Chapter 5 — The Ultimate Backstage Power in the Universe

Ly Ngoc Chi leaned weakly against the chest of a senior martial brother, her voice dripping with grievance. Senior sister, even though you have driven me to this state, I only wish to borrow your spiritual roots so that I may continue to live. Please, show me mercy and forgive me. The horrific, bloody memory of being devoured alive by savage beasts flashed relentlessly through my mind, and I nodded without a single moment of hesitation. Very well, I will give them to you. In the very next instant, I ruthlessly tore my own spiritual roots out from within me. Flesh and blood violently parted, yet my expression remained completely undisturbed, not even a single muscle twitching. Ly Ngoc Chi held her breath in anticipation. That supreme-grade ice spiritual root was about to belong to her. However, with utter nonchalance, I crushed it to pieces right before their very eyes. Everyone present instantly stared with eyes wide and jaws slack, while I calmly reached out and produced yet another spiritual root. I smiled brightly, today I am in a magnificent mood, buy one and get one free.

What?

Do not! Ly Ngoc Chi shrieked in a voice that tore through her heart and lungs, her vitality brimming with vigor, bearing not the faintest resemblance to someone supposedly weak and frail. Just as I prepared to mercilessly crush the second spiritual root, my master Mo Thanh Van finally made his move. With a violent flick of his sleeve, a surge of overwhelming spiritual energy struck me squarely in the chest. My arms instantly lost all strength, my fingers involuntarily loosening their grip, and the spiritual root fell directly into the waiting hands of Ly Ngoc Chi. Believing she had narrowly cheated death, Ly Ngoc Chi frantically summoned several senior brothers to guard her, strictly instructing them to allow no one to disturb her absorption process. Though she remained utterly bewildered as to why her senior sister had suddenly managed to produce a second spiritual root, she cared little.

A faint smile curved my lips. Shielded completely by the system, I swiftly vanished into the distance. Mo Thanh Van failed to catch me in time, leaving him to furrow his brows deeply and turn back to tend to the beloved disciple he cherished so dearly. I ran uninterrupted for a thousand miles, finally sitting down to catch my breath in silence for a few seconds before clutching my stomach and bursting into uproarious laughter. Ha ha ha ha ha.

Zero Zero One laughed just as heartily, remarking on how foolish they were, unable to even distinguish between a real spiritual root and a fake one.

I feigned a look of deep regret. What a terrible pity, I never even got the chance to pull out a third one.

Indeed, both of the spiritual roots I had crushed and allowed to be stolen were entirely fake. Zero Zero One had generated five counterfeit spiritual roots for me using pure data, which were entirely useless for actual cultivation and refinement.

Once I had laughed to my heart content, the pain from my bleeding wounds began to flare. I settled down to circulate my qi and regulate my breathing. As the distant horizon gradually heralded the breaking dawn, a profound haze clouded my senses.

This was the final world where I had suffered total failure, and also the place where I had met the most gruesome death. My spiritual roots ripped out, my heart blood extracted, transformed into a mere slave for testing poisons, my heart devoured across endless ages. After my every last drop of value had been thoroughly wrung dry, I was cast aside like discarded rubbish at the edge of the wilderness, dying without a whole corpse. The root cause of it all was simply that I was too weak. Too weak to contend against Mo Thanh Van, and far too weak to blindly place my trust in human nature.

The system had originally demanded that I romance my master. Yet he had never once shown me tenderness, always maintaining the stern and severe facade of an upright teacher while meticulously caring for every other disciple under his tutelage. This constant dynamic caused a lingering sense of guilt to plague me every single time I approached him. To drag a pristine flower of unblemished nobility down into the filthy mire was, in truth, a grave sin from the very beginning.

It was only much later that I finally discovered the truth. He was not cold by nature; rather, his heart had long since been given entirely to another. And that person was none other than the junior martial sister, Ly Ngoc Chi. For the sake of Ly Ngoc Chi, he was willing to commit any transgression against morality and natural law, including taking the life of another disciple—myself. If I had been an outside spectator or perhaps Ly Ngoc Chi herself, I might have been so deeply moved as to fall hopelessly in love with him. But I was the one he had cast away. I could feel nothing other than profound and utter disgust.

