I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Ji Tian's tone became somewhat emotional, "It's not much. My eldest apprentice, Shirley, picked it up by the roadside. At the time, she was wrestling with an adult brown bear and won."

Lilith paused for a moment, "...Wrestling with a bear?"

"Yes, bare-handed."

"A bear? You won?"

"She won, the bear ran away, and she chased it for two miles, insisting on becoming sworn brothers with it."

Lilith was silent for a moment, and an image flashed into her mind: a girl riding a bear, galloping through the forest, shouting, "Brother, slow down!"

"Master, what kind of creature is your eldest disciple?"

Ji Tian wasn't entirely sure either, "It's probably human, just a bit stronger."

"Is it a bit too big?"

"The kind of punch that could send the city gates of Kold flying."

Lilith looked down at her fist, clenched it, and then relaxed it.

She decided that from now on, whenever she saw this senior sister, she would stand at attention and not say anything out of line.

"My second apprentice, Ophelia, is a half-elf. I found her on the border of the Elven Kingdom. She had gotten lost in the forest and had been wandering around for three days. She was so hungry that she was squatting under a tree eating tree bark."

"Gnawing on tree bark?"

"Hmm. But she ate it very elegantly."

"...Elegantly gnawing on tree bark?"

"She took each bite so neatly, it looked even more elegant than your 'hypnosis'." Ji Tian paused, "Later I found out that she ran away from home. Her father was a high-ranking nobleman in the Elf Royal Court, and her mother was human. She couldn't stay at home, so she ran away."

What is she good at?

"The divination and prophecy are very accurate, so accurate that even I am surprised."

"How do you determine the accuracy?"

"Once she predicted, 'It will rain tomorrow,' and it really did rain the next day."

Lilith waited a moment, but heard no further description. "...That's it?"

"She said it in the desert that time."

Lilith fell silent again.

She decided that whenever she saw this second senior sister in the future, she would stand properly—because she also wanted to do a divination to see if she would be able to eat small cakes every day in the future.

No, Lilith, you've lost your ambition!

You should consult a fortune teller to see if you can eat cakes, egg tarts, macarons, canelés, crème brûlée, lava cakes, cream puffs, and donuts every day.

Okay, that's all.

I can't eat any more.

"My third apprentice, Alice, is the youngest daughter of the Grand Duke of the Eastern Territory." Ji Tian's tone changed slightly as he said this, as if he was recalling something unpleasant. "She wasn't picked up; she came to me on her own."

"They came to us on their own?"

"Yes. She heard about the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect from somewhere and thought that a 'hidden sect' was cool. She left a letter saying 'I'm going to cultivate immortality, don't worry about me' and ran away. The Grand Duke sent a knight order to find her, but she hid in a cave in the back mountain of the sect for three days."

"And then?"

"Later, after the Knights left, she came out of the cave and said, 'Finally, I can cultivate in peace.' Then she discovered that I had taken the other disciples out on a training expedition, and she waited in the cave for another seven days."

Lilith's lips twitched. "...Didn't she even think of leaving her contact information?"

She said, "Those who cultivate immortality should sever all worldly ties."

"But she came without even asking for the sect's address!"

"That's why I say she acts without thinking."

Ji Tian evaluated his three apprentices with a blank expression, but Lilith noticed that when he said "without thinking," his voice was a little softer than usual—it sounded like a scolding, but not quite.

"She has a great talent for cultivation. She can learn spells very quickly, and once she learns them, she becomes proficient. Once she becomes proficient, she becomes so arrogant that she forgets everything else. Once, she was practicing the newly learned Burning Technique on the back mountain of the sect. When she was fusing with a strange fire, an accident happened, and she burned down half of the mountain."

"Burned?"

"Yes. After it burned, she stood in the ashes and said, 'The way of fire is like this.' Then I punished her by making her copy the Tao Te Ching one hundred times."

"Did she copy it?" Lilith didn't know what the Tao Te Ching was, but she figured it must be a powerful text.

"It was copied. It was burned onto an iron plate using fire magic, and every stroke was burned perfectly."

Lilith imagined the scene: a girl standing in front of an iron plate, fire shooting from her fingertips, writing characters stroke by stroke, with half a mountain charred behind her.

"Master, is your third disciple... a little bit crazy?"

"Not just a little, but a lot."

Ji Tian answered without hesitation.

If even a master with abnormal brain circuits thinks it's abnormal, then it really is very abnormal.

Lilith thought her third senior sister was quite remarkable.

"Fourth disciple..." Ji Tian paused here, as if he was choosing his words carefully.

"She was an ordinary person. She had no magic, no talent, and nothing special about her at the beginning."

