BTTH: Template System

"It's nice to see that the Xiao Clan still has rational people like the young friend Ming." Elder Gu Ye gently placed the cup of tea in front of Xiao Ming, who was sitting on the other side of Nalan Yanran. "Xiao Zhan, that old guy, after losing his wife, becomes too overprotective over his youngest. He was even willing to harm such a talent like you."

Xiao Ming silently takes a sip from his cup, the wind blows through the open window of the restaurant, gently swaying his hair. "I'm thankful to the elder Gu Ye and the young Miss Nalan Yanran for keeping me with you guys tonight."

"Hmph! It was obvious that the clan leader Xiao Zhan is extremely favoring Xiao Yan over you. Even though you have proven your talent by showing your strength at the hall." She takes a bite from her dish with a dissatisfied look. "He even threw you out of the Clan residence. Now you need to stay at the hotel like someone without a home."

Upon hearing her words Xiao Ming couldn't help but think of what happened at the hall.

***

Xiao Yan tore off the piece of his clothes, bit the skin of his finger, making it bleed, and then wrote a promise on it using the blood. As for how did his finger bleed so much that it's enough to write a whole contract? Isn't it common sense that the cultivators have so much blood that even a slight increase in blood pressure can cause it to overflow? So it seems like Xiao Yan bleeding that much from his finger seems like makes sense.

"Nalan Yanran! Here is my promise with my signature. If I don't come to find you after the three years we agreed upon you can use it to break our engagement!" Xiao Yan throws the piece of cloth at Nalan Yanran who caught it effortlessly. As if somewhat proud of his work he prepared to tear another piece of his clothes.

Xiao Ming quickly pulled a paper and brush that was on the nearby table with his Limitless technique into his hand. "I don't want to carry your dirty piece of clothes with me so just use this."

"Hmph, Thirty years east, thirty years west, don't you dare bully me because I'm poor now!" Xiao Yan screamed those lines before started writing on the paper.

'Dude, you saying that now doesn't make sense.'

...

Xiao Ming glances at the system panel that shows the FP he saved so far

[FP: 50200]

'It's more than doubled.'

"But young friend Ming I'm pleasantly surprised by the fact that you have achieved 1-star Dou Zhe. Your talent might be even at the same level as young lady Yanran's talent." Gu Ye slightly opened his eyes wider as a strange gleam flashed inside them. "I was wondering if the young friend Ming is willing to come with us to the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Nalan Yanran also looked at him with a pleading look as if saying: "You must accept this offer!"

A small chuckle escaped from his mouth, and he said in a serious tone. "Elder Gu Ye, I appreciate the offer, and I must say this is a truly tempting offer. But I am sure you both have noticed something off about me right? Whenever you look at me and get close to me, you should able to feel that something is wrong with me."

Hearing his words made Gu Ye and Nalan Yanran flinch a little. Even though the recent events happened at the Xiao Clan, they have a relatively good impression of the young man in front of them, they know there is something wrong with him from the start. It's just they tried to ignore that feeling because of his talents and actions.

"The truth is current me isn't exactly who I am used to be." He has given them a small smile as if telling them he didn't mean any harm. "It happened about a few months ago that I met someone accidentally during my night walk. Because at that time my talent was relatively mediocre I used to take a walk whenever I stumbled into something during my cultivation." His hands start shaking as if he is remembering something terrifying. "That night I meet someone..."

***

The cool breeze of the night gently caressed Xiao Ming's face as if trying to soothe his worries. But the frown on his face never left it as he silently wandered deeper into the forest. He wasn't sure how many times he had walked through this path, probably more than he could ever count, but what could he do? This was the only place he could be free.

Here, even if it was just a moment, he was just Xiao Ming. Not Xiao Ming of the Xiao Clan, the orphan of the Xiao Clan, just the plain old Xiao Ming.

