CHAPTER 2

 — Entering Chonghua —

"Mm..." Tong Tong slowly opened her eyes, then "snapped" them shut, only to "snap" them open again. As if unwilling to believe what she was seeing, she repeated the motion of opening and closing her eyes several times before blinking in frustration at the man smiling at her. She muttered under her breath, "This doesn't make sense... I clearly remember seeing a top-tier beauty. How did it turn into a diao-si [loser]..."

Hearing every word she said, the man's smile instantly stiffened. Suppressing the twitch at the corner of his mouth, he spoke with what he thought was his most gentle and cheerful expression—though in her eyes, it appeared twisted and menacing—"Hello, beautiful. My name is Ding Ding. You can call me Young Master Ding. Judging by your attire, we're clearly from the same place—the Heavenly Dynasty [China]. As they say, when fellow countrymen meet, tears fill their eyes! Of course, Young Master Ding will take care of you, so no need to be too moved! I crossed over in 20xx, and I was originally a rich! second! generation!" The smiling man emphasized the last three words as if forcing them through gritted teeth. "What should I call you, beautiful?"

Tong Tong was overwhelmed by his barrage of words, her already hazy mind growing even more confused. She closed her eyes and sighed, "So it was just a dream... I knew it. Someone that beautiful couldn't possibly exist in reality... But why would a loser appear in my dream... and such a chatterbox too... Hmm, I should go back to sleep..." As she spoke, she made as if to drift off again.

Having expended so much effort only to be mercilessly dismissed, Ding Ding finally couldn't take it anymore and roared, "Wake up, you idiot!" As he spoke, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her vigorously, determined not to stop until she was fully awake.

"Ahhh! Be gentle! Stop, stop shaking... I'm dizzy... Blegh..." Feeling as though she might vomit at any moment, Tong Tong swiftly grabbed the man's wrist and weakly protested, "Young Master Ding, right? I get it... Let go, calm down... Let's talk this through properly..."

Following her lead, Ding Ding relaxed his grip, his nearly frayed temper quickly returning to normal. Pretending to straighten his collar, he subtly withdrew his hands, took a deep breath, and flashed a bright, eight-toothed smile. "I know you must have a lot of questions. Don't worry, I'll answer them one by one."

In Ding Ding's mind, he had already prepared a well-rehearsed script, ready to introduce himself as a senior to this newly arrived fellow countryman and boast about his own remarkable achievements. However, before he could unleash what he believed to be the awe-inspiring aura of a king capable of intimidating all followers, Tong Tong, who had been leaning weakly against the headboard, suddenly sat up straight. As if finding her long-lost organization, she tightly grabbed his hands, her eyes brimming with tears, and said, "Great! Is there any food? I'm hungry..."

"..." Ding Ding's face turned pale, and he swallowed back the modest and magnanimous words he had prepared. Instead, he ordered the cyan-robed disciple waiting outside to bring some food.

Thus, while Tong Tong was devouring the few plates of exquisite and delicious pastries on the table like a whirlwind, she reluctantly spared a small fraction of her attention to listen as Ding Ding set the stage and began recounting the whole story like a professional storyteller, talking nonstop.

"So, this is another dimension? I've transmigrated?" Licking her lips with lingering satisfaction, Tong Tong patted her slightly full stomach as her sluggish mind finally returned to normal operation. She asked in disbelief.

Satisfied, Ding Ding nodded: This was the normal reaction! With a flourish, he opened a folding fan that seemed to appear out of nowhere, striking a pose of elegance. "Indeed."

"Oh my god, how could this happen! You, a heartless playboy, being struck by lightning and sent here makes sense... but why would I, a hardworking office lady, be sent here for no reason? I was just hiking... Wait, where is A'xi? Could she have transmigrated here with me?" At this thought, Tong Tong clenched her right hand into a fist and struck her left palm, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Ding Ding—only to be startled by his dark, angry expression.

"Wh-what's wrong with you?" 'Why did your face suddenly look so terrifying? Who offended you...'

"Wh-what's wrong?! You... you woman... Who are you calling heartless?! This young master may be a bit playful, but I've never done anything bad, okay? How did I become an utterly wicked villain in your words?! Dare you say you're not just resentful of the rich?! Huh?" The fan fluttered wildly as Ding Ding desperately tried to control himself from screaming like a shrew, but it seemed to have little effect—he truly regretted boasting to his beautiful master that he would take good care of this woman. It was simply that he lacked the foresight of his seniors and never expected to encounter such a reckless little girl. Even the best temper would be driven to fury by her!

"Um... I-I'm sorry... I spoke without thinking... Don't be angry..." Realizing she had offended him, Tong Tong cautiously tugged at the corner of his clothes, biting her lip and looking at him pitifully, trying to win his sympathy.

"Hmph!" Glancing disdainfully at her twitching eyelids, Ding Ding curled his lips but decided to forgive her anyway. After all, who else could be as magnanimous, understanding, and considerate as the one and only Young Master Ding?!

