Glorious God Throne

It was precisely 6 AM in Yuanyang City, Yao Country.

On the second floor of an apartment in the old town district, Bai Yi awoke from his slumber.

Previously, he had been constantly refreshing instances, repeatedly loading and restarting—a technical task indeed. Just before leaving the instance, he had nearly maxed out his reputation throughout the entire Yong City.

Last night was a rare occasion when he didn’t enter an instance. Not only did he sleep well, but he also had a dream that truly belonged to him.

In the dream, he held the severely polluted world in his palm, like a glass marble, and washed it repeatedly under the kitchen faucet.

He kept washing and washing, singing as he scrubbed the “glass marble,” feeling indescribably happy.

If not for the phone call that woke him, he would have continued washing.

“Ah…”

The dawn light poured in from the window, illuminating Bai Yi’s barely open eyes. He yawned, his vision hazy, the whole world a blur.

“Oh my, I seem unable to move,” he monotonously read out this line, finally realizing his “precarious” situation. He let out a belated cry for help—

“…Help! I’ve been sealed by the blanket!”

“…” The second floor of the apartment remained silent.

Evidently, no one was coming to his rescue.

So, Bai Yi had no choice but to attempt self-rescue.

Tightly wrapped up, he wiggled around in the blanket like a silkworm, seemingly engaged in an extremely difficult struggle and attempt. Finally, he lay motionless in the center of the bed, looking like a salted fish that had lost all hope.

“Phew…”

He lay still, staring at the ceiling, making a reluctant declaration.

“The Blanket Demon King is terrifyingly strong. The attempt to break the seal has failed miserably!”

“Zzzzzz…”

…

“Holidays are meant for enjoying the pleasure of sleeping in. Who would call so early? A phone ringing at 6 AM is pure evil!”

Although Bai Yi thoroughly enjoyed being sealed by the Great Blanket Demon King, regrettably, the endless ringing of his phone interrupted his sweet dream. The caller’s persistence was so remarkable that even Bai Yi had to admire it.

Reluctantly, he extended a hand from under the blanket and finally picked up the phone, which had already been bombarded with ten missed calls. Yawning, he answered, “Hello?”

He had no recollection of this phone number.

Very few people knew his number, and acquaintances generally wouldn’t call him at this hour, especially those from the Seventh Hospital. They were all aware of his years of nightmare-ridden, unstable sleep, and thus would never disrupt his rare moments of rest.

Strangers, evidently, weren’t so considerate.

From the other end of the phone came a young woman’s voice. “Hello, is this Bai Yi?”

“Yes, it’s me,” Bai Yi yawned, his eyes misting over.

“It’s like this,” the voice continued, “we’ve discovered some belongings left behind by your birth mother, Bai Xin, many years ago. We initially intended to return them to her personally, but upon inquiring at the Seventh Hospital, we learned of her passing. You are her only living relative. We obtained your contact information through the Seventh Hospital. When would you be available to collect these belongings?”

The voice on the phone sounded somewhat familiar, yet also slightly strange.

“?” Bai Yi suddenly became alert. “Belongings?”

His mother had spent most of her life in the Seventh Hospital and had passed away there. If there were any belongings, they would have been given to him long ago. How could there possibly be new items appearing?

Wait. There was one other place…

“Are you from the Xingfu Orphanage?”

The woman’s voice seemed surprised that he had guessed her identity so quickly. “Yes, I’m the new director of Xingfu Orphanage. Your mother, Ms. Bai Xin, was a child at the orphanage over thirty years ago, but later she left for the neighboring Seventh Hospital. Recently, while renovating the orphanage, we found a metal box hidden in the wall of an old dormitory. Inside was a fairy tale book with ‘Bai Xin’ written on the cover. After checking the orphanage records for past residents of that dormitory, I confirmed it belonged to your mother, Ms. Bai Xin.”

“I see. But is a fairy tale book, which even its original owner might have forgotten about, worth all this trouble to find its owner and return it?” Bai Yi found this a bit unreasonable.

The young woman on the phone laughed softly, her tone tinged with nostalgia. “Because this isn’t an ordinary fairy tale book. I saw my mother’s message on the title page…”

“To be honest, since my mother’s birth fifty years ago, my grandfather has supported many orphanages, including Xingfu Orphanage. Many children there were close to my mother. On the title page of this fairy tale book, I saw a birthday wish my mother had written for little Bai Xin.”