As his mind wanders off from his worries, his expression changes into a soft and warm smile. His immature but delicate face combined with a soft expression on his face and missing the gloomy aura his future self has, which made his smile look sunny and warm.

But all those worry-free thoughts came to an end when he heard footsteps come from not so far from him. Turning around, Xiao Ming saw a man dressed in a black robe and gold-colored kashaya garment. He held a golden monk staff and wore wooden sandals.

"Oh, I apologize my young friend. I didn't mean to disturb your alone time." He stretches his hand to signal he didn't mean any harm. "I'm just a simple Taoist monk who was passing by until you caught my attention."

"Well, that doesn't sound like exactly good news?" Xiao Ming takes a step back preparing for whatever is about to happen.

"Please, my friend, I am a simple monk with no fighting power. You could even check my Dou Qi if you want. I long stopped possessing any cultivation base." Hearing the monk's words, Xiao Ming tried to sense any Dou Qi from the monk, and surprisingly enough, he found none.

"How could someone without any Dou Qi be here? There should be many guards that are patrolling the territory 24/7."

"Perhaps I was simply lucky. After all, there can be only so many guards doing the patrolling duty through the whole territory of the Xiao Clan." Just as the monk tried to take a step towards Xiao Ming, he quickly stopped him by releasing his aura.

"Take another step forward, and I will send you to the King Yama!"

"Hehe, young friend, being cautious is fine, but being paranoid at such a young age isn't a good thing."

"It's better than being dead."

"Many people thought the same as you before losing great opportunities that could have been theirs." He then takes out a book and shows it to Xiao Ming. "How about this? I will give you this High Xuan class training method if you put your fist away from my face."

"Hmph! How could something so valuable to someone like you?"

"Well, I never said I wasn't a cultivator, did I? How about it? It seems a pretty profitable deal on your end."

Xiao Ming looks at the book the monk is holding and then looks at the monk himself. His mind was rising fast, and various scenarios appeared in his mind. Some were hopeful, while others weren't so pleasant, but in the end, his greed and desperate need for something that would help him cultivate come over his rationality.

He suppresses his aura, and the monk throws the book towards allowing him to quickly catch it. But that was the biggest mistake he could make. The monk made a strange hand sign with his hand. The book bursts open revealing various creatures made of ink quickly caught him.

"W-what?!-mph!"

The monk starts bleeding from all his seven holes with a grin on his face. "Hehe, you aren't exactly the best vessel but you will do just fine. Rejoice, child! You have chosen to become the life vessel of the elder of the Hall Of Souls!"

The monk's whole body twists into a small orange-golden orb before flying into Xiao Ming's mouth with the rest of the creatures. "Heh, don't bother to repel me out from your body just enjoy your remaining short lifespan. After I wake up from my soul slumber your body shall be mine!"

***

"...and that's what happened to me that night." The cup in Xiao Ming's hand gets crushed into pieces. He looks at Gu Ye and Nalan Yanran with a gentle smile."So, I don't think I have the qualifications to join the Misty Cloud Sect. Not only am I a hidden danger to the sect, but this very talent I possess isn't mine."

Nalan Yanran and Gu Ye look at the smiling young man whose eyes are filled with sorrow and self-hatred as if he committed a grave crime. "Y-young friend Ming! It's not your fault that things like that happened. No need to blame yourself like that."

"Yeah, Xiao Ming! If you wish I could talk with my master about your situation. I'm sure with her help, we can think of something that will solve this hateful old bastard lying inside your soul!"

While Nalan Yanran and Gu Ye were trying to comfort the young man, they would have never thought that that story was mostly a lie. It has been only a little over two weeks since he came to this world, and the Hall Of Souls elder haunting in his body was just pure bullshit. Heck, even the design of the elder was simply taken after Geto Suguru.

The story has many loopholes, but hey, when were the cultivators that that rationally smart in the first place? With that, Xiao Ming turned from an orphan from the Xiao Clan to a tragic hero in Gu Ye and Nalan Yanran's eyes.