Wearing fragrant clothes and sipping aromatic tea, I was finally experiencing the perks of being human. The urge to sprout little flowers of happiness was overwhelming—except human bodies aren’t made of data, so no flower-sprouting for me.

Instead, a bubble popped up above my head with a cheerful blossom floating inside.

Seraphine paused mid-sip, eyeing me with curiosity. “I’ve been meaning to ask—now that you’re human, can you still use your system abilities?”

“Absolutely.” I replied, flexing my new fingers experimentally. “Some functions need code rewrites and pathway adjustments, but everything’s operational.”

Like creating matchstick limbs for myself. Though honestly, these new arms and legs were far superior to my old data-constructed appendages. I unzipped my inventory and, right in front of Seraphine, pulled out a sword, a seal, and a small orb.

Seraphine cupped the small orb in her hands. Without the system’s soul, it was now nothing more than a true orb, faintly glowing with a soft light. She set it in a tea bowl and covered it, then cast a glance toward the seal platform.

The seal platform was something Echo had traded for back in the Chongshan Secret Realm after pummeling a thunder beast—a treasure called the Crimson Moon Blood Seal. The entire base gleamed a vivid crimson, as though carved from a flawless, unblemished piece of chicken-blood stone. The grip was a perfect sphere, encircled by a phantom ring. Upon closer inspection, Seraphine recognized the shapes within the phantom—new moon, waxing crescent, full moon, waning crescent, and dark moon—the five phases of the moon.

The Crimson Moon Blood Seal had only been used once by Echo. At the time, a waning moon hung overhead, its moonlight as sharp as blades, slicing at the thunder beast’s flesh. Trapped within the sealing array, the beast had howled in agony, utterly helpless.

A weapon that could both restrain and strike…… truly, an extraordinary artifact.

But Seraphine’s attention was fixed on the sword. This was actually her first time seeing it at normal size—well, human-proportioned size—and it even had a proper scabbard now.

No wonder she’d always heard an unsheathing sound when Echo drew it before. Echo’d been synchronizing the drawing motion with the manifestation process.

“Careful.” I warned as Seraphine reached for the weapon.

“I’ll be fine.” Seraphine said softly, lifting the sword to examine it. The blade was elegant and long, with a color that seemed neither ice nor jade—natural and unadorned like Echo, except for a single brilliant red gem embedded in the hilt.

The moment Seraphine fingers closed around the grip, cold energy surged through the air. Her eyes widened in surprise as she slowly drew the blade.

Ice-cold steel emerged from its sheath.

The nearly transparent blade rose inch by inch, reflecting Seraphine’s face as dark patterns along the edge shifted and flowed, casting prismatic glints of frozen light.

The room’s temperature plummeted instantly.

“Incredible.” Seraphine breathed, holding up the supremely cold and sharp divine weapon. “This is what saved me twice.”

I tilted my head, appearing on the opposite side of the blade. Our eyes met across the steel, my silver hair falling over my shoulder to frame my face. I blinked, my silver-tinted lashes fluttering up and down.

“I saved you.” I corrected seriously.

Seraphine glanced at me, then carried the sword out the door, through the garden, and onto the training platform.

I followed dutifully behind.

The training platform sat on an open area at the mountain’s peak, offering a panoramic view of heaven and earth.

Outside the mountains, the sun was setting, clouds gathering in brilliant formations. The magnificent sunset painted everything in shades of gold and crimson, while the vast river and layered mountain peaks seemed to bow before the dying light. Rivers, lakes, and seas all received the sun’s orange veil as its final gift.

I stopped in my tracks, staring at the spectacular sunset through human eyes for the first time. My eyes grew wider and wider.

“Whoa!” I whispered, instinctively pulling up my interface panel to capture the sunset and save it to my data files.

Seraphine glanced back at Echo.

The setting sun turned Echo’s hair molten gold, like flowing lava or liquid fire. Seraphine smiled softly and started to call out, “Ling—”

“Echo.” Seraphine stopped smiling and quietly tsked mentally.

My gaze remained fixed on the clouds. “I’m here.” I said, then turned to see Seraphine already positioned in the center of the training platform.

“I want to test your sword.” she announced.

Absolutely! As long as my host stayed safe, I was happy to comply.

I obediently moved to the edge of the platform.

On the platform, Seraphine centered herself and raised the sword in a formal stance.

Spiritual energy surged across Phoenix Roost Peak, drawn by her call. The sword hummed softly as endless spiritual power flowed into the blade. The transparent steel began to glow with a faint red light, cutting through the evening sky in harmony with the sunset and singing alongside the mountain winds.