Lilith paused, taken aback. "An ordinary person? Then why are you—"

"Because she was standing there." Ji Tian's gaze pierced through the dense forest, his voice calm. "The village was slaughtered by monsters, everyone died, only she stood. Holding a fire poker, covered in blood, she stood at the village entrance, facing more than a dozen kobolds, without taking a single step back."

"When I arrived, she was already too weak to stand from being bitten, but she was still wielding that fire poker. I wiped out those kobolds, and she glanced at me and said, 'Can you teach me to become stronger?'"

"She was badly injured; a piece of flesh was torn from her leg, her left arm was broken, and three ribs were broken. But she didn't cry or complain of pain; she just looked at me."

I said, "You don't have the talent for cultivation." She replied, "Then I'll practice ten times more than others." I said, "Practicing ten times more might not even be useful." She replied, "Then I'll practice a hundred times more."

Ji Tian paused for a moment, then continued:

"So I took her as my apprentice."

Ji Tian mainly felt that the other party was definitely a protagonist in a fantasy world, and he wanted to imagine himself as the protagonist's grandfather, with a system or other cheat codes.

But these things "cannot be told to outsiders," so naturally, they were not mentioned.

Lilith opened her mouth, as if to say something, but found her throat tighten.

She recalled her time as a fugitive—being hunted, chased, and treated like a monster.

She never had the courage to stand at the village entrance facing a dozen or so monsters.

All she can do is run.

"Master."

"Um."

"What's Fourth Senior Sister's name?"

"Jenny."

Lilith remained silent for a long time.

She suddenly realized that the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect was probably not some kind of bizarre performance art group.

It is a place that shelters people who have nowhere else to go.

A place where you can stay, whether you're strong or weak, human or egg, as long as you're willing.

"Master."

"Um."

"Will I be able to see them again in the future?"

"Of course you can. Once you learn the Concealing Breath Technique, you won't be stunned by Senior Sister's aura the moment you appear."

"...How strong is Senior Sister's aura?"

"Last time, a D-rank adventurer was loitering near the sect. He glanced at Sherry, who was holding a steel coil with one hand, and fainted on the spot. Oh, by the way, the steel coil is..."

Lilith decided to prioritize learning the Concealing Breath technique.

"Let's go." Ji Tian turned and walked into the depths of the dense forest. "The demons have gone far away."

Lilith jogged after her, her steps much lighter.

"Master."

"What's wrong now?"

"That egg you mentioned, can it really become stronger just by listening to Taoist teachings?"

"Um."

"So, when it hatches, will it be very powerful right from birth?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Will it look down on us 'ordinary disciples' then?"

"Won't."

How did you know?

"Because it grew up hearing the Word, and the Word does not discriminate between the noble and the lowly."

Lilith remained silent for a while.

She suddenly felt a little envious of that egg, which had already gained a master, senior sisters, and a thriving sect before it was even born.

"Master."

"Um."

"You say that egg understands Taoist teachings, but does it understand what I'm saying?"

"able."

"Could you please tell it for me—'Your senior sister is waiting for you to hatch and will treat you to a little cake'?"

"You're my junior sister."

"As for tonics, I don't want to be the youngest in terms of seniority..."

……

Western Wasteland, Headquarters of the Third Legion of the Human Kingdom.

Inside the military tent, the magic crystal lamps emitted a pale light, illuminating every crystal chess piece on the sand table that represented troop strength with exquisite detail.

General von Mack, commander of the Third Army Corps, stood in front of the sand table, his hands resting on the edge of the table, his eyes fixed on the red and blue markings like those of a hawk.

He was over fifty years old, with gray hair and beard, but his back was as straight as a spear, and the gold stars on his epaulets gleamed with a cold, hard light under the crystal lamps.

The dark blue military uniform he wore, trimmed with gold, had every button polished to a gleaming shine, as if it could reflect the depths of one's heart.

The tent flap was lifted, and a messenger strode in and knelt on one knee.

"General, Lord Alex the Brave has sent an urgent message."

"read."

The messenger unfurled the parchment, his voice clear and bright: "Although the demon vanguard is numerous, their command is isolated ahead of the main force. I suggest sending a small elite force to raid their command post, creating chaos, and then having the Third Legion flank them from the side, rather than engaging in a head-on battle. Attached: a detailed reconnaissance map."

Mike didn't reply, but simply picked up the silver chess piece representing the Brave Squad from the sand table and twirled it between his fingers.

The chess pieces are carved into the shape of crossed swords and shields, refracting tiny fragments of light under the crystal lamp.

The generals in the tent looked at each other, none daring to speak first.

The silence lasted for a long time.

Finally, Mike gently placed the silver chess piece back into an inconspicuous corner at the edge of the sand table.

He spoke, his voice not loud, but every word seemed cast in iron, striking the eardrums of everyone in the tent.

"I do not understand--"