Sister-in-law, prepare to meet your end.

The blade flashed with a cold gleam, and the ox-tail saber in Bai Zongnan’s hand seemed to become a cascade of moonlight descended from the heavens, forcing the exquisitely shaped woman down from the beam. Relentless, he pressed his advantage, killing intent so precise that she could not evade, and she leaped straight out the door.

“Where did you learn that saber technique?” Even outside, the young woman was astonished. “And you’re so proficient, too?”

Not only was the saber technique fluid, but his agile martial skills and the aura of unrestrained boldness—as if he had swallowed the hearts of bears and leopards—combined with a heart brimming with righteousness, left her inwardly speechless with surprise.

After all, in this world spun off from the fragments of myth, Bai Zongnan, as she recalled, was entering for the very first time!

Otherwise, why call it a novice’s trial?

“Oh, this must be what you call ‘lightness skill,’ isn’t it? Looks quite dashing. You twist and shift about so that even my blade can’t touch the hem of your clothes,” Bai Zongnan remarked, strolling out into the courtyard, his handsome, resolute face expressionless. “Such agility, such methods. No wonder, even my brother who works as a scribe in the magistrate’s office and has seen his share of things, failed to see through your true identity.”

“Wait, Bai Zongnan, have you not regained your senses yet?” The woman raised her hand, inner energy surging from her core. She tore the hem of her thin blanket as easily as rending cotton, baring her full, rounded thigh for ease of movement. With a practiced gesture, she tied the blanket in a knot above her chest, her alluring eyes sparkling with excitement. “I never knew my dear brother practiced swordplay in secret. Judging by that footwork and skill, you’ve clearly taken the path of a soldier—brash and forceful. Compared to your usual bookish refinement in the Fourth Research Institute, this is quite the contrast!”

Her excitement grew. Standing there in what amounted to little more than a thin, close-fitting garment, she stretched her pale, bare shoulders that seemed to reflect the moonlight, her red lips curving into a smile. “So, as your number one fan, I…”

“Awake? The Fourth Research Institute?” Bai Zongnan stopped, gripping the ox-tail saber, a flicker of unease crossing his handsome face.

Something stirred in his mind.

“I am Bai Zongnan, a native of Gui County, North Jiang Road, State of Chu. Practiced martial arts in youth, joined the army as a young man, retired at twenty-eight, slew a tiger demon on the road out of righteous anger, earning the county magistrate’s favor and an appointment as constable. My elder brother died under mysterious circumstances, and rumor had it that my sister-in-law was somehow involved…” Bai Zongnan’s once-steady gaze grew unfocused. “No, that’s not right. I remember… I’m a transmigrant?”

“It’s over—he’s starting to remember,” the woman before him, who had been eager for a close-quarters tussle, pouted her pink lips, eyes large and seductive tinged with regret. “To think I chose such a delectable avatar, and my brother can’t even be bothered for a proper look. Never mind his usual upright demeanor—just now, I was practically a lamb awaiting the knife, and he still wasn’t moved.”

Yet, as she gazed at Bai Zongnan’s resolute, handsome features, a trace of secret delight crept onto her lips. “Oh my, as expected of the top star of film, television, and music—who knew he was so pure at heart!”

Bai Zongnan, meanwhile, had no inkling of her thoughts. He felt as if he were slowly drowning.

He began to gasp for breath. “No, no! Something’s wrong! This isn’t right!”

“So, my brother is about to solve his ‘prenatal mystery’ on his own,” the woman’s delicate face brimmed with envy and admiration. “As expected of him—though he’s never descended into a mythic world, words from the upper realm slip from his lips. Clearly, he’s born with a certain threshold. Once he completes his prenatal mystery today, his confusion on descending will surely diminish.”

“Yes, I’m from Earth, Hua…” Bai Zongnan’s head snapped up, a cold, lucid current surging through his mind, and his eyes shone with new clarity. “I am Bai Zongnan, born in the Sacred Domain of Kaiyang, a top star in film, television, and music, also a leading web novelist in the domain. My outstanding mental endowment caught the attention of the Fourth Research Institute, leading me to sign a special talent recruitment contract to participate in the Lower Realm Descent Project—an endeavor the Sacred Domain has researched since antiquity. Thus, I became a Level One researcher enjoying special privileges within the domain.”

As he spoke, Bai Zongnan raised his head and looked at the young woman before him, wrapped only in a thin blanket, her curves and long legs unhidden. A smile touched his lips as he spoke slowly, “Director Li Sikui, have I passed the trial now?”

A gray light emerged from the void. The world began to collapse and dissolve.

This was a fragment of a mythic simulation, approved by the Privy Council of the Sacred Domain of Kaiyang and managed by the Fourth Research Institute, specifically designed for research into mythic scenarios.

Before complete dissolution, the world would return to chaos, awaiting another restart.

“We’re back?” Bai Zongnan stood where he was. The ox-tail saber was gone, as was the courtyard and house where he had seemed to live so long, along with the water basin and towel at the door. All of it vanished.

None of it had been real—merely artifacts conjured by the mythic scenario simulator.

“Researcher Bai Zongnan, congratulations on passing the trial and formally joining the Fourth Research Institute as one of us. May you dedicate your strength to the stability and glory of the Sacred Domain of Kaiyang.”

At that moment, before Bai Zongnan, in a pristine, high-tech white room, stood a woman in a white lab coat that could not conceal her alluring figure. Her delicate, charming face was framed by black spectacles as she parted her red lips and spoke gently.