This was a precious gift filled with blessings, so when she discovered it, she never thought of simply discarding it. Instead, she wanted to personally return it to its owner.

This was also something she could do on behalf of her late mother. If her mother were still alive, she would have done the same.

However, she hadn’t expected that both the gift-giver and the recipient were no longer in this world. After many years, this gift could only be handed over to the recipient’s son as a memento.

All this trouble just to deliver an outdated fairy tale book – she wondered if the other party would find her meddlesome…

Yuan Yao sighed. After a few moments of silence from the other end, she heard the sleepy voice of the young man speak cheerfully, without any hint of complaint.

“I see. In that case, please leave the item at the Seventh Hospital for now. I’ll collect it later.”

Just before the call ended, she heard the young man’s voice, filled with gratitude. “Thank you very much, Miss Yuan.”

How did he know my surname?

This thought flashed through Yuan Yao’s mind, leaving her momentarily stunned. In the end, she could only assume that since she had mentioned her grandfather and mother who established the orphanage fifty years ago, he must have deduced her identity. After all, the news of the Gong Group’s chairman being imprisoned and his daughter taking over the business had caused quite a stir last year.

“Are there really such coincidences in this world?” Bai Yi couldn’t help but marvel after hanging up the phone.

If Bai Yi hadn’t helped Yuan Yao inherit the business from her unworthy father, she wouldn’t have had the funds or ability to rebuild the orphanage. And if Yuan Yao hadn’t rebuilt the orphanage, Bai Xin’s belongings left there might never have been discovered, let alone delivered to him…

The wonders of the world were indeed unpredictable.

“Or is it that my newly added pseudo-Child of the World title is taking effect? Is this what it feels like to be favored by heaven?”

It was hard to say whether it was the cause from back then that led to the present effect, or if the title had bestowed upon him a halo of luck. Bai Yi called the Seventh Hospital, arranging to pick up the book after lunch, then snuggled back into his blanket.

“Since I can’t sleep anymore, I might as well continue with the instance.”

Shortly after entering the instance, he received a system prompt.

[Due to mission requirements, the instance map has been unlocked.]

[You have illuminated the first location on the map—Yong City.]

[Your reputation in Yong City has reached ‘Respected’.]

[You have become the undisputed Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation in the hearts of all Yong City citizens.]

Along with the system prompt, a ghostly, transparent map appeared in the upper right corner of Bai Yi’s vision. Most of the map was blank, shrouded in mist, with only a small outline in the corner illuminated and glowing. It displayed a line of text: [Yong City: Reputation 100].

[Please choose to submit the mission, apply for clearance settlement, or continue the mission to illuminate more unknown areas of the map.]

“Is that even a question? Of course, I’ll continue!”

Bai Yi answered without hesitation. With his save-and-load ability and the cheat sheet provided by his human tool, why wouldn’t he continue?

This instance was practically a gift to him.

By now, after multiple playthroughs and reloads, Bai Yi had a thorough understanding of his character, “Qi Jiu.”

Qi Jiu was originally an abandoned baby, found in the mountains by an old Taoist who brought him back to his temple. As he grew up, seeing that Qi Jiu was handsome and clever, the old Taoist took him as a disciple and passed on his knowledge.

In this world teeming with immortals and gods, the mortal kingdoms were extremely devout in their faith. Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries were everywhere across the Nine Provinces.

Thus, although their dilapidated temple couldn’t compare to those bustling with worshippers, and the poor folk in the remote areas couldn’t offer much in donations, the fervent faith of the people in this world allowed the master and disciple to barely make ends meet.

When donations were scarce and they struggled to get by, the old Taoist would take his disciple down the mountain, set up a divination stall in nearby small towns, and con a few wealthy households. The money earned would sustain them for quite a while.

The master-disciple pair knew their limits. They never ventured to places where true experts might appear, avoiding exposure. They also refused tasks that clearly involved supernatural elements beyond their abilities, to avoid failing the task and endangering their clients, which could lead to their fraudulent practices being exposed and inviting disaster.

They mostly chose cases where the clients were simply being overly suspicious. By saying a few auspicious words and using clever rhetoric to provide psychological comfort, they could complete their tasks.

