Chapter 3: The Swordsman of the leaf.

Chapter 3: Chapter 3: The Swordsman of the leaf.

Chen Yuan’s pupils contracted, and for several seconds, he simply stared at the translucent panel floating before his eyes.

He didn’t move, and he didn’t even blink for a good few seconds.

The little girl beside him noticed his strange expression and tilted her head.

"Third Elder?"

Chen Yuan didn’t answer. His focus was entirely on the panel.

The words displayed upon it were simple.

A fictional ancestor was recorded?

[Ding!]

[A fictional ancestor has been successfully recorded.]

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Title: Swordsman of the Leaf]

[Current Story Credibility: 12%]

[Family Trust Value: +37]

[Requirement for manifestation: Not yet fulfilled.]

Chen Yuan stared at the final line, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Manifestation?

What did that mean?

Before he could examine the panel further, another line slowly appeared.

[The more members of the Chen Family believe in the existence of Chen Feng, the higher the Story Credibility.]

[When Story Credibility reaches the required threshold, the fictional ancestor may be manifested.]

Chen Yuan’s expression gradually changed.

For the first time in his two lives, the calmness he had maintained for so long was slightly shaken.

Manifested?

He had only made up a fictional story and character, and yet a system had appeared and recorded it!

Chen Yuan wasn’t particularly surprised by the system itself. To be honest, he had already been expecting something like this.

But he had never expected that the system would actually turn lies into reality.

Faking an ancestor into existence?

And if enough people believed in the story, that fictional ancestor could actually appear?

Chen Yuan stared at the panel for several seconds before the little girl noticed that he wasn’t responding at all.

"Third Elder? Are you okay?"

Chen Yuan blinked, and the panel disappeared.

He looked down at the little girl beside him before turning his gaze toward the children who were looking in his direction.

He slowly stood up.

"Nothing."

The little girl tilted her head sideways.

"Then where are you going?"

"This old man suddenly remembered something rather important."

He dusted off his robe and turned away.

Before the girl could ask anything else, Chen Yuan took a single step, and his figure blurred before the children’s eyes.

By the time they realized what had happened, the gray-robed old man had already disappeared from the edge of the training ground.

The little girl stared at the empty rock.

"Eh?"

She looked around in confusion.

"Where did Third Elder go?"

Far away, Chen Yuan’s figure landed silently on the roof of one of the family buildings.

The expression on his face was no longer as relaxed as before.

He looked toward the training ground and raised his hand.

The same translucent panel reappeared before him.

[Heavenly Ancestor Maker System]

[Current Fictional Template]

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Title: Swordsman of the Leaf]

[Current Story Credibility: 12%]

[Family Trust Value: +37]

[Requirement for manifestation: 100% Credibility + 10,000 Family Trust Value.]

Chen Yuan stared at the panel for several breaths.

He wasn’t particularly frightened, nor was he excited.

After all, he had already experienced something far more unreasonable than the appearance of a system.

He had died and taken control of a foreign body belonging to a man in another world.

Compared to that, the appearance of a mysterious system wasn’t particularly difficult to accept.

If reincarnation is possible, I wouldn’t even be surprised if a god suddenly descended here tomorrow.

Instead of dwelling on it, Chen Yuan focused his thoughts on the information he had gathered from the system so far.

"Is this thing interactive? Or just a plain dead wood?"

He tried communicating with it.

However, after several attempts, the system showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Just a dead wood, then."

He wasn’t particularly disappointed.

If anything, the lack of response was somewhat expected.

There was no reason to assume that every system had to be like the ones he had read about in those novels. A non-talkative one seemed to be more in line with his personality anyway.

At the very least, he knew its basic functions.

Create a fictional ancestor’s story.

Spread it among the clan members.

Raise the Story Credibility and Family Trust Value until they reached the manifestation threshold.

Then summon the character from the story into reality.

These alone were enough to make the system incredibly valuable.

Chen Yuan’s gaze returned to the name displayed on the panel.

"Chen Feng... Your legend is about to arrive in this world."

Chen Yuan dismissed the panel with a thought, and it vanished almost immediately.

He stood on the rooftop and looked down at the family grounds.

The Chen Family was quiet now.

Night was gradually closing in from the horizon as the sky reddened before slowly being consumed by the growing darkness.

Most of the people had already returned to their rooms, and the previously lively courtyards were gradually falling silent.

Chen Yuan’s expression became thoughtful as he mulled over the system’s functions.

If the system truly worked according to his understanding, then he had discovered something far more valuable than a simple cultivation manual.

He could create power out of thin air.

Not directly, but through the power of the clan’s trust.