I watched Seraphine intently—her graceful movements, her ethereal beauty. The spiritual sword’s radiance rose and fell with her flowing robes, beautiful yet dangerous, dramatic yet elegant. That gleaming blade could take a life in an instant or sweep away thousands of soldiers, depending entirely on the wielder’s whim.

Beyond the mountains, a white crane flew in and perched on the pavilion, its black bead eyes fixed on the peak’s master. It sensed the thin chill emanating from the divine weapon in the peak lord’s hands, ice crystals forming wherever the sword light touched.

No snow was actually falling, so the cold wasn’t too bad. The crane stepped elegantly across the golden roof tiles, occasionally spreading its wings and calling out to the peak lord. The last rays of sunset struggled against the encroaching blue darkness as stars began to claim the sky, casting frost-light across the earth.

Silver-red sword light flashed and gradually stilled as Seraphine sheathed the blade and closed her eyes to regulate her breathing.

My bubble-self waved tiny glow sticks enthusiastically while I clapped my hands.

“Seraphine, you’re amazing!” I praised sincerely.

Seraphine snorted softly, spinning the sword in an elegant flourish as residual spiritual energy scattered like glittering sparks from the blade’s tip.

“This sword has ice-cold properties that conflict with my spiritual energy.” Seraphine explained. “Even using my full power, I can only access about twenty percent of its potential.” She gestured toward Echo. “Come here.”

I bounced over, still clapping, and accepted the sword from her hands.

The moment I gripped the hilt, the blade sang out with a clear, joyful note—noticeably louder than when Seraphine had held it.

Seraphine noticed too, her mouth twitching as she crossed her arms with a soft huff.

“Your turn.” Seraphine said. “Ever since you received the inheritance from the Chongshan Immortal Pa;lace, I haven’t seen you properly use any sword techniques. Show me what you’ve got.”

Seraphine added teasingly, “Don’t you want to protect me?”

Right, right. Absolutely.

I nodded and tried to copy Seraphine’s sword-spinning move, tossing the blade up and reaching to catch it. Instead, my arm and the sword went in completely different directions, and the weapon crashed to the ground with a wet “splat.” sending up a spray of ice crystals.

Seraphine’s expression went blank. At that moment, she had the sudden urge to pluck the floating question mark above Echo’s head…… and hang it over her own.

“That’s not how you do it?” I asked, genuinely confused. But I’m a fast learner—I immediately pulled up a search for “How to Execute an Impressive Sword Flourish” and displayed the results on a large panel hovering in front of me.

“……” Seraphine’s expression grew even more blank as she watched Echo launch the priceless divine weapon into the air again and again.

“Clang.”

“Clang.”

“Clang.”

“……” Seraphine stared at the sword lying on the ground once more, and her thoughts were along the lines of: Let’s see how much you like her now.

The sword was definitely not happy. It was practically whimpering.

I sighed in frustration. “Human movement patterns don’t match system operations. I can’t generate sword flourish code and implement it directly into this human body.”

“Forget the stupid flourish!” Seraphine snapped. “Just use the sword properly!”

Got it, got it.

I grabbed the sword and waved it around a few times, pretending I’d successfully executed a flourish, then raised my other hand to pull a glowing orb from my inventory.

The inheritance from the Chongshan Immortal Palace.

The moment it appeared, overwhelming sword intent filled the air. Seraphine’s expression immediately became stern, and she instinctively lowered her arms and stood at solemn attention.

She was just thinking about how Echo had been carrying this inheritance in her inventory all along, when Echo opened her mouth wide and went “ahh-woo.” swallowing the inheritance whole.

“……???” Seraphine stared at Echo in complete bewilderment.

What?

Seraphine rushed over and grabbed Echo’s chin, forcing her mouth open, staring at her with utter bewilderment. “What are you doing?!”

I tried to speak with my mouth held open: “I alwaf do dis befow.”

I always do this before.

Then it hit me—oh right, I’m human now.

Oops!

A bubble popped up above my head with my bubble-self blushing in embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Seraphine was turning red with frustration, slowly releasing Echo’s chin as her expression darkened.

I looked at her face and burst out laughing. “Hahahaha!”

Laugh, laugh, laugh—knew you’d pull that trick again!

Seraphine raised her hand and gave Echo a sharp knock on the head.

I yelped in surprise, genuine pain and shock spreading across my face.

“Seraphine! That hurt!” I rubbed my forehead, looking curious as if I wanted her to try it again.

“Of course it hurt!” she said coldly. “If you lose that inheritance, where exactly do you plan to get another set of cultivation techniques? You’re not the wealthy little system you used to be—you’re completely broke now!”