From Bai Yi’s perspective, it was similar to a psychologist providing guidance and comfort for mental health issues, just with some mystical mumbo-jumbo added in.

Since the old Taoist always chose the cases he was most confident in, and declined those he wasn’t sure about with excuses like “heavenly secrets cannot be revealed” or “no divination today,” their success rate naturally remained high.

As a result, as word spread among the common folk, his reputation in the area grew, and he gradually became known as the “Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation” among the people.

For instance, when an old lady suspected her daughter-in-law of having an unlucky birth chart due to infertility and frequent minor illnesses in the family, the medically knowledgeable old Taoist would determine that the young couple had no physical issues and that minor ailments were normal. Realizing it was all in the old lady’s imagination, he would mysteriously say something like “the fated time hasn’t arrived yet, let nature take its course, and you’re destined to enjoy the blessings of grandchildren.” The old lady would then relax and stop pressuring the young couple. When they eventually had a child, the whole family would be grateful and revering—wasn’t this the very embodiment of a Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation?

As similar incidents accumulated, the old Taoist’s reputation as a divine calculator became increasingly solid in the surrounding counties.

After the old Taoist passed away, Qi Jiu followed in his footsteps, using the medical and psychological skills he learned from his master to further enhance the reputation of the “Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation.”

Until this time when the Zhang family sought him out…

Qi Jiu had no intention of taking this job from the beginning, as it was clearly beyond his abilities. He only planned to visit the Zhang family and use some excuse like “a sudden premonition, today is not suitable for divination” to decline. As for why he didn’t simply refuse to come… well, he was running low on food recently.

Qi Jiu had it all figured out.

…As the esteemed young Heavenly Master, even if he didn’t do any divination after coming, such a prestigious family wouldn’t let him leave empty-handed. They would surely insist on him staying, at least offering some tea and snacks. Wouldn’t that be a free meal?

However, what he never expected was that not only did he miss out on the free meal, but he also ran into Su Huaijia, who had just returned to Yong City and nearly demolished his reputation as the “Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation”!

“…Fortunately, the clever Bai Yi has perfectly resolved everything!”

In the long-neglected Taoist temple, the young Taoist packed his belongings and tied them to the temple’s only little donkey.

Facing the mountain breeze, he struck a pose as if he was about to ascend to immortality and let out a long sigh. “As for this title of Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation…”

“…From now on, I shall bear this burden!”

“?” The skinny little donkey stumbled under the weight of the heavy luggage. It tilted its head foolishly, looking at its master beside it, its large donkey eyes filled with big question marks.

Bai Yi tilted his head to look at the little donkey, gently patting its head while wearing a kind smile that seemed to regard it as potential hotpot ingredients.

“Well, little donkey, do you have any objections?”

…Don’t ask, it’s just an old case of chuunibyou syndrome.

The mere prospect of becoming donkey hotpot didn’t dare to have any objections to Bai Yi. It eagerly followed him down the mountain.

Before leaving Yong City, the man and the donkey still needed to invite one last companion (tool).

“Me? Fellow Daoist, you’re… inviting me to travel with you?”

At the Su family’s old residence, Su Huajia looked at the visitor in astonishment.

He wore an expression of disbelief, unconsciously opening his mouth wide.

At this moment, Su Huajia had completely lost the demeanor of a disciple from an immortal sect that he had when he first appeared. Instead, he looked more like a fan who had been fortunate enough to get a chance to travel with his idol, his face full of excitement.

This seemed to indicate the dramatic change in his attitude towards Bai Yi in this short period of time – from initial contempt and mockery to now barely contained admiration. Su Huajia’s transformation was so great that it was shocking. Now, standing before Bai Yi, he was like a rookie looking up to a senior whose expertise far surpassed his own.

Who could blame him? Bai Yi’s seemingly prophetic divinations, achieved through his save-and-load ability, were simply too impressive!

If it weren’t for Bai Yi’s insistence on addressing him as an equal “fellow Daoist,” and the fact that the character “Qi Jiu” wasn’t very old and not pretending to be young, Su Huajia would have long since called him “senior.”

Suddenly receiving Bai Yi’s invitation, wasn’t it natural for him to be both surprised and delighted, just like a fan being invited by their idol?

Ah, this damned passive skill of increasing followers!

Bai Yi couldn’t help but marvel at his own charisma in his mind.

