(A few minutes prior to the chomping)

Riding a colossal fox, which just so happened to be near the pinnacle of this realm's cultivation level, wasn't as simple as it first sounded.

In fact, the space-shattering speed of a ravenous beast that desperately wanted a particular fruit put a tremendous toll on Zhang Wei's body. The fact that the fox's fur, which was currently acting as the reigns for this peculiar steed, was silky smooth also didn't help the situation as Zhang Wei constantly felt a slip in his grasp.

However... there was some light at the end of the tunnel!

He didn't know whether it was due to the mystical effects of the {Luck Booster} or if the System foretold the future, but the {Emergency Jade Plate Mk.1} seemed to, just, be able to withstand the immense current brought about by the sheer pace they were moving at.

Even better yet!

The sparse few fragments of light which could reach his eyes reflected the fact that the fox was indeed spearheading towards the sect!

How could he possibly know that from just a few images of the forest?

Well, that could be easily summed up by the fact that the Azure Profound Sect's mountain peaks were already in the distant background.

Yes, Zhang Wei's five days of painful navigation were basically trivialised by the fox's sense-shattering speed!

But at this point, he couldn't afford to ponder that, as all Zhang Wei could think of was that it was a god-given miracle the string hadn't snapp-

NOOOOOOOOO!

As if a deity from above were bent on teasing him, the fruit suddenly, and violently, swung backwards. And, in the process, was sliced perfectly in half by the thin string and was sucked away into the abyss known as the background.

Foolishly, the moment he realised what had occurred, Zhang Wei let go of the fur, extended his arm out and tried to lunge for it out of desperation!

The resultant reward being a warm welcome, face-to-face, with a healthy dose of the ground floor- Alongside a slight tinge of pain as the {Emergency Jade Plate Mk.1} wasn't able to block the impact of the fall fully.

However, the soreness of the fall was meagre compared to the daunting feeling of shame and despair which loomed over him the instant he regained his wits.

Fuck!

Fucking fuck!

I...I can't believe that I fought through all that shit just for it all to be crushed mere moments before the finish line!

What do I do now?

How can I even proceed?

AHHHHHHHHH, GOD DAMN IT!

Zhang Wei's frustration was nigh palpable, as he raised his fist and repeatedly brought it down onto the dirt-laden forest floor.

After he finished venting his rage out on the innocent ground floor, he crawled into a fetal position and started to reminisce about all the great times he's had...

...well, that would've been the plan had an eyebrow-raise-worthy System notification not forced itself in Zhang Wei's face.

[Congratulations Host.]

[Protagonist: Lin Fan(Master-Disciple Variant 83.2), has successfully been assisted to 2nd Step-Greater Realm No.173.]

{In accordance with the Universal Dao of Rules and Regulations, and the Ultimate Background Character System's karmic bypass, a choice between three, grade 2 remunerations will be provided.}

[A further congratulations, from System to Host, for accomplishing an incomparably meritious deed within the halls of 'Ultimate Background Character' history!]

[Not only have you been able to assist the protagonist in his path to glory, but you've also succeeded in an unprecedented fashion!]

{Host has gained achievement, [Acension Beyond Current Comprehension]}

{Host's remunerations are increased by a grade!}

Bombarded with this avalanche of information, Zhang Wei could only emptily blink and let out a bewildered,

"Huh?"

...

Cutting to the almighty fox's perspective.

After the apex predator realised that its juicy snack had suddenly vanished, just like its father, it immediately concentrated all two of its brain cells into focusing on the task of locating the missing snack.

And, may lady luck have it, the bugger caught a whiff of its tantalizing scent within the nearby vicinity.

MINE!

Taking not more than a gulp of desire, the fox eagerly followed the scent trail it had picked up and, at last, got into a bite's width proximity once again.

This time though, it wasn't going to let it vanish.

Never.

Pre-pounce, however, its acute soul sense was able to snag a peak at an approaching entity nearing its meal.

One that's soul fluctuations were of a quantity and quality the fox had never encountered before!

Unfortunately though, even if the fox may not have realised its mistake, due to its reckless tendencies built up over many years of complacency due to being uncontested in the forest, the soul fluctuations of this entity had even surpassed the fox's very own by a margin!

But greed was a veil that blinded the foolish, and therefore, the fox only recognised this unknown entity as another consumable- An appetiser, so to speak.

*CHOMP!*

As the gigantic mouth of the beast devoured the fruit, as well as the surrounding landmass as a whole, a euphoric feeling swept over it and its entire being felt reinvigorated!

Tasty fruit. Yes!

The earthy, and dry, texture of the forest dirt seemed to be overwhelmed in a landslide by the delightful juices of the Phantom Core Apple, and the fox was in pure bliss.

But as pleasurable feelings usually do, it didn't last.

The fox's emotions were akin to experiencing the fantastical feeling of digging into a nice bag of buttery popcorn in the cinema, only to then desparingly crunch on the unbreakable menace known as an unpopped seed.

As it turns out, the tough, impenetrable exterior of the demonic sovereign was not quite chewable.

Realising this, the fox promptly prepared to spit the demon sovereign out, however, just as it was about to do so a rebellious roar of indignation and rage boomed from within the fox's mouth,

"NO!

"How dare a lowly beast like you attempt to devour this sovereign!