“Oh no!” I gasped, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation. I patted my stomach and spun around, looking everywhere on the ground. Relief flooded through me. “Good, good—it’s still in my stomach, didn’t fall out.”

Seraphine felt like teaching Echo to be human was going to be a long, exhausting process where she’d be the only one getting frustrated.

After reciting her calming mantra twice, she sighed softly and said, “Guide the inheritance along your spiritual veins into your consciousness sea. Practice the cultivation techniques daily and train with the sword forms.”

Spiritual Veins.

I opened up an anatomical diagram of the human body and asked curiously, “Where are the spiritual veins?”

The novel’s cultivation system came from the author’s imagination—I only had scientific anatomical charts, not vein maps for a cultivation world.

Seraphine shook her head and took Echo’s hand, pressing her index and middle fingers against Echo’s inner wrist.

I recognized this gesture from medical dramas. “Seraphine, I’m not sick.”

“……Shut up.” Seraphine said irritably, clearly thinking she was the most patient person in the world. “I’m going to send a stream of spiritual energy into your veins. You need to guide the inheritance you swallowed along the path my energy takes and direct it into your consciousness sea.”

“Okay, Seraphine, thank you. You’re really good to me.” I said gratefully.

Save your thanks until you’ve finished driving me mad, Seraphine thought. “I have supreme fire spiritual roots, while you have water spiritual roots—specifically the rare ice spiritual root variant. Our spiritual energies are incompatible. My spiritual power entering your veins won’t be comfortable. No matter how much pain you feel, you have to endure it! If you dare hurt me, I’ll knock you on the head ten times!”

Feeling this wasn’t threatening enough, Seraphine narrowed her eyes and let her gaze drift downward. “Make that a hundred times on your butt!”

Hard knocks, too.

“Yikes!” I said, covering my rear end protectively while rubbing my still-sore forehead. The sword was still in my grip, swaying around randomly as starlight glinted off its surface.

The cold aura made Seraphine’s heart feel chilly. She pressed her lips together and scolded, “Put the sword away first.” She was genuinely worried that when her spiritual energy entered Echo body, it might trigger her ice roots’ defensive reaction and cause Echo to reflexively swing the sword at her.

Right now, I was essentially a shell with cultivation power but no idea how to use it.

But this shell was very obedient. I flicked my wrist and “clang”—dropped the sword on the ground.

Since converting physical items back into system storage was complicated and involved multiple code conversions, the current me had learned to be adaptable! I gave Seraphine a thumbs up with the same hand I’d used to “put away” the sword.

Seraphine stared silently at the priceless artifact lying carelessly on the cold stone. Given Echo’s track record, she wouldn’t be surprised if this sword was actually a god-tier weapon.

Just lying there on the ground like garbage.

“Does this sword have a name?” she asked quietly.

“It’s called Nine Heavens Sword.” I replied.

“How much did it cost?”

“Not much—way less than this human body, and since it’s compatible with this world’s parameters, it only cost forty-eight million nine hundred thousand points.”

Forty-eight million nine hundred thousand.

Only.

Seraphine suddenly didn’t want to know how much Echo human body had cost. She tightened her grip on Echo’s wrist and slowly began channeling spiritual energy through her fingers.

“Don’t resist my—huh?” Her voice trailed off in confusion.

Golden-red spiritual energy surged dominantly into Echo’s Spiritual veins, carrying an arrogant “I’m the only one who matters” attitude. This was Seraphine holding back her power considerably, but when it entered Echo’s veins……

Nothing happened.

It was as if there was absolutely nothing in Echo’s Spiritual Veins.

Seraphine’s eyes widened as Echo said curiously, “Oh, so this is what my spiritual energy feels like!”

As soon as Echo spoke, her previously calm Spiritual Veins suddenly came alive, enthusiastically surrounding the intruding energy. They nudged it, bumped against it, and even pushed the golden-red spiritual energy deeper inside with a helpful “Where do you want to go? Please, please, let us show you the way!” attitude.

Seraphine’s expression grew increasingly astonished. “This…… what is this? Aren’t you supposed to have ice spiritual roots?”

“I have ice spiritual roots?” I asked.

Wait, no.

“Don’t I?” I corrected.

“……” Seraphine and Echo stared at each other.

Seraphine blinked, then suddenly looked at the sword Echo had carelessly tossed aside. The poor semi-transparent blade looked dead on the ground, surrounded by a thin layer of frost.

Seraphine : “……”

Then understanding dawned.