If Chen Feng can really be manifested, then it will be the Chen Family’s turn to rise in this world.

The Chen Family would gain another powerful cultivator capable of holding up the sky for them without having to spend decades nurturing one.

And if he could create one...

Could he create another?

The possibility excited him greatly.

But, of course, he would need to complete the current one before jumping to any conclusions.

There was also another problem.

"One hundred percent credibility and ten thousand Family Trust Value."

Neither requirement was fully understandable to him, and the second one seemed considerably more troublesome.

Chen Yuan had only gained thirty-seven points so far.

Even if the value increased naturally as more people believed in Chen Feng, he had no idea how long it would take.

Then I’ll have to experiment.

Chen Yuan wasn’t planning to force the matter.

The easiest method was obvious.

He would simply let the story spread naturally.

He had told it to a group of children, and those children would undoubtedly repeat it to others tomorrow.

Some might exaggerate the details.

Others might add their own imagination.

Eventually, the story would reach the adults, then the other elders, and perhaps even the Patriarch.

The more people talked about Chen Feng, the more believable the existence of such an ancestor would become.

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but smile.

"Perhaps I should thank those children."

He had originally only told the story because the little girl had asked him a question.

He had never expected that a casual lie would become the foundation of his first fictional ancestor.

He looked toward the distant training ground.

The little girl was probably already asleep by now.

Chen Yuan had no idea who she was.

Nor did he know that she was the daughter of the Patriarch.

If he had known, he might have considered his words a little more carefully.

"For now, I’ll just observe."

His gray robe fluttered gently in the coming breeze, and he took one step forward.

His figure disappeared from the rooftop.

The Swordsman of the Leaf would be his first experiment.

Night gradually settled over the peaceful sky above the Chen Family grounds.

The last traces of sunlight vanished behind the distant mountains, leaving the family grounds beneath a quiet blue darkness.

Lanterns were lit one after another along the stone paths, their warm glow illuminating the aged courtyards and weathered wooden buildings.

Compared to the lively atmosphere of the training ground earlier, the entire family seemed much quieter now.

Most of the younger clan members had already returned to their homes.

Among them was the little girl who had spent her afternoon listening to Chen Yuan’s fictional story.

She walked along the stone path with her small doll tucked beneath one arm, her steps quick as she crossed through several courtyards.

Along the way, she had been thinking about the story the entire time.

The Swordsman of the Leaf.

A cultivator who had travelled alone, fought countless opponents, crossed the Thousand Wind Mountains, and even fought a demonic beast that had one foot into the Golden Core realm.

The more she thought about it, the more amazing the story seemed.

Eventually, she reached a large courtyard located closer to the center of the family grounds.

Unlike most of the surroundings, this courtyard was well maintained.

The wooden pillars had recently been polished, the roof tiles were intact, and even spiritual plants grew neatly along the sides of the entrance.

This was the Patriarch’s residence.

And the little girl was none other than the Patriarch’s daughter.

Inside, the little girl pushed open the wooden door.

"Father."

Her cheerful voice echoed through the quiet courtyard.

Inside, a man sat behind a simple wooden desk.

He appeared to be in his early fifties.

His hair was mostly black, although several strands of silver had appeared around his temples. His features were mature and imposing, with a straight nose and slightly narrow eyes.

He wore a dark-blue robe with the Chen Family’s insignia embroidered across his chest.

His back remained straight, and his hands were steady as he slowly read through the family records.

This man was Chen Yuan’s strongest junior within the family.

The current Patriarch of the Chen Family.

Chen Haoran.

The man sitting behind the wooden desk raised his head when he heard the little girl’s voice.

His stern expression softened almost immediately.

"Yue’er?"

Chen Yue’er smiled brightly and hurried toward him, her doll still tucked beneath one arm.

"Father!"

Chen Haoran placed the records in his hand aside before looking at his daughter.

"Why have you come here? Shouldn’t you be going directly to your mother before she gets angry?"

He glanced toward the window.

"You do know it’s already late, right?"

Yue’er stopped in front of him, her eyes filled with excitement as she ignored her fear of her mother.

"I have something to tell you, Father!"

Chen Haoran couldn’t help but smile.

"What happened?"

"I heard a story today!"

"A story?"

Yue’er nodded vigorously.

"Yes! It was the Third Elder who told me."

Chen Haoran’s hand, which had been reaching for another record, stopped halfway.

"The Third Elder?"

Yue’er nodded.

"Yes!"

Chen Haoran looked at his daughter for a moment, slightly surprised.

After all, he had known Chen Yuan for many years already.

Although the two were both members of the same family, their interactions had never been particularly frequent.