"Worse yet, you've encroached upon this sovereign's belongings and swallowed all my precious formation materials!

"UNFORGIVABLE!

"If I don't gut a pest like you, and retrieve all my belongings, then how could I possibly continue to walk with my head high?!"

The current appearance of the demon that proclaimed himself to be invincible was, ironically, quite pitiful.

The black robe he donned had been ripped to shreds, and all along his chest was a deep gash that oozed crimson blood- Seemingly, even the demon couldn't receive the fox's bite and remain unscathed.

Though, no matter how terrible he looked, the vicious gleam and bloodthirstiness present within his eyes had only intensified from when he was fighting Lin Fan, and without a second to spare he channelled his soul essence and unabashedly shouted out loud,

"Granular Tremor!"

Upon the move's activation, the same blinding white light flashed inside the mouth of the fox and the same terrifying discolouration began. This time though, as opposed to last time when it only kept one area discoloured, the discolouration expanded and grew as if it were exploring the inside of the fox!

Regardless of how dim-witted this fox was, with this unknown energy field spreading down its throat, the fox's senses were going haywire!

Being a pinnacle existence itself, the fox wasn't just going to sit still and accept this, so it chose the simplest way to deal with it!

Fight fire with fire!

Gathering and concentrating an ungodly amount of spiritual energy at the back of its throat, the fox began charging up a realm-shattering energy breath!

The density of spiritual power present between the expanding discolouration and the condensing energy beam was so high that if anyone was nearby they would've been crushed under the sheer pressure!

Thankfully, no one else was within the vicinity-

Suddenly, within the eye of the storm, a discoloured, statue-like boy popped up alongside a background of black and white trees, hedges and vegetation.

It was as if someone had just cut the area which had been under the influence demon's first ultimate attack, and then carelessly plastered it back into this chaotic scene!

And that is, in fact, what had transpired.

One must know, that the ultimate ability of the demon was a huge no-no in a minor realm like this one!

It absolutely violated the natural laws of the realm!

Just how could it be possible for a realm of this level to allow something as unhinged and preposterous as time dilation, with a sprinkle of matter corrosion, for such an extended period of time and over such a large area?!

To fix this issue, the idea the realm laws had 'cooked up' was to stick all these glaring issues into one pot, otherwise known as the fox's throat, and let the problem sort itself out. And, on the off-chance, that there were any troublemakers left, then they were to be promptly and forcibly ascended!

Unfortunately for the realm laws that were trying to keep order and balance, the untethered and uncontestable strings of fate finally descended and tugged the metaphorical leash around the realm laws, forcing it to give Lin Fan a way out.

Acting as was 'instructed', the realm laws did the very thing they loved to do when presented a chance and mercilessly materialised a 'Heavenly Tribulation', then brought it down upon the area of chaos!

After all, in the eyes of the realm laws, the bastard that was doing this whole time-freezing shenanigan was long overdue for his share of 'Heavenly Tribulation', and with him could go that rampart fox that was illogically senseless!

By doing this, it let the realm laws kill two birds with one stone, as it would get rid of these two overly powerful nuisances by forcing them to ascend, as well as return peace and order to the realm!

And after they had ascended?

These two annoyances were no longer under its jurisdiction, and it was up to the next-in-line realm's laws to deal with the mess!

How great!

As for the human protected by fate?

Let him tag along as a package bonus!

Fate only dictated that it was to give Lin Fan a way out, not specifying how it was to do so!

Soon, the visions of the tribulations striking down at lightning speed appeared.

Followed by the subsequent scene of a big fox, an angered demon, and a shell-shocked young man disappearing from the realm boundary, never to see even a speck of grass in this realm ever again!

Satisfied that the balance had returned, the tribulation lightning stopped raining down and everything returned to silence.

...

Just a few hundred meters away from this horrifying turn of events, a boy could be seen curled up in a ball shivering as if he was lying bare naked in the icy north!

The expression behind the hands that were covering his face was one of incomparable terror, and if one paid attention to the floor underneath him a stream of liquid could be seen.

Completely ignoring the fact that he'd wet himself, a booming and resolute thought appeared in Fan Lin's head.

NEVER!

I will never, ever, EVER, do something like this!

No, in fact... I'll quit!

Yes.

I'll retire from cultivation!

This whole... whatever this was, has made me realise I'm not cut out for this shit and that I should just head back to my family and live the rest of my life as a filial son!

Maybe invite Zhang Wei, Tan Lin and the rest around occasionally and catch up with them, but that's the most connection I'll have with the world of cultivation!

That's what I'll do, and I, Fan Lin, swear by it!

Perhaps the dear thoughts of his family and friends helped him regain his clarity, as he soon started to think straight and came to notice that he had begrudgingly pissed himself.

No matter. Clothes can be changed, and truths can be twisted, thought Fan Lin calmly.

However, just when all was getting better, and he was beginning to stand back up on his own two feet, the appearance of a singular, small rectangular-shaped object caused all his built-up sanity to collapse.

Upon beholding the item's trauma-inducing visage, his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he instantly toppled over and fainted with a loud thud.

What was this thing, one may ask?

A novel.

It was a thick novel, titled, <All Along, I Was An Immortal Master?>

...

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Author's notes:

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Any suggestions or feedback would be appreciated.