(Morning, Inn)

(Bu Cai POV)

I hate early mornings with a passion. However a man must do, what a man must do.

Getting up at the crack of dawn I make my way towards one of the only joys I have in this ancient cultivation world, The bath.

I make sure to get myself into tip-top shape so that I can show Mr. Mind Reader that I am not someone who is a disrespectful ingrate. And to also make a good impression with the fellow clansmen I will be meeting throughout the day.

As first impressions are important, right?

Soon I'm looking fresh if i do say so myself.

My hair is neatly tied up, my white robes are so white that they could blind you, and my new socks are immortal approved.

If this won't move those Chen Clan bastards, I don't know what will.

I then make my way to the bakery I always go to and get myself, for the last time, an exquisite feast of cultivator style baguette with some kind of meat on it. And of course a pain au chocolat to go with it.

I devour that shit, whilst thinking over the plan of action I have conjured over the days.

And I eventually came up with a list of goals that I will try to reach,

-Make a good impression (Short term)

-Analyse the situation with all the mysteries surrounding the family (Long Term)

-Get myself in a stable position (Medium Term)

-Make friends with young master and make him turn against Long Tian (Medium Term).

-Integrate myself into the politics and get myself in a favorable position in aspects such as connections, safety, and power, mean whilst gaining experience. (Long Term)

...

Some, if not most, of these must be achieved so that I can increase the chances of me getting rid of Long Tian. As well as to ensure my safety and position in the Chen Family.

I neither want to be a pawn nor someone who is a nuisance for the Chen Family and the Royal family. Hence I must show my worth in some way to them so that they do not treat me as such.

I also mustn't get overly ambitious as if I do, then I will die miserably.

Overall, everything must go well, with minimal error, in order for me to escape from this pithole and be able to rise in strength and authority.

As from what I have heard, currently I am just an unneeded variable who is set to be cannon fodder.

And I won't accept that!

As I was fueling my determination, I heard a girl's voice enter my ears,

The voice was of a commanding and disdainful tone as she told him,

"Get up now and greet your young miss!"

"You filthy commoner!"

...

(Third Person POV)

A group of four children can be seen walking through the city, they have expensive robes on which further emphasises the air of nobility and wealth they have.

They all have their heads held high and their eyes portray pure confidence and pride.

These four are members of the Chen Family which were told to get Bu Cai.

They are all very talented and one of the individuals is someone who had participated in the recent youth tournament, Chen Bao!

As they walked, people willingly stepped out of the way to let them through as they knew nothing good could come from offending them.

On the way there a cute young girl who had crimson red hair and bright blue eyes which contained a trace of arrogance was walking in the middle. She seemed to be of the same age as Song Ju and Xie Xinyi.

The air of nobility and authority she naturally had was much more obvious than the rest and it was clear she had a higher position than the rest of the members in the group.

Her name was Chen Ru and she was the daughter of the current Clan Head, Chen Long.

She came to the city so that she could have fun and also to check out the rumored geniuses of other families she was curious of.

The reason someone of her position was going to see Bu Cai, was because she wanted to personally see which non-blood related peasant was able to join her Clan.

She was someone who always disdained people who were of inferior background or weren't blood related.

After she found out that someone outside of the family was chosen to join, she was got quite angry and demanded that she wants to see who this person is and whether they have such qualifications.

Although she saw some of Bu Cai's matches, she wasn't very impressed with someone who didn't get Top 3 regardless of how talented he is.

As they were getting close, she told Chen Bao commandingly,

"Chen Bao, what is so special about a peasant nobody like Bu Cai that he could get the opportunity to join our family?"

Chen Bao replied solemnly,

"Responding to young Miss, he is from a poor background that is no where comparable to a major force. However he still managed to place so high in the tournament!"

"This means that either he is a very valuable talent which is worthy to be nurtured by us, or he is hiding something. Therefore Elder Guanting intervened to get this boy to our side."

As someone who has been trained to serve the higher rank members as a branch member, he is naturally very polite to someone like Chen Ru.

This response caused a frown on Chen Ru's doll like face.

They soon saw the Bu Cai eating whilst deep in thought.

Chen Ru's frown deepened at the fact that the peasant she loathed was actually having a meal instead of waiting for them patiently like he should.

Although she did find him pleasing to the eye, a commoner was a commoner.

They approached him and Chen Ru specifically stepped forward and said to him in a tone full of disdain and disgust,

"Get up NOW and greet your young miss!"

"You filthy commoner!"

...