No wonder she couldn’t sense Echo’s cultivation level after she became human—Echo still felt like that round little orb. Her spiritual energy had no attributes at all! It wasn’t ice, fire, water, or any of the five elements. It had no connection to any of the rare spiritual root types either. Echo’s spiritual power was simply…… Echo.

If Echo used her fire-attribute weapon, it wouldn’t snow from the sky—it would rain fire!

“Ha.” Seraphine breathed, her chest rising and falling as she stared at Echo face in amazement. Echo’s spiritual root was unprecedented and utterly unique in this world!

Beyond the shock, Seraphine’s lips trembled slightly as random thoughts flitted through her mind.

Having no attributes was herself the attribute of Echo’s spiritual root. Didn’t that mean Echo could choose from any of the countless cultivation techniques in the world? With this kind of talent, spending her entire fortune on this transformation was…… actually worth it.

I tilted my head left, looking at Seraphine.

I tilted my head right, looking at Seraphine.

Seraphine was staring at me fixedly, her pupils tracking my head movements. My eyes lit up, and I increased the speed of my head-tilting, until suddenly I saw her raise her hand.

“Bonk.”

“Stop messing around!” Seraphine took a deep breath. No matter how amazing and rare Echo’s spiritual root was, she was still an annoying idiot who needed constant supervision.

The annoying idiot got bonked and said “Oh!” before standing at attention. Her cold, elegant face became impassive, her gaze sharp beneath long lashes that glowed silver in the starlight. If there had been a poet present, they would have used the most beautiful language to praise and describe Echo—how she was clear as the moon, pale as snow, mysterious and untouchable, so beautiful and……

Fake.

Seraphine wanted to cover Echo’s eyes. She sighed softly and said, “Never let anyone else examine your Spiritual Veins, understood?”

“Mm.” I nodded obediently. “There’s no one else anyway. Only you.”

Seraphine pressed her lips together and looked down at Echo’s wrist, redirecting her spiritual energy to guide Echo’s Spiritual Veins circulation.

The golden-red spiritual energy was like a little goldfish dropped into the ocean, happily swishing its peacock-like tail as it swam through the vast, boundless sea. The ocean was calm, the water embracing it, the waves pushing it forward. With a casual flick of its tail, it reached the entrance to my consciousness sea.

The little goldfish paused, looking solemnly at this world even deeper than the ocean, and shivered.

This was Seraphine’s first time seeing someone else’s consciousness sea—and it belonged to a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Nascent Soul stage.

Multiple emotions surged through Seraphine’s heart: enlightenment, longing, awe, and yearning. Even though the surrounding spiritual energy wrapped around her warmly and the endless consciousness sea regarded her with peaceful stillness, Seraphine knew that if Echo wanted to attack, she could crush her in an instant.

But Echo would never hurt her.

Seraphine’s heart swelled with emotion, and a gentle smile crossed her face. Her voice was equally warm as she asked, “Did you remember the path?”

I had—I’d drag the inheritance from my stomach into my consciousness sea in a moment. I tentatively opened my consciousness sea and asked, “Want to come in and sit for a while?”

Inside the open consciousness sea, a perfectly round orb identical to Echo’s original system form slowly rotated—Echo’s nascent soul.

Seraphine froze, her face turning bright red. The golden-red spiritual energy retreated like it had encountered a mortal enemy, and she yanked her hand away from Echo’s wrist as if she’d been burned, stumbling backward two steps.

I popped up a question mark over my head and looked at my hand. It was perfectly smooth—no thorns anywhere.

“You—never say things like that again!” Seraphine turned away, her face scarlet, and snapped, “Indecency!”

Oh no!

Day one of being human and I’d already been called indecency!

My bubble-self burst into tears above my head.

“Why?” I asked pitifully. “What was indecency about it?”

Seraphine’s face grew even redder. She cleared her throat and looked away. “It’s not really indecency. Since you promised never to let anyone except me examine your Spiritual Veins, there won’t be any situations involving spiritual energy entering consciousness sea or…… other things!” She coughed, thinking she’d been reading too many novels.

She took a breath and said in defeat, “Forget it!”

I didn’t like “forget it.” I didn’t like not understanding. I wanted to figure this out.

Seraphine knew Echo wanted to understand, but she didn’t want Echo to understand. Her beautiful eyes glared at Echo fiercely. “These aren’t things you need to know right now! Focus on learning sword techniques first. If you can’t use your spiritual power properly, how are you going to protect me?”

With that, she turned and walked away, her red robes fluttering in the wind.

