Chapter 8: Hiding Your True Face — Do You Think You're Worthy of Entering the Gates of My Hexu Sect?

The chubby boy was momentarily stunned by the words, then broke into a wide grin that revealed two little canine teeth as he looked at Bai Chen, his pudgy hand scratching the back of his head.

"Then I'll take that as a good omen!"

He assumed Bai Chen was just being polite and didn't take it to heart.

Only Bai Chen knew he had spoken the truth.

The Trait Copying System could only copy once per month, but viewing another person's attributes had no such restriction.

Just moments ago, when the chubby boy had stuffed the oilpaper parcel into his hands, Bai Chen had made contact with him and taken a quick glance at his attributes.

Name: Chen Jinbao

Age: 15

Cultivation Realm: None

Spiritual Root: Metal, Earth

Talent Traits: Rapid Comprehension of Artifact Inscriptions (Blue), Metal Affinity (Blue), Adept at Recording Artifact Inscriptions (Green), Easy Identification of Artifact Forging Materials (Green), Abundant Brute Strength (White)…

He hadn't expected the boy to also have a dual Spiritual Root, with talent that was in no way inferior to Feng Ling'er's.

If he had met him earlier, Bai Chen figured he might well have copied his Artifact Forging talent instead.

Having received a compliment from Bai Chen, Chen Jinbao felt a little warmer toward him.

He patted his belly and introduced himself.

"My name is Chen Jinbao — 'Jin' as in gold, 'Bao' as in treasure. I just turned fifteen two months ago. And you, Brother?"

Bai Chen sidestepped an elbow from someone nearby and said quietly, "My surname is Bai, given name Chen — the 'Chen' in 'stars.' I'm sixteen this year."

"Sixteen?"

Chen Jinbao looked at him with puzzlement.

"Aren't we all supposed to test our Spiritual Roots at fifteen? How come you're a year late?"

Bai Chen lowered his gaze slightly and let out a quiet sigh, his tone subdued. "My family was poor. My parents died in an accident two years ago. I was alone, holding down a crumbling house for two years, scraping together enough travel money before I could finally make the trip."

Strictly speaking, none of that was a lie — it just sounded unbearably bleak when said aloud like that.

Chen Jinbao let out a startled sound and immediately felt guilty. "I'm sorry, Brother Bai, I didn't know, you—"

He stumbled over his words for a long moment, unable to find the right thing to say, growing so flustered he was practically scratching his ears and cheeks.

Watching the chubby boy look like he wanted to slap himself, Bai Chen suppressed a laugh and shook his head. "You didn't know, so there's no fault in it. I've moved on. It's fine."

Even so, Chen Jinbao didn't dare bring up family matters again, and quickly changed the subject to the strange tales about Hexu Sect he had picked up here and there.

"Hey, Brother Bai, have you heard of the 'Meteor Abyss' in Hexu Sect?"

Bai Chen shook his head. "No."

He was not originally from this continent, after all.

His predecessor had been an ordinary person from a common family with no cultivators among them — he knew nothing of such things.

Seeing that Bai Chen had no idea, Chen Jinbao leaned in with an air of mystery and lowered his voice.

"Let me tell you — my father heard this from an old regular customer who delivers Artifact Forging materials to Hexu Sect year-round. Apparently, there used to be no restrictions on the back mountain of the sect at all. But ever since a meteor fell there three hundred years ago, no one has been allowed to go near it…"

Bai Chen listened attentively — and then the chubby boy went quiet.

He glanced at Chen Jinbao with a puzzled look. "And then?"

"And then…" Chen Jinbao scratched his head and let out a sheepish chuckle. "I don't know either. That's all my father told me."

Bai Chen: …That's it?

He had overestimated the chubby boy's capabilities.

He had been expecting to hear something genuinely remarkable.

While they were talking, the crowd ahead had already shuffled up to the gates of Hexu Sect.

"Listen up, everyone!"

Suddenly, a clear voice laced with spiritual energy rang out like a great bell, reverberating through the valley and causing even the ground to tremble faintly.

