And this General Xuanzhen, whose real name is Alice, eight hundred years ago was a deputy general serving under the Crown Prince of Xianle Palace.

Edward was also shocked: “You really didn’t recognize him?”

William Carter said, “I really didn’t. He didn’t talk to me like this before. And I can’t even remember when I last saw him—was it five hundred or six hundred years ago? I can barely recall what he looks like, let alone recognize his voice.”

The spirit communication array remained silent. Alice didn’t say a word. The other officials all pretended not to be listening, while desperately hoping someone else would hurry up and continue the conversation.

To be honest, these two were in a rather awkward situation. The twists and turns of their story had been passed around for so many years that everyone already knew most of it. Back then, William Carter was the esteemed Crown Prince of Xianle, cultivating at the Royal Daoist Temple, Huángjí Temple. This temple was the royal cultivation ground of Xianle, with extremely strict standards for selecting disciples. Alice came from a poor background; his father was a criminal who had been beheaded. Someone like that had no right to enter Huángjí Temple, so he could only work as a menial servant, cleaning the Daoist chambers and serving tea to the Crown Prince. William Carter, seeing his diligence, asked the national preceptor to make an exception and accept him as a disciple. With the Crown Prince’s golden words, Alice was finally allowed to cultivate at the temple, training alongside the prince. After ascending, William Carter also appointed him as a general and brought him to the Heavenly Capital.

However, after Xianle was destroyed and William Carter was banished to the mortal realm, Alice did not follow him. Not only did he not follow, he didn’t even say a word on his behalf. Since the Crown Prince was gone, he was free, so he found a blessed land, cultivated hard, and within a few years, survived the heavenly tribulation and ascended on his own.

At first, one was in the heavens and one on earth; now, it was still one in the heavens and one on earth—only their positions had completely reversed.

At this point, Edward said, “He’s very angry.”

William Carter replied, “I figured.”

Edward said, “I’ll go say something else. You should take this chance to leave.”

William Carter said, “No need, just pretend nothing happened.”

Edward said, “No need? You all look so awkward.”

William Carter said, “It’s fine!”

William Carter was the kind of person who could handle anything—except death; he didn’t have much of anything, but he certainly had plenty of face to lose. He’d done things far more embarrassing than this, so he truly felt it was fine. But as fate would have it, just as he said “It’s fine,” a voice suddenly roared, “Who the hell tore down my golden hall?! Get out here!!!”

This furious shout made the scalp of every immortal and god in the array tingle.

Though their insides were churning, everyone held their breath and waited in silence to see how William Carter would respond to this outburst. But as it turned out, things only got more dramatic—before William Carter could speak, Alice spoke up first.

He just laughed twice: “Heh heh.”

The newcomer said coldly, “You did it? Fine, just wait.”

Alice replied coolly, “I never said it was me. Don’t go slinging mud at me.”

The other said, “Then why are you laughing? Are you sick?”

Alice said, “No reason. What you said was just funny. The one who tore down your golden hall is right here in the array—ask for yourself.”

At this point, William Carter really couldn’t bring himself to just slip away.

He cleared his throat and said, “It was me. Sorry.”

As soon as he spoke, the newcomer fell silent.

In his ear, Edward sent a message: “Your Highness, that’s Charles.”

William Carter said, “I recognized him. But it seems he didn’t recognize me.”

Edward said, “No. He just spends more time wandering the mortal realm and rarely returns to the Heavenly Capital, so he didn’t know you’d ascended again.”

True Lord Charles was the martial god overseeing the southeast, presiding over nearly eight thousand temples, and was greatly beloved by the common people.

His real name was Thomas, and eight hundred years ago, he was the first divine general under the Crown Prince of Xianle Palace.

Thomas was loyal and devoted. From the time William Carter was fourteen, he served as his bodyguard, growing up with the prince, ascending together, being banished together, and exiled together. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it through these eight hundred years together. In the end, they parted on bad terms, went their separate ways, and never met again.

Author’s note: If you’re really concerned about William Carter’s debt amount, please refer to this not-so-precise currency conversion formula: 1 merit ≈ 18 RMB

Everything in this story is made up. Don’t apply any existing xianxia or cultivation settings. This is not a “heart cultivation” story, nor is it a cultivation underworld; there’s no cultivation process, and ascension happens at the author’s whim.

Chapter 3: The Scrap Immortal Ascends to the Heavenly Capital for the Third Time

The former master had become a laughingstock with no incense, no temples, and no followers, while his two former attendants both survived the heavenly tribulation and ascended to become mighty martial gods in charge of their own domains. In such circumstances, who wouldn’t overthink things? If William Carter had to choose which was more awkward between Thomas and Alice, he’d say, “It’s all fine!” But if others had to choose, would they rather see William Carter and Thomas fight, or William Carter and Alice fight? Well, everyone had their own preferences. After all, there were plenty of reasons for either fight, and it was hard to say which would be better.