The protagonist template!

Faced with the wooden sword pressed against his throat.

Li Xingtian promptly backed down. He had swallowed his pride plenty of times in his sect in his previous life anyway. Raising both hands high, he said:

"I'm not one of them. I don't know any of those people you mentioned."

Li Yingling's gaze sharpened. "Then what are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

Li Xingtian's thoughts raced as he tried to find an excuse to fob her off.

Just then, a voice drifted over from the temple.

"Our sect's reputation must have spread far and wide. This talented young man must have come to join us, right?"

Li Xingtian glanced over and saw a handsome young man in a shabby Daoist robe leaning against the doorway, watching him with a smile.

Li Yingling was rather speechless. "Master, I think... isn't that a little unlikely?"

If Li Yingling still didn't know what their so-called sect was really like, she would have been a complete idiot.

Her master's cultivation might be impressive, but he probably couldn't sweep through the Black Tortoise Kingdom unchallenged. Only his identity remained questionable; she had no idea where he had gotten so many top-tier cultivation methods.

But claiming their reputation had spread far enough to attract recruits was nothing but a nighttime chat with the Duke of Zhou-talking in their sleep.

Chu Xingchen strolled over leisurely.

He carefully sized up the young man before him.

Short hair, a somewhat thin frame, and eyes that showed no panic despite the sword at his throat.

He glanced at the system.

[Target: Li Xingtian]

[Cultivation: Qi Refining Second Layer]

[Gold trait: Reborn]

[Purple trait: Decisive and ruthless]

[Blue trait: Devoted and loyal]

[Meets disciple recruitment requirements]

The system had just notified him that someone who met the disciple recruitment requirements had appeared nearby.

A sweep of his spiritual sense revealed that Li Yingling had caught the fellow.

Chu Xingchen looked at the youth before him and clicked his tongue in wonder.

A Reborn, huh? One look tells you he's got the protagonist template.

Especially that devoted and loyal trait. He'd be the sect leader's cozy little padded jacket. Too bad he's a guy.

A potential disciple delivering himself to their doorstep was a rare opportunity. Whatever it took, Chu Xingchen had to bring him into the fold.

Seeing Chu Xingchen's expression, as though he had seen straight through him, Li Xingtian couldn't help feeling alarmed.

He hadn't expected her master to come in person rather than a guardian.

Li Xingtian took a deep breath and asked slowly, "May I ask which sect you belong to, Senior?"

At that question, Li Yingling also turned a curious gaze toward Chu Xingchen.

She didn't know either. Whenever she asked, her master always brushed the question aside without answering.

In truth, this question hadn't only troubled Li Yingling for a long time.

It had troubled Chu Xingchen for a long time too. As someone who struggled with naming things, he had always wanted a name that was both meaningful and elegant.

Now, faced with Li Xingtian's questioning gaze, Chu Xingchen knew he had to answer, whether he wanted to or not.

Otherwise, this prospective disciple might just slip away.

He looked up at the sky.

Then Chu Xingchen said leisurely, "Our sect is called the Heavenly Dao Alliance."

The Heavenly Dao Alliance? Li Xingtian's pupils contracted slightly. They actually dare to name themselves after the Heavenly Dao?!

His former self's horizons had been far too narrow, after all.

He had long heard that the Central Continent was home to many hidden immortal sects. Presumably, these two belonged to one of them.

Li Xingtian quickly cupped his hands. "I was only passing through and had no intention of disturbing you..."

Chu Xingchen promptly raised a hand to interrupt him, narrowing his eyes as though he had noticed something:

"You carry the scent of karma. Is this... time?"

At those words, Li Xingtian's heart pounded wildly. He no longer dared raise his head to meet Chu Xingchen's eyes.

This man can see through the karma of time?!

What cultivation level is he at? Spirit Transformation or Tribulation Transcendence?

How could I run into someone this powerful in a remote corner of the Southern Jambu Continent?

Could he have come for the bone jade too?

But I obtained the bone jade in my previous life. That means this senior never found it!

