I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

"No." Ophelia's voice remained calm, but Mason noticed that the tips of her ears seemed a little redder in the moonlight than when they first met, and he couldn't be sure if it was just the lighting.

"I'll just take one look—"

"Please keep moving forward."

Ophelia walked ahead, and after a few steps, as if sensing the other's disappointment, she softened and slowly spoke:

"If you want to see new stories, you can go find your third senior sister later. She has more ideas than me, and... most of those plot points were her creations."

Upon hearing this, Mason snapped out of her disappointment and clapped her hands in sudden realization: "I knew it! Some of the plots you wrote, Senior Sister, were incredibly moving, while others were so heart-wrenching they made my heart ache. How could one person come up with so many variations? It turns out it was a collaboration between sisters!"

Ophelia simply nodded slightly, neither confirming nor denying, and continued walking forward.

"Third Junior Sister is lively and cheerful. You and her... should get along well. In the sect leader's words, it's like 'a kindred spirit finding a kindred spirit.'"

"High mountains and flowing water? I didn't expect the sect leader to be so powerful and talented in literature. It sounds so poetic!"

The group walked through the bamboo forest, and after walking several dozen steps, the view suddenly opened up before them.

A flat bluestone plaza appeared on the mountainside. Wooden stakes were driven into the ground around the plaza, and targets were set up. Various weapons were hung on the weapon racks, from longswords to short knives, from spears to meteor hammers.

"The training ground," Ophelia explained. "Disciples spar here on weekdays, and the sect leader occasionally comes down to give guidance."

Alex approached the weapon rack, picked up a longsword at random, and weighed it in his hand.

The sword is made of ordinary iron, but the edge is neatly sharpened and the center of gravity is balanced, clearly a work of craftsmanship.

"Who manufactured these weapons?"

"These are just ordinary weapons, bought by the sect leader from a blacksmith shop in a small town at the foot of the mountain. They're nothing special. The training equipment that the sect leader actually made is with our eldest sister. Among the disciples, only she can use it for training."

Alex became interested upon hearing this, "What kind of equipment can only Senior Sister use for practice?"

If possible, he would like to give it a try.

"It's called 'Steel Coil.' I advise you not to underestimate it just because of its unremarkable name. The sect leader was afraid that Alice would deliberately kill herself, so he specially demonstrated it to us: a demon wolf that was slaughtering a village was directly crushed into a puddle by the smallest steel coil that was only moving slowly, the kind that couldn't be shoveled away."

Okay, he gave up.

Seeing that the other party seemed somewhat disappointed, Ophelia continued, "But you don't need to worry about not having a suitable weapon. The sect leader will find suitable materials for you and guide you in crafting your natal magic weapon."

Alex was taken aback. "A natal magical artifact?"

"It's a magical artifact that cultivates in harmony with your own life force, the kind that grows along with your strength."

Alex looked down at the iron sword in his hand, lost in thought.

Ophelia turned around and continued walking. "Above the training ground is the herb garden. Jenny goes there every day to tend to the herbs; it's one of her few pastimes. Sherry goes there occasionally, but she goes to look at the mushrooms next to the herb garden."

"mushroom?"

"The sect leader transplanted these from various places, hoping to cultivate them into the main ingredient for refining the perfect Foundation Establishment Pill, but so far he has not succeeded. Shirley thought those mushrooms were delicious, tried them once, and said they tasted good. Alice followed suit and ate them too, and as a result, she couldn't get out of bed for three days."

Mason imagined the scene and decided to stay away from those mushrooms from now on.

After passing through the long stone corridor, Ophelia stopped in front of a two-story pavilion.

The entire pavilion is built of bluish-gray stone, and a plaque hangs above the door with the three characters "Zangjingge" (Scripture Repository), written in a restrained yet vigorous style.

Mason tiptoed and peered through the crack in the window. He could see rows of bookshelves inside, with neat spines faintly visible. "Aren't we going in to take a look?"

Ophelia shook her head, standing straight at the bottom of the steps, her cloak swaying slightly in the night breeze: "The Scripture Pavilion is usually managed by the Sect Master himself, and no one may enter without permission. I'm just showing you around."

She turned around to face the two of them, her icy blue eyes as calm as a lake in the moonlight.

"However, this rule is mainly to keep Third Junior Sister out. If you really want to go in, you can ask the Sect Master for permission later. The books inside... are extremely mysterious."

Alex's interest was piqued again. "What book?"

"Most of them are cultivation techniques and scriptures created by the sect leader himself," Ophelia paused, then added, "but they are all signed by other people."

Mason blinked, thinking he'd misheard: "Someone else's name? Why?"

"The sect leader said that those techniques were not his original creations. He only grasped a little bit of the basics and dared not take credit for them. For example, the book 'The Basic Theory of the Five Elements' is signed 'Anonymous Taoist.' The sect leader said that he recorded it after observing the clouds on the mountaintop for seven days and having a dream. In the dream, an old Taoist gave him oral instruction. When he woke up, he only remembered 70% of it, and he filled in the remaining 30%."

"There is also the 'Sword Heart Clarity Technique,' signed 'Sword Heart.' It is said that the sect leader sat in meditation under a waterfall for three days, and heard the sound of metal clashing amidst the sound of water, and recorded it."

Mason listened intently, and took two steps forward. "What about the books the sect leader wrote himself?"

"Yes, but very few." Ophelia thought for a moment. "The 'Introduction to the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect' was written by him personally, without a signature. He said that he is not yet at the level to leave his name."

A night breeze blew by, and the wind chimes on the eaves of the Sutra Repository rang out a few crisp sounds.

Ophelia withdrew her gaze and turned to walk along another stone path.

"The ancestral hall is over here."

The stone path is not long, and evergreen pines and cypresses are planted on both sides. The moonlight cuts and shatters the shadows of the branches and leaves, and sprinkles them on the bluestone slabs.

At the end of the road is an octagonal pavilion, which has no tables or chairs, only a stone altar.

Above the altar, a wall was polished smooth as a mirror and densely covered with names.

Alex approached and, by the moonlight, made out a few lines—

"Emperor Ye", "Emperor Huangtian", "Emperor Yan", "Martial Ancestor", "Han Tianzun", "Mr. Ji"...

Next to these names was a line of small characters, which they couldn't understand at all, but they felt that each character was written with vigorous strokes.

"These are..." he asked hesitantly.

"The Hall of Worship." Ophelia's voice sounded particularly clear in the night wind. "The sect leader said that these are the 'predecessors' who guided him on his path. Some are in books, some in dreams, and some exist only in legends. He does not worship gods or kings, but only these guides."

Alex didn't ask any more questions, but simply memorized those names.

Mason approached the altar and found several fresh wild fruits and a small bunch of unidentified wildflowers neatly arranged on it.

"Who put this here?"

"Fourth Junior Sister. Every morning after her practice, she comes here to clean the offering hall and pick some wildflowers and fruits to offer." Ophelia smiled. "She said that we should thank these seniors for paving the way for the sect leader and exploring the path for all people."

The night breeze swept through the octagonal pavilion, making the names on the stone walls seem to glow faintly.

"Let's go." Ophelia turned around, her cloak drawing a graceful arc in the night breeze. "There are still many places we haven't seen. The sect leader specifically instructed that I take you to see all the 'safe' areas. As for those with arrays... we'll talk about them after you officially become disciples. Next, I'll take you to find rooms to stay in."

"Okay." Alex took one last look at the wall, bowed slightly, and followed her.