The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The founding of every sect, whether intentional or not, is always steeped in myth.

The Illusory Sect was no different.

It all started at school, on the second day after Li Wang had transferred.

It took only a day for Li Wang to become a school celebrity. Students flocked to see her during breaks, and when her new classmates egged her on, Li Wang casually demonstrated a masterful vocal projection technique. The students were instantly in awe, regarding her as something of a goddess.

And that was when things started to get weird.

Word of Li Wang's fame spread like wildfire, and soon, the entire school knew about her. Her reputation wasn't just confined to the elementary division; it echoed through the halls of the middle school as well. The strange and wonderful Li Wang became the darling of the student body, gaining more and more admirers until they eventually formed a dedicated fan club.

By the time teachers and parents learned of Li Wang, her influence was already an unstoppable force. She had amassed a shocking number of followers. The adults couldn't comprehend how such a young child could command such charisma. They repeatedly warned their own students and children to stay away from Li Wang, but their words had no effect. And so, they began to carefully observe their children and Li Wang herself. Gradually, they discovered she possessed a kind of magic—a captivating power that made others submit to her.

As the number of Li Wang's observers grew, they began to notice one another. They even set up a group chat to share their observations. This was the genesis of the sect.

But the truly outrageous part was only just beginning.

Influenced by the Spirit Tide, Spiritual Qi gradually began to manifest in Jiangzhou, and it was far more concentrated there than anywhere else.

Children were the most susceptible to this Spiritual Qi, and the ones closest to Li Wang exhibited the most dramatic changes. They grew more intelligent and more attractive, and their bodies became stronger and healthier.

The grades of the most rambunctious kids, who had once been the biggest troublemakers, suddenly skyrocketed to astonishing levels. In a very short time, their physical strength surpassed that of an average adult. To their teachers and parents, these changes were impossible to ignore. Then, as the school vacation drew to a close, some of these children even began to manifest 'superpowers.'

One could control fire, another earth, another water… While there were only four or five of them, it was enough to leave the adults utterly speechless. What's more, among Li Wang's followers, students with congenital diseases were found to have inexplicably recovered.

And so, the legend of Li Wang was born.

When the school vacation started, the parents in the observation group noticed the transformations in their children plateaued. This made them realize that Li Wang was irreplaceable; their children had changed only because they were close to her. Li Wang's special nature became their shared secret. They dared not rush things or try to use their personal influence to monopolize her. Instead, they agreed to wait for the new semester to begin, all while closely monitoring Li Wang's every move.

On the playground, Wang Mengyu began her story. "I just went to hang out with Huiran that day, but then I saw how adorable Xiaoli Wang was and just had to take her out to show her off. Who would have guessed? We hadn't been out for long before all sorts of people started greeting us. And after saying hello, they just… followed us. The crowd just kept growing and growing! It was terrifying! If everyone hadn't been so polite and normal-looking, I would've sworn it was a zombie apocalypse!"

Chen Dong looked thoroughly confused. "And then?"

"There were just too many of them! We couldn't go anywhere. And I was scared, you know? I had your daughter with me! What if I lost her? So I decided to take her back home. But hey, guess what happened right then? I'm telling you, you'll never guess!"

Chen Dong hadn't expected her to be so theatrical. He gave her a cold look and urged, "I'm not guessing. Just spit it out!"

"A snake appeared—it was *this* big!" Wang Mengyu threw her arms wide to demonstrate. "It was like a mountain! A single one of its fangs was taller than me! I was terrified, and everyone else was scared half to death. I remember a bunch of people pissed their pants! You know? We all thought it was about to turn into a disaster movie, that the giant snake would devour us all. But who would've thought? Your precious little girl just steps out in front of everyone, and that snake—scarier than Godzilla—instantly becomes as meek as a kitten."

"The whole scene was so surreal!" she added, unable to resist sharing her final impression.

Chen Dong's brow furrowed. 'That giant snake must be the Nether Serpent from the Fuyuan Tomb! But how did it get out?'

"And then? You were forced to become the Sect Leader?" Chen Dong asked.

Seeing that Chen Dong wasn't particularly shocked by the giant snake, Wang Mengyu was a little disappointed. She continued, "Not yet, but it was close. I think Li Wang said something to the snake—'illusory' or something like that, no one heard it clearly. Then the snake left. After that, someone, I don't know who, shouted 'Master of Illusion.' Holy shit! If I ever find out who yelled that, I swear I'll kill them. The whole scene just devolved into chaos. Thousands of people dropped to their knees and started chanting at the two of us!"

Chen Dong frowned, pressing, "And then?"

"And then?" Wang Mengyu shot Chen Dong a disdainful look and laughed. "And then your daughter's inner drama queen took over! I think she'd been reading some Cthulhu novel, so she started playing the part of a Divine Spirit and was more than happy to go along with creating the Illusory Sect!"

"And these people are just nuts! Absolutely fanatical. They started coming up with all sorts of sect regulations, articles, initiation oaths… they had it all figured out in no time. They even had job roles, promotion tracks, and a schedule for prayers, all laid out like it was planned in advance. Plus, this group has immense influence in Jiangzhou when they work together. And just because I was the one who could get Li Wang out of the Li Family Manor, they forced the title of Sect Leader on me."

Chen Dong just smiled faintly. 'As long as Li Wang is doing it willingly, she can play however she likes.'