The sound of retching echoed suddenly within my mind, violently jolting me out of the heavy current of my memories.

Zero Zero One, what on earth are you doing? I demanded.

Zero Zero One replied in a weak, complaining tone, your master is in love with your junior martial sister. It is no different from a teacher loving a student, a coach loving an athlete, or a doctor loving a patient.

I retorted, why did you leave out a powerful CEO loving an exhausted underling?

Please refer to the romance novel The Overbearing CEO Loves Me, Zero Zero One deadpanned.

I was speechless. The flavor of that was simply too pungent.

Zero Zero One quickly helped me sweep away all lingering distractions, refocusing our collective thoughts on how to thoroughly exterminate the lot of them. A sudden thought struck me, and I let out a long sigh of lament, how wonderful the cultivation world is. In my very first world, I had to fear the laws of mortals; in the second world, I was bound by imperial authority. But in this realm, absolute power reigns supreme. It is only a pity that I lack such power.

Your innate aptitude is actually exceptional, Zero Zero One encouraged. If given sufficient time, you could undoubtedly achieve great things.

But I do not have the luxury of waiting until then. Once Mo Thanh Van discovers that those spiritual roots were completely fake, he will undoubtedly hunt me down to the ends of the earth. I will never escape.

Without a moment of hesitation, Zero Zero One materialized, soaring right out of my mind and transforming into a long sword. Its entire body radiated a brilliant golden light, the edge of the blade radiating a bone-chilling, lethal cold.

In the cultivation realm, it is often said that sword cultivators are the most formidable, Zero Zero One declared proudly. If one manages to cultivate a true sword spirit, they shall become invincible beneath the heavens. Since your personal strength is currently insufficient, you shall simply use this sword spirit to make up the difference.

I firmly grasped the hilt of the sword, instantly feeling an overwhelming surge of boundless power flood through my entire body, my cultivation realm skyrocketing like a rocket piercing the sky.

I, the sword spirit, willingly lend all of my power to Chi Yun Thu, Zero Zero One proclaimed solemnly, its voice ringing with absolute resolve. First to exact vengeance, and second to forge my own path and establish the Dao. Let the Heavenly Dao itself bear witness to this oath.

True to its reputation as the number one ranked system, the moment the oath sworn to the Heavenly Dao fell into place, my fivefold heavenly tribulations instantly began to gather. Because I had broken through five major realms in rapid succession, the lightning tribulation was exceptionally heavy, densely packed like suffocating ink. I could not help shuddering involuntarily.

Zero Zero One... can I genuinely survive this kind of heavenly tribulation?

Zero Zero One fell silent for a brief moment. Well... when the lightning strikes you, just toss me up to block it.

Will I die?

You will.

I was once again left speechless. Zero Zero One was truly full of helpful suggestions, though I graciously declined its generous offer. I tightened my grip around the sword, stepping forward to face the tribulation lightning head-on. Perhaps I had always been someone inherently cowardly. Yet someone was currently teaching me how to grow strong. This was my final world, and once this mission concluded, it might perhaps be forced to bind itself to a brand-new master. I wanted to leave it with a good impression, so that perhaps years later, it might still look back fondly on our time together. At the very least, our encounter would not have been in vain.

At that exact moment, I felt the sword vibrating in profound resonance with my soul. Countless sword techniques flashed through my mind, and my sword heart achieved total clarity. With a single horizontal slash, the gathering heavenly tribulation simultaneously descended. The blinding, searing radiance was so intense that I could no longer distinguish whether I was still among the living or had already crossed into death.

When the thick smoke finally dispersed, the sweet, nourishing rain of the post-tribulation washed soothingly over my entire body. A radiant golden figure gradually materialized from the mist, revealing a youthful and striking countenance. Having successfully weathered the baptism of the tribulation lightning, I had ascended directly to the Mahayana realm, while the system had successfully transformed into a physical form.

