Chapter 412: The Legacy Left by the Master

“Ancestral Master?”

Han Sen jolted and found a strange frame appearing in his mind. The words “Strongest Big Shot System” glowed brightly. As a seasoned novel addict who’d spent ten years reading before the resurgence of spiritual energy – even earning the nickname “Reader Daddy” among peers – he immediately understood.

A system!

He never imagined Han Sen would gain such a thing.

“System Daddy? Show yourself!”

Silence.

Unwilling to accept this, Han Sen put down his packed luggage. He bathed, changed into fresh robes, lit incense, and performed full prayer rituals.

“Switch to loli voice mode.”

All the novels he’d read featured cute system voices. But despite spending the whole morning in the temple alternating between threats and desperate pleas, nothing worked.

The system remained utterly unresponsive – no intelligence, no voice options, not even basic interaction.

“Must’ve activated it wrong. Mine’s a different type.”

Han Sen inhaled deeply and tried other system archetypes from his reading memory. At least he knew all the tropes.

“Deep Blue! Add stats!”

Nothing happened for ten frozen seconds. He threw his incense stick down in frustration.

“This has to be fake!”

If the system wasn’t real, his mind must be broken – the worst possible outcome. Yet evidence pointed this way. Beyond the initial vision, the “system” showed zero activity.

——

Meanwhile, Zuo Meng’s avatar gradually awakened within the young Taoist. Limited by the World Barrier’s suppression and insufficient power leakage from his true form, he could only manifest as this “Strongest Big Shot System”.

“The spiritual energy resurgence… seems my doing.”

With slight focus, Zuo Meng traced the chaos to its source – his earlier collision with the World Barrier three years ago (by this world’s timeline). The resulting rift had let chaotic energy flood in.

To native beings, this alien power manifested as monsters – immortals, demons, spirits. The Awakened Ones among humans? Same chaotic origin.

Zuo Meng shrugged mentally. Not his fault – the chaotic energy did everything.

Besides, shouldn’t outer demon invasions cause chaos? As the invading entity from beyond, his mere presence in the dimensional gap kept the rift open. Chaotic energy would keep flowing, monsters keep spawning.

Not that these mortals could comprehend such truths. Their lowly rank made intervention impossible anyway.

——

After hours of failed attempts, Han Sen finally abandoned his efforts in the dusty temple.

The dream of becoming one of the Awakened Ones had shattered, and the system showed no response. He might even have developed delusional fantasies – truly an undeserved misfortune.

Abandoning his struggles, Han Sen repacked his belongings and prepared to proceed with his mountain descent plan.

“Anyone here?”

Before Han Sen could finish packing, knocking echoed from the temple gate.

Since the resurgence of spiritual energy, places like Taoist temples had been branded as fraudulent. If you couldn’t demonstrate any sacred power during this spiritual resurgence, what else could you be but a scammer? This mentality left few worshippers nowadays, which was why Han Sen insisted on leaving the mountain.

He simply couldn’t survive here anymore.

Creak!

Han Sen ultimately decided to greet the visitor. The temple had been his master’s legacy, after all. Leaving the mountain was merely survival necessity, like country youths working in cities – their souls remained in hometowns while their bodies sought sustenance elsewhere.

“Who are you?”

“I’ve come to burn incense!”

The middle-aged man clutching a leather briefcase stood dripping with sweat, clearly having just climbed the mountain.

“We’re closed to visitors…”

Before Han Sen could finish speaking, the man decisively pulled out a thick cash stack from his briefcase.

“Enough?”

Han Sen’s refusal died in his throat. The stack’s thickness suggested at least twenty thousand yuan – more than he’d earn in a year. With this, mountain life became sustainable again. As Han Sen gulped, the man produced two more stacks.

“More if needed.”

Three stacks. Sixty thousand yuan!

Such brazen cash-flaunting.

Tch.

Damned capitalists.

Han Sen mentally cursed while adopting an obsequious smile, accepting the money.

Sweet!

After verifying the bills’ authenticity, Han Sen swiftly opened the gates.

“Right this way.”

The man entered without surprise, briefcase in hand.

“This is Cheng Tian Temple honoring the Great Unity Celestial. The Zheng Fa Hall enshrines…” Han Sen’s demeanor transformed instantly, eagerly explaining the temple layout.

“Here’s fine. I’ll pray for safety.”

After burning incense and kowtowing in Zheng Fa Hall, the visitor finally asked:

“Where’s your master?”

“Passed two years back. Did you know him?” Understanding dawned on Han Sen – this explained the sudden worshipper.

Friendship aside, refunds were non-negotiable.

A matter of principle.

Fortunately, the man showed no such intention, clearly affluent enough.

“Dead?”

The man’s face darkened. He’d apparently sought Han Sen’s master, the old Taoist priest, unaware the grave now bore three-year growth. While the man couldn’t be found, perhaps his ashes remained obtainable.

“Complicates matters.”

“Trouble, sir? I inherited all my master’s skills.” Han Sen struck a solemn pose, channeling memories of his master performing rituals.