Facing Su Huajia’s incredulous gaze, Bai Yi, now in full acting mode, casually brushed his sleeve. His expression remained calm and composed as he nodded and extended the invitation once more.

“Indeed. For years, I have been in seclusion with my master in the countryside, unaware of the vastness of the world or the principles of the immortal path. My cultivation has also reached a bottleneck, making little progress. Only after meeting you did I realize how narrow-minded I’ve been. It’s rare to encounter a kindred spirit like you. I wish to travel the world, broaden my horizons, and purify my dao heart. Would you be willing to accompany me?”

“Yes, yes, of course I’m willing,” Su Huajia nodded repeatedly, overjoyed. He couldn’t help but add, “When I was in my sect, I heard the elders say that many cultivators only know that worldly karma is poisonous, and they all want to be recluses far from the mortal world. Little do they know that single-minded cultivation is not the best choice. Walking through the mortal realm, tempering one’s dao heart with countless karmic ties, experiencing worldly affairs without falling – that’s how one achieves a truly rounded dao heart.”

“The great immortal sects are indeed extraordinary,” the young Taoist who had just freeloaded cultivation experience smiled faintly. His demeanor wasn’t flattering, but rather as open and frank as a gentle breeze. He continued, “To be honest, I value your background from a great immortal sect. I’m afraid I’ll have many things to learn from you in the future.”

…Translated, it meant that as the almighty Heavenly Master of Divine Calculation, it wasn’t very reliable to always cheat by peeking at the answers. It would be more dependable to truly learn the art of divination from this tool person!

Hearing Bai Yi say this, Su Huajia actually relaxed.

He also smiled and said, “The feeling is mutual. To be honest, your skill in divination is almost godlike, and I’ve been curious about it for a long time. I was hoping to find an opportunity to ask for your guidance.”

Enlighten him about what? About how to cheat by looking at the answers? That seemed to be his own unique skill… Bai Yi fell silent for a moment, then revealed a mysterious smile. “Some things can only be understood intuitively, and are difficult to put into words. I’m afraid I might disappoint you.”

“I understand, I understand.” Su Huajia instantly transformed into a know-it-all. Although even Bai Yi didn’t know what exactly he understood.

In Su Huajia’s mind, thoughts were already racing.

There was also an extraordinarily talented senior disciple in his sect.

Cultivation bottlenecks that were extremely difficult for them to overcome seemed effortless for that senior disciple.

But when they, the junior disciples, asked that senior for advice on breaking through, the genius senior often wore the expression of a top student facing a group of underachievers. “Huh? This is so simple, isn’t it something anyone with hands can do???”

Perhaps, problems that were difficult for underachievers were always simple for geniuses, so they found it hard to explain their seemingly obvious problem-solving methods to the underachievers? At least, Su Huajia had never understood that genius senior’s experiences.

So, he fully understood what this young Heavenly Master meant.

For someone who was practically a deity in the art of divination, it would indeed be difficult to teach a novice like him.

…Sigh, the gap between them was just too wide.

Su Huajia silently sighed in his heart.

Then he thought, in the upcoming journey together, the young Heavenly Master would have to face him, a thick-headed novice, every day, trying to figure out how to teach him those profound, prophetic divination skills…

At this moment, Su Huajia unconsciously recalled the increasingly irritated expressions of that genius senior in their sect when he failed to teach their group of blockheads no matter how hard he tried.

…It seemed that every time after leaving the senior’s cave dwelling after asking for guidance, they would hear a couple of days later that another batch of the senior’s magical tools had been damaged.

Su Huajia’s gaze unconsciously fell on the young Taoist in front of him, dressed in cyan robes and looking as ethereal as an immortal.

Just replacing the increasingly irritated face of his senior disciple, frustrated from teaching a group of blockheads, with this fairy-like young Heavenly Master’s face…

Su Huajia suddenly felt intensely self-conscious.

Surely this young Heavenly Master wouldn’t end up like his senior brother, right?

His talent in divination should be much stronger than his cultivation talent, he felt. Although his cultivation talent, which he used as a reference point, was really not that great, so it couldn’t really be used to gauge how high his divination talent was.

But still…

The more Su Huajia thought about it, the more self-conscious he felt.

Compared to his cultivation talent, which his senior had viewed as rotten wood beyond carving…

In the field of divination, perhaps, there was still hope for salvation?

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