"Enough nonsense! First, introduce yourself. How did you end up here?" He had heard from his beautiful master that it was the First Senior brother who rescued her... Just thinking about that icy-cold First Senior brother made Ding Ding shiver involuntarily: Who would have thought that such a cold iceberg could possess something like compassion? Had the sun risen from the west?

"Oh, right." Sitting up straight like a well-behaved child, Tong Tong tugged at the hem of her clothes—this garment felt light and airy, though she couldn't tell what material it was. Still, it was comfortable to wear. She just wondered who had helped her change into it. Could it have been him?

Ding Ding followed her gaze and immediately understood her concern. With a proud toss of his head, he said, "Changing clothes is just a simple spell—no one has ever taken advantage of you!" Besides, with such a flat figure, neither curvy in front nor behind, at most an A-cup, this young master has no interest anyway! Of course, for the sake of a lady's dignity, he kept that thought to himself... After all, Young Master Ding was a gentleman!

"Hehe..." She sheepishly rubbed her earlobe and changed the subject. "My name is Tong Tong, and I'm twenty-three! I work as a secretary at a private company. I was originally traveling with colleagues, but somehow ended up here... Oh, right! I remember stepping on some ruins and then falling into a lake..." Frowning as she recalled, Tong Tong rested her chin on her hand and muttered to herself, "Before I passed out, I think I saw a stunning beauty... Though it was foggy and hard to see clearly, and I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, those shoulders, that collarbone... With my woman's intuition, it must have been an absolutely breathtaking beauty!"

"What stunning beauty?" Ding Ding eyed her suspiciously, noticing the hearts in her eyes.

"N-nothing, really..." Peeping at someone bathing wasn't exactly honorable—even if it wasn't intentional—so Tong Tong stammered a bit before asking, "By the way, you said this is a Xianxia world. Is that true or not?"

"Speaking of that, let me tell you! In the past, I would never have believed it either! But after more than twenty years, I've finally given up resisting!" Ding Ding tried to look somber, but his face was clearly brimming with excitement. "Have you played The Legend of Sword and Fairy? Tianxia 2? Nine Yin Manual? Oh, you haven't played any of them! Well, never mind, that's not the point. Have you at least heard of cultivation?" Tong Tong, a gaming novice, finally nodded, and Ding Ding breathed a sigh of relief. Otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to explain this crazy world to her.

"As you might know, this is a world of cultivators. The place we live in is called the Cultivation Realm, and above it, there's the Immortal Realm—though I've never been there myself, so I don't know if it's real. But all the immortal techniques you've heard about in novels and TV shows are real here!" Ding Ding's eyes sparkled with fervor, like a child who had found a new toy. "Look."

Following his words, she saw crackling arcs of electricity dancing on his fingertips, the dazzling golden light leaving Tong Tong utterly stunned.

"How was that? Pretty cool, right? That's called an Electric Arc, a type of lightning spell. It's quite simple, but only those with a lightning spiritual root like me can use it!" Seeing Tong Tong's astonished expression, Ding Ding's vanity was greatly satisfied. "Speaking of spiritual roots, they are innate attributes possessed by everyone with a foundation for cultivation. The most common ones are the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—but there are also rare variants like my exceptional lightning spiritual root! Only by possessing a specific spiritual root can one use the corresponding spells! Of course, the fewer and purer the spiritual roots, the more powerful they become!" At this point, Ding Ding's cheeks flushed slightly, though Tong Tong didn't notice. "Even though I have this awesome lightning spiritual root along with a rather useless earth spiritual root, we Chonghua Sword Cultivators focus on the path of the sword! Spells are just for fun!" That's what he said, but deep down, he couldn't help feeling resentful. Why wasn't he blessed with a single, heaven-defying spiritual root? Wasn't he supposed to be the legendary savior who had all sorts of adventures and was surrounded by beauties? Oh, come on...

Tong Tong waved her hand in front of Ding Ding, who had already drifted into his own fantasy, trying to bring him back to reality. "And then?"

"Ahem, let's continue. Where was I? Oh, never mind that for now. Let me first introduce my sect." Shaking off the crimson, resentful exclamation marks in his mind, Ding Ding earnestly began educating the clueless Tong Tong about the sect. "The place you're in now is Mount Chonghua, Qiuye Peak, Jiuhan Palace—the residence of the renowned leader of the Chonghua Sect, one of the five major righteous sects in the cultivation world, and my dear master, Fairy Ye. And standing before you is none other than me, Young Master Ding, the youngest 'Direct Lineage' disciple under Fairy Ye, known as the world's number one peerless handsome swordsman, unparalleled in talent, warm-hearted, generous, kind... (omitting a thousand words)... the Jade-Faced Little White Dragon—that's me!"

Overwhelmed by Ding Ding's barrage of flattering descriptions, Tong Tong chose to ignore most of his monologue and focused on the key point. "Righteous sects? Does that mean there are also evil and demonic paths?" Could they be the kind of monsters that eat people...

"Exactly. Opposing the righteous path is naturally the demonic path." Ding Ding's suddenly serious tone and expression sent a chill down Tong Tong's spine, making her pay full attention to what he was about to say next.

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