Chapter 1
Sign-in System Activated
In the Heavenly Saint Dynasty, the Holy Master ascended the throne and became the emperor. It was the year 356 when the imperial examinations were held across the dynasty.
In the magnificent hall, there were coiling dragons standing in all directions. The golden dragons were lifelike with their heads pointed towards the sky, as if in the next second, they would rush to the sky and roar.
Emperor Sheng Yuan looked at the people in the hall. The crown he was wearing was made of the Night Pearls of the East Sea, which added an extra layer of dignity to him.
The others were all intimidated by the emperor’s might and did not dare to look him in the eyes with the exception of one person, Lin Ran, who remained perfectly composed.
He did not expect that after he was reborn, not only did he transmigrate to the Fantasy Continent, but he also came top in the martial arts examination.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Emperor Sheng Yuan’s voice pulled Lin Ran back from his thoughts. On the other hand, the others were shocked. It had to be noted that staring at the emperor intently was a serious offense. For a moment, the hall fell extremely silent.
Lin Ran said neither humbly nor arrogantly, “I’m really excited to be able to see you today, so for a second, I forgot about manners. Please forgive me, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Sheng Yuan sized up the young man in front of him. He was handsome and gave people an impression of being a scholar. Compared to the winners of the past martial arts examinations, he was really one of a kind.
“No offense taken. Today’s Civil and Martial Arts Palace Examination was surprisingly good. Lin Ran, the winner of Martial Arts Examination, is undoubtedly a talent of the dynasty. In the future, he will be put in an important position.”
The moment the emperor finished speaking, many people looked at Lin Ran with envy.
From the looks of it, Emperor Sheng Yuan was clearly very satisfied with Lin Ran’s reply. After all, everyone liked bootlicking including emperors.
Lin Ran did not know why, but he felt that the emperor in front of him was too feminine. However, he did not dare to say this out loud. Should he have done so, he would certainly have ended up being beheaded.
There were still many things to deal with after the new emperor ascended the throne. After saying a few words of encouragement, Emperor Sheng Yuan excused himself and left the rest to Li Tianyi, the imperial butler, to handle.
Li Tianyi was a senior elder of the three dynasties and a person who used to serve Emperor Sheng Yuan’s father. Therefore, he had a lot of power in his hands. Emperor Sheng Yuan trusted him a lot and even entrusted the task of distributing imperial jobs to him.
Treasures were sent to Li Tianyi in bulk by those who wanted to seek a good position in the palace.
Lin Ran looked at these people who had an ingratiating and fake smile on their faces and felt speechless. It seemed that the way of the world was extremely important no matter where it was. However, the original Lin Ran came from a poor family. He relied entirely on his own strength to reach his current position.
“Lin Ran, His Majesty favors you a lot, so he wants you to guard Mount Sword.”
Everyone was in an uproar. “Why is it that place…”
Mount Sword was the holy land of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty. There were countless divine weapons hidden inside. It was very difficult for ordinary people to get close to it. It sounded like a good job, but the truth was that it wasn’t.
To put it bluntly, Lin Ran would just become a mountain guardian and his official career would come to a halt from the get-go.
Logically speaking, since Lin Ran came top in the Martial Arts Examination, he should be appointed as the imperial guard. It wasn’t hard to guess that Li Tianyi must have done something to stop Lin Ran from climbing up.
Li Tianyi said with a fake smile, “This is a good job. You have to do your best. Don’t let His Majesty down.”
Many people looked over at Lin Ran with sympathy. The winner of the Martial Arts Examination who was envied just now by everyone had fallen to such a state in the blink of an eye.
“What a tragedy. Mount Sword is located in the middle of nowhere. Not a soul would ever pay him a visit in this lifetime.”
“He’s finished for good. Although he just won the examination, in the end, he’s doing worse than us.”
Lin Ran did not mind the post he was about to take on. He accepted whatever that was given to him without a grudge and quickly set off for Mount Sword.”
The mountain range was lush and covered in layers of clouds. The cliff top was like a sharp blade that was hidden in a scabbard, making people feel pressure just looking at it from afar.
Lin Ran stood at the foot of the mountain and felt that the sky above him was split into two by the sharp cliff tops. There were also many black spots scattered across the mountain range. When one got closer, one could see that they were all swords.
Even the air was filled with sword intent. The eunuch with low cultivation did not dare to walk further in with Lin Ran.
“Just go in yourself. Someone will meet you there and tell you what to do.”
After saying that, the eunuch scurried away.
Lin Ran looked around to find no one around him. The sudden voice startled him.
“Are you the new mountain guardian?”
When he turned around, he saw a white-browed old man in a tattered Daoist robe. Lin Ran didn’t notice the old man approaching at all. He was slightly shocked and found that the old man seemed to be blind.
He said calmly, “Yes.”
The old man didn’t ask why Lin Ran was here. He said indifferently, “Follow me. Including you, there are three guardians here.”
The blind old man seemed to have not spoken to anyone for a long time. His voice was a little hoarse. “Your job is to guard Mount Sword in case anyone trespasses. Also, you have to wipe the spiritual swords.”
“Remember, you can’t wander around. This is crucial because if you do so and fall into danger, no one can save you.”
Seeing that the old man was serious and didn’t look like he was joking, Lin Ran nodded seriously. He thought that this would be an easy job, but he didn’t expect it to be life-threatening.
“I’ll tell you about your monthly work. You just have to complete it. I’m surnamed Li. You can call me Daoist Li.”
Daoist Li brought Lin Ran to the spiritual sword and gestured for him to give it a try.
Lin Ran had just picked up the spiritual sword and was about to wipe it.
[Ding!]
[Congratulations to the host for activating the Sign-in System.]
[Location detected. The host is in Mount Sword]
[Do you want to sign in?]