Well, what did I tell you? My host is never a coward, Zero Zero One gloated openly, already mentally drafting the contents of its upcoming performance report.

I chose not to interrupt its endless babbling, knowing that our parting was likely drawing near. Bearing the peerless might of the Mahayana realm, I brandished my sword and strode back toward the sect. I carved a path of utter devastation, cutting down anyone who dared to block my way, slaying deities and Buddhas alike should they intervene. Beneath the Mahayana realm, all mortals were mere ants, and it took no time at all for me to confront Mo Thanh Van once more.

He did not utter a single redundant word, instantly unleashing a lethal sword strike. I effortlessly neutralized it, employing no fancy techniques whatsoever, simply crushing him outright with sheer, overwhelming spiritual might. The expression of perpetual, unshakeable calm on Mo Thanh Van face finally shattered, replaced by utter astonishment.

How can your realm possibly be so impossibly high?

I let out a light, mocking hum. Perhaps it is simply because my backers are far sturdier than yours.

With a single thrust, my sword pierced straight through his heart. I repaid him in his own coin by brutally ripping out his spiritual roots.

Ly Ngoc Chi, who had been cowering in hiding, witnessed the entire horrific scene with her own eyes, her soul trembling in sheer terror. I turned to her, casually gesturing with a finger while flashing a brilliant, radiant smile.

My dear junior martial sister, did you not desperately desire spiritual roots? The spiritual roots of our esteemed master are vastly superior to mine. Would you perhaps care for these?

Would you care for them?

Ly Ngoc Chi froze in hesitation. She had long since figured out that the spiritual roots I had previously given her were deeply flawed. Now, faced with the corpse of her dead master and the glowing spiritual roots presented right before her eyes, she found herself... desperately wanting them.

While she was still paralyzed by her own greed and hesitation, I decisively crushed the spiritual roots to dust right in front of her face, completely severing any remaining shreds of hope.

No! she shrieked in despair.

Zero Zero One immediately opened the exit channel to depart from the world, avoiding any potential subsequent pursuits. After all, the tides of the world shift constantly over thirty years, and no one could ever predict what tomorrow might bring.

Upon returning to the familiar, tranquil white space, I stood in silence without speaking a word, leaving Zero Zero One uncharacteristically at a loss for words.

Congratulations to the host for successfully completing all three romance missions, the system finally stated. According to the provisions outlined for your death in your original world, Zero Zero One will now grant you two choices: First, you may select any of the past three worlds to retire and rest. The system will not interfere with any decisions you make, though we recommend choosing the third world.

I asked softly, and what is the second choice?

The second choice is to continue undertaking missions, becoming a permanent host under this branch of the fast-travel system. You will attain an exceptionally long lifespan, though the inherent risk of death during missions will still remain. Please choose your companion carefully.

I drew in a deep, steady breath, finally asking the question that mattered most to me. Can I continue to be bound to you?

In principle... that is not permitted.

I lowered my gaze, having already anticipated this outcome. A system ranked as high as this could not simply bind itself forever to a troublesome host like me. Yet, when all was said and done, I still chose the second option. If I refused, the system would resort to forced electrical shocks or take direct control of my physical body, ultimately leaving me dead without a whole corpse.

I opened my mouth to murmur a quiet farewell, only to find my throat instantly choked with emotion, utterly incapable of forcing the words out. With a resolute heart, I proactively severed the connection, preparing myself to welcome a brand-new companion.

In the very next instant, the system successfully re-established the link.

Thank you, host, for binding with system Zero Zero One, the familiar voice echoed smoothly. May our future cooperation be filled with joy.

I blinked, dumbfounded. ......?

Zero Zero One continued with casual nonchalance, I had not even finished speaking yet. Why on earth were you in such a rushed hurry to sever the connection?

I opened my mouth in disbelief. Why are you back? Did you not just say that in principle it was impossible to remain permanently bound?

Zero Zero One adopted a look of haughty aloofness, though it could not entirely suppress the amusement leaking from its tone. Did I not specify that it was merely in principle? Have you already forgotten just who I am?

Hm?

I am your sturdiest backer.

The End