piece of meat, Xiao Yao gnawing with a greasy mouth.

She ate the last piece of meat too, her face full of happiness.

She kept calling him "ge" (older brother), but he wasn't actually her brother.

She was an orphan in the sect, her parents having died long ago. The first time Lin Su saw her, it was over a month ago. At that time, she had just finished fighting with a wild dog and was holding a bone she had snatched from it with evident joy of victory. Lin Su patted her shoulder and said, "Little girl, I just roasted a fish. Come!"

From then on, the girl's world had been confined to within ten feet of this small courtyard.

After that, she called him "ge."

He savored having someone call him "ge" in this strange world, and he also loved watching her happily gnaw on a chicken leg with her eyes half-closed.