Unfortunately, Echo’s experience as a human was still too limited to recognize the meaning of “fleeing in embarrassment.” Echo just stared at her retreating figure in confusion.

The training platform was lined with pearl-embedded fixtures casting soft light onto the stone surface. Throughout the Luanyang Palace mountain complex, lights of various intensities created a serene atmosphere in the vast night.

Outside the mountains, Luanyang City blazed with lights, candles flowing like dragons. The mortal realm looked more intoxicating than the cultivators’ domain, with an air of “if we have wine today, we drink today—let’s not go home sober.” Even the starlight seemed to retreat before such revelry.

Only the moonlight illuminated the mountains, bathing the lone figure on the stone platform in starlight. I picked up the sword, my silver hair catching the stellar glow as I watched Seraphine’s angry departure. My bubble-self was crying even harder now.

I’d made Seraphine angry.

Not her usual kind of anger—really, truly angry.

But what had I done wrong?

I looked down at the sword in confusion. My Spiritual Veins still held traces of that warm golden-red spiritual energy, and the inheritance I’d swallowed was being dragged into my consciousness sea by my silver spiritual power, stuffing itself into my nascent soul orb.

The ancient texts filled with sword intent slowly turned their pages, describing swordsmanship in exquisite detail and passing on their predecessors’ wisdom without reservation.

I couldn’t help myself—I raised the sword toward the star-filled sky.

Surging spiritual power flowed into the blade with a clear, resonant ring. White light cut through the heavens, making the stars themselves seem dim by comparison.

Everyone in the inner sect of Luanyang Palace felt that magnificent sword intent simultaneously, instinctively looking toward Phoenix Roost Peak.

On Benevolent Central Peak, Yan Qingluan burst from her cultivation chamber, staring at Phoenix Roost Peak in amazement. “Such powerful sword energy!”

The peak lords and elders from all five peaks rushed outside with their disciples, all craning their necks to look at the sky.

In the side hall where she was handling competition affairs, Siyi looked up in surprise, pushing open her window to gaze at the peak where Seraphine lived. “This is……”

Seraphine stopped in her tracks and held out her hand.

White snowflakes settled on her palm.

More snow began falling, blanketing the human world.

The mountains wore cloaks of white as the entire Luanyang Palace complex became shrouded in snow. Flying pavilions with golden tiles and vermillion walls gained layers of pristine white. On the mountain pavilion, the white crane spread its wings and flew a circle around the green pines before expertly diving into the shelter.

Outside the pavilion, someone was running through the snow with a sword, racing toward another person.

“Seraphine!”

My silver hair flew in the wind, catching snowflakes, and even my long lashes turned white. I ran happily toward the person who had stopped walking.

“Seraphine, I can use it now!” I called out joyfully.

Seraphine turned around, nodded, and threw the handful of snow she’d collected right at Echo face. Echo closed her eyes, laughing, then opened one eye to peek at her.

“I saw.” Seraphine said. Not just her—thousands of people across these hundred peaks had witnessed it too.

I studied Seraphine’s expression carefully and said, “Please don’t be angry with me.”

“I’ll build you a snowman.” I offered.

Such a tall person saying something so adorable—even if she had been truly angry, it would have been cured instantly. But Seraphine wasn’t really angry, just….… embarrassed.

She reached up and flicked a snowflake from Echo’s eyelashes, the white crystal falling onto her blue clothes. A smile tugged at her lips as she softened her voice. “I’m not angry. Let’s go back—I had the palace servants prepare dinner. Don’t you want to try human food?”

Oh wonderful, Seraphine wasn’t mad anymore!

I breathed a sigh of relief, took her hand, and said happily, “Thank you, Seraphine.”

Seraphine laughed softly as they walked back through the snow, their voices mixing with the falling flakes.

“When you’re out in public, don’t use your bubbles.” Seraphine advised. “If people see them, they might think you’re practicing demonic arts.”

I asked, “Would they think I’m a demon? Okay, I’ll stop. Though if we’re talking about demons, Error and the mirage woman would be actual demons. I’m a system.”

“I’ll learn to use my face instead.” I said, curving my lips upward. “Hahaha!”

“Oh, and System 04 laughs like this: ‘kukuku.’”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Wuwuwu……”

In the side hall, the sleepy Fire Rock Dragon rolled over drowsily, thinking through its haze: More snow. Tomorrow the little mountain animals won’t come out to play. What a shame.

No snacks for this dragon.

[Author’s Note]:

Echo: Now that I’ve got a body, Seraphine says we’re technically two people. Emotionally? She still thinks I’m a glitch. See for yourself—20 chapters ahead on /LoveisLove520.