Why am I still thinking about the bone jade?! How can I be thinking about that at a time like this?

He's already seen that something is wrong with my karma of time. Does he know I'm Reborn? Is this powerhouse going to tie me up and study me?

While Li Xingtian's mind churned frantically.

Someone else was also racking his brains for a way to fool the Reborn before him.

After a while, Chu Xingchen said quietly, "Boy, carrying such immense karma isn't necessarily a blessing or a curse."

Li Xingtian froze at those words. Feeling that the senior before him seemed to be warning him about something, he hurriedly asked:

"What do you mean, Senior?"

Chu Xingchen put on an inscrutable air. "Time is a raging torrent, an irresistible tide, an immutable law. Swim against its current, and you'll either be ground to dust or win renown throughout the world."

Li Xingtian drew a deep breath. Seemingly understanding Chu Xingchen's hint, he said firmly:

"Whether I'm ground to dust or win renown throughout the world, I already know what I must do in this life."

Chu Xingchen nodded in satisfaction, his expression saying that he greatly approved of the young man's spirit.

"Cultivation itself is an act of defying heaven."

A trace of hesitation appeared on Chu Xingchen's face. Then he sighed. "Very well. It seems we share a destined connection. Would you be willing to become my disciple?"

Li Xingtian was briefly stunned. He looked at Chu Xingchen in disbelief, wanting to speak but holding back.

Naturally, Chu Xingchen saw his concerns.

He was simply afraid that Chu Xingchen was laying a trap to deceive him.

Since Li Xingtian was Reborn, yet currently only at the Qi Refining Second Layer, and his feet had been rubbed bloody.

There must have been something in this dilapidated temple that was extremely important to him.

As for what that something was, did it even require much thought?

It was clearly the key to Li Xingtian turning his fortunes around, his most important destined opportunity!

As though he had seen through Li Xingtian's thoughts, Chu Xingchen gave a disdainful smile.

"You underestimate the people of this world. What you consider a supreme treasure is merely something we could take or leave. Go inside and claim the opportunity that belongs to you."

With his secret laid bare in an instant, Li Xingtian looked at Chu Xingchen, unable to conceal his astonishment.

Chu Xingchen maintained the bearing of an exalted master.

"It's just a shame that your vision is so short-sighted, you can't recognize a true opportunity."

Li Xingtian struggled inwardly, but still cupped his hands. "Thank you for showing mercy, Senior. But I'm not accustomed to the constraints of a sect. I hope you'll forgive me."

Chu Xingchen silently shook his head and turned aside, no longer looking at him.

"Yingling, let him go."

Although she didn't know what act her master was putting on, nor what the two of them were being so mysterious about.

When it was time to give her master face, Li Yingling would naturally do so without hesitation.

Li Yingling withdrew her wooden sword and respectfully cupped her hands toward Chu Xingchen.

"Yes, Master."

At the same time, she secretly winked at Chu Xingchen from an angle Li Xingtian couldn't see.

Signaling just how obedient she was.

Chu Xingchen nodded in great satisfaction.

Li Xingtian cupped his hands in thanks once more, then climbed back up the small slope, not daring to look behind him again.

He stepped inside the temple.

The temple now showed plenty of signs of habitation and was already very different from when Li Xingtian had first come here.

Even the wooden boards beneath the statue's platform had been completely removed.

Li Xingtian's heart lurched. He hurried beneath the statue and reached out to feel the floor.

Only to discover that the little stone he remembered was already gone.

What happened?

Did the senior take it? But he spoke so casually, and his cultivation is unfathomable.

I'm only at the Qi Refining Second Layer right now. He could do whatever he wanted with me with a mere flick of his hand.

There should be no need for him to deceive me.

Then where did it go?

"I used what you're looking for to prop up a table leg."

Chu Xingchen's voice came from behind him again.

Li Xingtian didn't turn to look at him. Instead, following Chu Xingchen's words, he looked toward the nearby table leg.

The Millennium Bone Jade he had yearned for was indeed propping up the table.