Preparing for the Tournament

Quinlan took three steps back, gaining enough distance from her, before bowing respectfully.

"It was all thanks to the Qi Gathering pill that Master generously gave to us. Thank you, Master!" Quinlan didn't forget to try and earn brownie points whenever he could.

Lady Moon nodded her head approvingly. "That's admirable of you, Yinuo! However, you shouldn't strain yourself too much. Cultivating too fast can lead to an imbalance in your body, making it extremely dangerous!"

"I'll take that warning to heart, Master!" Quinlan answered immediately.

He was relieved that the system and Lady Moon gave the exact same warning. This means that the System was really trying to protect him and not just plainly block him from becoming more powerful.

"Hmmm?"

Soon enough, the rays of the sun started to peek over the horizon, shining directly at Quinlan's face.

"Oh, it's time. Well then, Meng Yinuo and Xiyadie, starting today, you're both officially the Unity Peak Sect's inner disciples! Congratulations!"

*TING!*

"...!"

Right after Lady Moon finished her words, a loud notification sound echoed in Quinlan's ears, surprising him. He turned to glance at the window before returning to gaze at Lady Moon, trying to act as if nothing had happened.

In just that short instant, Quinlan had already memorized the entire notification window and slowly digested its meaning.

[Congratulations! You have completed the Second Quest: Become an Inner Disciple!]

[Reward Received: Qi Refinement Pill x10]

[You are carefully treading the same path that Meng Yinuo once took. As long as you continue following the same steps, it will be inevitable that you reach the same destination!]

[Third Quest: Rank within the top 5 of the Internal Ranking Competition]

[Success Rewards: Switch Card (10 min) x 1]

[Failure Punishment: Dropped into an Outer Disciple]

'A Switch Card!' As soon as Quinlan realized what the reward was, he felt invigorated.

He did feel envious of Yinuo for getting such a reward before, but now he was finally getting one of his own! 'Furthermore, I could probably gain more of it if I rank higher in the competition!'

"... And so, the first objective I want you two to achieve would be to win in the next Internal Ranking Competition!"

Lady Moon continued talking even while Quinlan was off in his own world. Noticing that he wasn't listening, Lady Moon smiled and stepped forward, flicking Quinlan's forehead.

"OW!"

"That's what you get for not listening~!" She chuckled as if a kid had just succeeded in a prank. "Anyway, as I said, as the disciples of the Sect Leader, everyone expects you to stand heads and shoulders above your peers. You two must rank at the top if you can!"

Quinlan thought that the System's quest and Lady Moon's task coincided, making him ponder. Was it a coincidence? Or was the system simply following the events as they happened in the past? Quinlan had too little information to conclude which one it was.

"So, to help you clinch the victory, I will be helping you two train!"

"...!"

Quinlan was surprised upon hearing this. After all, Lady Moon should be extremely busy being the Sect Leader. And now, she would be helping Quinlan and Xiyadie with their training?

"It's an honor, Master!"

"Please guide us, Master!"

The two of them answered in unison, bowing at the same time. Lady Moon smiled, satisfied, seeing the two's reply.

"Alright, then, for one week starting today, I will be training you two from dawn up until dusk!"

By then, the two had yet to realize why Xu Mei's face was showing a sour expression after Lady Moon mentioned helping them train. It was something that they would learn, too, soon enough.

---

"To the right! Right, right, right! Ah, a little to the left, about an inch... perfect!"

Inside Quinlan's hangar, Yinuo and Melody were making the last adjustments for Quinlan's Doppel. Thanks to the "upgrade" that the bots received, the repair finished faster than expected.

"I'll just tighten this bolt, connect these wires, annnnd... done!" Melody wiped the sweat off her forehead, standing up from within the cockpit on the Doppel's head.

With accustomed movements, Melody jumped down gradually, moving from the head to the shoulder and thighs, and finally landing on the floor.

"Hup. What do you think? It's prettier now compared to before, right?" She mused, hands on her waist as she gandered on the Doppel's new appearance.

"I'm not sure; I have no idea what it looked like before, after all."

Yinuo smiled wryly but was still convinced that it looked better now compared to how it looked while they were repairing it.

Quinlan's Doppel was now tinted in red and silver paint. Unlike its bland appearance before of literally chromium alone, this much was already a big upgrade.

"Alright, now, I guess it's time for a test drive!" Melody turned to Yinuo and grinned. "Should I pilot it?"

Yinuo pondered about it seriously for a while.

She then shook her head lightly, replying promptly. "No, I should do the testing, though I'd appreciate it if you came with me as my co-pilot."

"With pleasure!"

Without much fuss, the two quickly changed their clothes from their ragged work clothes to their special suits. Quinlan's original suit was destroyed during the accident, however, so what he was wearing right now was a new one that was bought by Melody as a gift.

After they finished changing clothes, Yinuo and Melody climbed up to the cockpit, entered it, and sat in their respective seats. Yinuo up front, the pilot, and Melody behind her, the passenger-cum-copilot.

"..."

Although Yinuo was taught by Quinlan about the basics, she only heard of the procedure and didn't see it herself. She felt puzzled as she stared at the dashboard, wondering which keys to press.

"First, you need to close the cockpit and turn on the lights. It's that blue button, and the few flip switches beside it." Melody noticed her predicament and quickly provided assistance.

Yinuo did as told and pressed the blue button, which caused the cockpit to close tightly along with mechanical whirring sounds. Then she flipped the light switches, turning on the few ambient lights around.

Melody hummed in approval, seeing that Yinuo didn't miss her instructions.

"That's great! Then, next would be..."

Just like that, Yinuo was "spoonfed" by Melody, who taught her how to start the Doppel from zero. A few minutes later, with the cores running stably and the system on standby, it was finally time to move it!