Chapter 125: Transmigrating with My Master

To be fair, it was not just Xing Qiluo who sat far away; the other venerable masters had not even appeared. They were certainly not intending to slight Chu Hanyu, though, admittedly, a few of them were never going to show up. In the current climate of the Azure Heaven Realm, even those from the righteous path would not be at daggers drawn with him the moment they met. Even if they did not attend in person, they would send gifts, and a few were certain to appear once the apprenticeship ceremony concluded.

However, having reached their level of cultivation, they were all accustomed to living life on their own terms. How could they be expected to sit obediently for two hours? Yin Wuji, who had arrived yesterday, was now nowhere to be found, and Chu Hanyu could hardly keep his divine sense locked onto him indefinitely. It was easy to guess, however, that he was currently wandering around the Great Freedom Heavenly Demon Sect, searching for his precious daughter.

Fortunately, everyone understood Yin Wuji’s temperament, so no one suspected a falling out. As for Xing Qiluo, because his relationship with Chu Hanyu was so close, it would have been unseemly not to appear at all, which explained why he had chosen to sit so far away.

Chu Hanyu realized that in the blink of an eye, Zhang Ning had almost reached his feet, yet he still had not decided whether to accept him as a personal disciple or something else.

Zhang Ning found that when the moment finally arrived, it was not as difficult as he had imagined. Like a classic scene from The Lion King, he climbed the steps, step by step, under the gazes of the various people who were respectfully waiting for him to complete the ceremony.

As Zhang Ning saw Master Chu Hanyu’s face more and more clearly, he began to swallow nervously. The surrounding scene and the noise began to fade away. He looked straight at Chu Hanyu, only to find that his master’s eyes seemed to be… flickering?

What was his master thinking?

Zhang Ning gazed at Chu Hanyu, somewhat dazed: "I wonder how many kowtows Master will ask me to perform?"

Zhang Ning had already learned that a nominal disciple kowtows three times, a personal disciple six times, and a mantle-inheriting disciple nine times. There was no difference in status between the latter two; it only concerned the "path" Zhang Ning would follow in the future.

The specific number of kowtows depended entirely on the master’s signal. Zhang Ning knew that his senior brothers had all kowtowed six times. Barring any surprises, he should be the same. He felt that he had already received too much since arriving in the Azure Heaven Realm; the number of kowtows truly made no difference to him.

Therefore, he had thought earlier that if his master only accepted him as a nominal disciple, it would be enough. Yet, as the moment arrived, hearing the rhythm of his own heartbeat, Zhang Ning realized he did care about these things after all.

Am I really such a greedy person?

Although Zhang Ning was distracted, his pace remained steady. His worries about tripping over his own robes were purely overthinking. He walked calmly until he was only a dozen steps away from his master, but just as he was about to reach his side, he heard a shrill, frantic ringing in his mind—the system!

Truth be told, because he had been so immersed in staying by his master’s side these past few days, Zhang Ning had not checked his live-streaming panel for nearly half a month. He was completely unaware of the bright red text that had been flashing on the system interface for days.

He could only passively listen to the system’s buzzing and its notification: "System Alert! Alert! The streamer has failed to reward the top-ranked VIP user within the time limit. The system is initiating a mandatory reward… Selecting… Selecting the highest-value Sweet Couple Getaway in a Small World currently affordable to the streamer. Wishing the streamer and the VIP user a pleasant trip. Refusing to be a freeloader, live-stream with class!"

Zhang Ning was instantly stunned.

What? What?!

Perhaps Zhang Ning’s expression betrayed him, for Chu Hanyu stood up abruptly. His gaze turned sharp, his expression grew stern, and his right hand even reached toward his long-unused natal divine weapon, the Karmic Fire Whip. "Zhang Ning?" he asked tentatively.

But Zhang Ning did not have time to respond to his master. The sky before his eyes seemed to be torn apart by someone, cracking inch by inch. Everything went black, followed by a blinding brightness. He felt that familiar sensation once more: like a meteor streaking across the sky!

Esper Small World

When Zhang Ning woke up this time, his limbs felt truly weak, unlike the last time when, despite his poor physical condition, he could still barely control his body. This time, Zhang Ning felt a bone-deep exhaustion. However, when he looked down at his body, he was shocked—these were modern clothes!

Zhang Ning still had small hands and feet, appearing to be about eight years old, but he was wearing a tiny sports jacket and a pair of shorts. He almost thought he had returned to Water Blue Planet, but he immediately realized something was wrong; this was not Water Blue Planet.

Zhang Ning remembered the system alert he heard just as the apprenticeship ceremony was about to conclude. The situation was different from when he first transmigrated and was already a university student. Moreover, in his memory, even on Water Blue Planet, he had never worn clothes like this as a child.

Zhang Ning was Chinese, and he remembered that his family, especially his father, was always afraid he would catch a cold, so he wore long pants and long sleeves all year round. He had never worn shorts like these. It was clear: the system had swindled him again!

Zhang Ning was so angry he did not know what to do. If he could find the button, he would have pressed "uninstall" immediately, forgetting for a moment to check if his surroundings were safe.

However, when Zhang Ning opened the system panel, he froze: "Why is everything gray?!"

Zhang Ning stared in shock at the attention points on the system panel; it displayed zero! Zero! My… my hard-earned attention points! Ahhhhh!!!!

Only when Zhang Ning checked the past notifications did he suddenly understand what the alert meant. The system had previously warned him to reward the VIP viewer’s tips as soon as possible, but he had been too preoccupied with his master to pay attention. This time, he had brought it upon himself. The notification showed that the system had rejected his "freeloading" behavior and forced him to provide the highest-value return gift he could afford, buying a pair of travel vouchers for a Small World, which had wiped out his attention points down to the last digit. Zhang Ning had to admit defeat.

He then immediately checked the system’s storage grid, only to find it frozen as well. A herd of alpacas seemed to stampede through his heart, and he was at a loss for words.

It was not that Zhang Ning was a miser; it was just that he had lived a frugal, penny-pinching life before transmigrating, so his first reaction was to check his points and then his storage. Although his current net worth could rival a second-rate sect, he was, after all, a prince; many things were handed over to Su Ye, who spent them as soon as he got them.

Come to think of it, not only was the viewership of Zhang Ning’s own stream incredibly high, but under the "Great Freedom Live" banner, the N-Site now had many other "popular" streamers, and the response in the Azure Heaven Realm was enthusiastic. Su Ye was even considering filming a television series…

Thus, Zhang Ning was effectively a wealthy businessman with a great deal of real estate but very little liquid capital.