This was the amplification technique commonly used by Hexu Sect disciples — learnable from the Qi Refining Stage onward — and it was now being channeled by a disciple, sending the sound echoing through the mountain forest.

"Form ten lines and ascend the mountain immediately!

"Proceed to the plaza before the Spirit Guidance Hall for the unified Spiritual Root assessment.

"No pushing. No noise.

"Anyone who provokes trouble or disrupts order will have their testing qualification revoked!"

The voice cut through the clamor of the crowd and reached every ear with perfect clarity.

The previously noisy throng fell silent in an instant, voluntarily arranging themselves into ten orderly lines and filing through the mountain gate one after another.

Chen Jinbao, who had been chattering away just moments before, didn't dare say another word. He bowed his head and merged into a nearby line.

Bai Chen followed Chen Jinbao into the queue and moved forward with the flow of people.

The path beyond the mountain gate was no gentle slope — it was a stairway of over a thousand steps carved directly into the cliff face, winding upward and disappearing into the swirling mist where the Spirit Guidance Hall waited above.

The stone steps had weathered countless years; their surfaces had been worn smooth and lustrous, and faint traces of spiritual energy could be seen flowing through them — no doubt the result of being nourished by the sect's Spiritual Energy over the ages.

The higher they climbed, the denser the Spiritual Energy in the mountain air became, carrying a cool, refreshing quality deep into the lungs.

Bai Chen marveled inwardly.

They hadn't even truly entered Hexu Sect yet, and already the Spiritual Energy was this rich.

What would it be like once they were actually inside?

As they drew closer to the mountain gate, the Hexu Sect disciples standing on either side came into clear view.

They wore the sect's signature gradient cyan-green wide-sleeved robes, with jade plaques engraved with the words "Hexu Inner Sect" hanging at their waists.

The dark patterns on the robes shimmered with spiritual energy, lending each of them an air of exceptional bearing.

The sight filled the onlookers with longing.

Bai Chen followed Chen Jinbao up the steps. Just as he was about to step through the mountain gate, an arm holding a sword suddenly swept across his path, blocking his way.

Bai Chen's pupils contracted slightly as he looked toward the person.

The individual was also dressed in the cyan-green standard disciple robes, but the jade plaque at his waist bore more intricate patterns than those of the others around him.

The scabbard of the sword he had raised to block Bai Chen's path was likewise engraved with dense, elaborate cloud motifs.

With just a single casual glance cast at Bai Chen, the man inexplicably made his heart clench, his very breath halting for an instant.

Because Bai Chen had been stopped, the lines behind and beside him also came to a halt.

Everyone stared in surprise toward his direction.

Bai Chen lowered his head slightly and politely cupped his hands in greeting. "I wonder, Senior Brother, is there something you wish to tell me?"

The man's gaze settled on Bai Chen's face, his brow furrowing as displeasure flashed in his eyes. He said coldly, "Hiding your true face, skulking about — do you think you're worthy of entering the gates of my Hexu Sect?"

Chen Jinbao, who had stopped ahead and turned back with a worried look, heard those words and immediately widened his eyes.

Hiding your true face? Skulking about?

What did that mean?

Brother Bai seemed perfectly normal — where exactly was he skulking?

Bai Chen's heart tightened at the words, then he understood.

His disguise was nothing more than an ordinary person's cosmetic technique.

It might fool common folk, but it could never escape the spiritual sense of a cultivator.

In the eyes of a cultivator, his made-up appearance was indeed a case of hiding his true face.

Especially today, when Hexu Sect was holding its disciple recruitment — it was no wonder the man was suspicious and on guard.

Bai Chen quickly cupped his hands toward the man in a respectful bow, his tone sincere as he apologized.

"Please forgive me, Senior Brother. I have no martial arts training and my body is frail. Traveling alone, I applied this disguise for self-protection — I had no intention of disrespecting the sect's dignity. I will remove it right away."

With that, he drew a clean plain cloth from his sleeve, took some water from the water pouch he carried, and began wiping his face.