And another thing worth mentioning was that Chen Yuan had barely attended the monthly family gatherings.

Chen Yuan had always been a quiet person.

He spent most of his time cultivating, studying cultivation techniques, or occasionally dealing with matters concerning the younger members of the family.

He rarely involved himself in unnecessary affairs, let alone spend his time sitting among children and telling them stories.

For a moment, he wondered whether he had heard his daughter correctly.

"What did the Third Elder tell you?"

Yue’er’s eyes brightened almost immediately.

"About an Ancestor!"

"An Ancestor?"

"Yes!"

She climbed onto the chair beside the desk and sat down, her little legs swinging beneath her.

"The Ancestor’s name was Chen Feng."

Chen Haoran’s expression became slightly thoughtful as he tried to remember the name from the family’s records.

Chen Feng.

The name didn’t bring any memories back.

Perhaps it was an obscure member of the family from several generations ago.

"Who was he?"

"He was a swordsman!"

Yue’er answered excitedly, as though she had been waiting for her father to ask.

"The Third Elder said that he left the family when he was twenty years old and travelled the world alone. He fought lots of powerful cultivators and eventually became known as the Swordsman of the Leaf!"

Chen Haoran listened quietly.

At first, there wasn’t anything particularly strange about the story.

The Chen Family had existed for hundreds of years. There were bound to be ancestors whose achievements had been forgotten over time.

However, Yue’er became increasingly excited as she narrated the story to him.

"He could make the wind follow his sword! His sword could pierce the mountains without disturbing the leaves! And once, he even fought against three cultivators at the same time and defeated them with a single strike!"

Chen Haoran’s eyebrows twitched.

Three cultivators killed with one strike?

That sounded rather exaggerated.

Still, he didn’t interrupt his daughter as Yue’er continued speaking, her little hands moving along with the story.

"Then he went to the Thousand Wind Mountains!"

"And there, he fought against the strongest monster!"

Chen Haoran finally became interested.

"The strongest monster?"

"Yes!"

"A Demonic Flame Serpent!"

Yue’er lowered her voice dramatically.

"According to the story, it had already taken half a foot into the Golden Core realm!"

Chen Haoran stared at her.

For several breaths, the room was completely silent.

Then he slowly asked,

"And what realm was Chen Feng in?"

"Peak Foundation Establishment!"

"..."

Chen Haoran’s expression became somewhat strange.

Even he couldn’t help but feel that the story had become too exaggerated.

A peak Foundation Establishment cultivator fighting a demonic beast that had already touched the Golden Core realm?

That wasn’t merely difficult. To him, it was almost impossible.

The difference between those two realms, even if the beast had only taken half a step into the next realm, was already vast enough to be considered an uncrossable chasm.

Yet Yue’er clearly didn’t think there was anything strange about it.

"They fought for seven days and seven nights!"

"Seven days?"

"Yes!"

She raised seven fingers with great seriousness.

"On the first day, the serpent almost swallowed him."

"On the second day, his sword pierced its scales."

"On the third day, the whole mountain range was covered in flames."

"On the fourth day, both of them were already exhausted."

"And on the seventh day..."

Yue’er deliberately stopped.

Chen Haoran looked at his daughter strangely.

"And?"

"Ancestor Chen Feng won!"

Her eyes sparkled.

"He cut off the serpent’s horn and forced it to retreat!"

Chen Haoran remained silent.

He had to admit that the old Third Elder had quite an imagination.

However, seeing his daughter’s excited expression, he didn’t have the heart to point out the obvious inconsistencies.

"Then what happened to him?"

"He disappeared!"

Yue’er hugged her doll tightly.

"Nobody knows where he went. The Third Elder said that perhaps he went beyond the kingdom and found an ancient inheritance."

Chen Haoran leaned back slightly in his chair.

"Is that so?"

"Yes!"

Yue’er nodded.

"Father, do you think Ancestor Chen Feng is still alive?"

Chen Haoran looked at his daughter’s expectant eyes.

After a brief pause, he smiled.

"Perhaps."

Yue’er almost jumped from her seat.

"I knew it!"

Chen Haoran chuckled and reached over, lightly tapping her forehead.

"It sounds like the Third Elder was simply telling you a story."

Yue’er rubbed her forehead.

"But the Third Elder said it was real."

"He did?"

"Yes!"

She nodded firmly.

Chen Haoran shook his head.

"Then perhaps you should believe him."

"Really?"

"Of course."

Yue’er smiled happily.

"But don’t go around telling everyone that the Chen Family once had a Foundation Establishment swordsman who fought a Golden Core demonic beast for seven days."

"Why?"

"Because people might laugh at you."