63-68

Chapter 63. What Come After A? B, C, D!

Ren Qingchen who finally chose to trust the items I sold in the shop finally started to work. Once he starts to hunt at full force, His efficiency is incredibly scary.

Thanks to the help from my map, within an hour he has killed dozens of Body Tempering and Qi Gathering stage beasts. Except for those dozens of beasts, there are also three Foundation Building stage beasts. In total, the amount of points he obtained within an hour reached a staggering 100 points. Tax already included.

That means by hunting for 40 hours, Ren Qingchen can reach the Foundation Building stage! It is necessary to remember his devour is only 20% of Ren Qingquan's. Coupled with the tax, the amount of points he gained per killing is only 1/10 of Ren Qingquan!

Of course, his current hunting ground also greatly contributed to that insane point gain speed. The island where Ren Qingquan went before barely has any ambient spirit which makes the creatures inside have low cultivation. Meanwhile, the spirit qi inside this forest Ren Qingchen entered has reached a density equal to the Pure Wave Sect's outer sect. Furthermore, the deeper he walks, the ambient spirit qi turns even denser. 

After traveling for 4 hours, he stopped on his track. From [Scan], I detected the energy coming from an extremely powerful beast at the Golden Core stage. The beast is shaped like a leopard, and there is also an energy fluctuation coming from it which slightly affected my [Scan]. Luckily my current [Scan] has been upgraded so although the resolution feels a bit blurry like moving from 4K HD to 1080pp, I can still sense it.

Ren Qingchen who always had the map open since obtaining it also prepared his defense upon seeing the beast approaching from the system map.

Hmm? There is something a bit wrong here. The angle of Ren Qingchen's view is slightly tilted to the wrong side. Furthermore, his pupil is moving around instead of focusing on his enemy. He also often glanced at the system map. 

If it is Ren Qingquan, I will brush it off as him being distracted. But, this is Ren Qingchen I am talking about. Focusing my [Scan] on that leopard, I found out the energy from the leopard that affected my [Scan] is actually that leopard's ability. Furthermore, it is most likely a stealth-type ability capable of turning its user invisible and noiseless.

No wonder Ren Qingchen activated a magical technique to enhance his hearing previously but immediately turned it off before switching to one that probably increased his sense of smell.

Reaching his hand into his disciple uniforms, I saw him take several storage bottles of different colors. Mixing the ingredients inside a bottle to another one, he immediately throws it toward that leopard.

*Boom*

Once the storage bottle hit that leopard, it shattered and caused a massive blue flame to explode!

What he throws is a xianxia style Molotov!

The blue flame burns the surrounding plants upon contact, but unlike a normal flame, they don't spread to other places. In exchange those flames have the ability to stick on its target and burn their mental power? I am not too sure about this.

Anyway, once that flame got stuck on its body, I saw the leopard crying in pain as its stealth ability turned off. Even when that Leopard rolled its body around the soil, that flame still persistently stuck on its body.

With the leopard finally showing itself, Ren Qingchen speedily moved forward while preparing to slash his sword. When the leopard saw its prey coming toward it, it held the pain caused by that blue flame and readied itself to receive Ren Qingchen's attack.

When the sword and claw clash. Accompanied by a metallic sound, several sparks are created. With his sudden attack parried, Ren Qingchen retreated to a safe distance. Opening the shop panel, he purchased ten traces of absorbed spirit qi.

[You have purchased 10 traces of absorbed spirit qi for 10 points.]

With his spirit qi refilled, Ren Qingquan activated one of his magical techniques.

"Thousand Leaf Separation!" Shouting the name of the magical technique, I saw Ren Qingchen's energy circulate as he pulled some spirit qi from his dantian and moved it toward the sword in his hand. With his magical technique ready, he dashed toward that leopard once again.

The sword which has been buffed with that spirit qi, quickly increased in strength and speed. Within the time it took for a leaf to descend, his sword was slashed dozens of times. A bit underwhelming for a technique called Thousand Leaf Separation. But, I understand the desire to call your technique with a domineering name.

The leopard whose movement has been slowed down due to being in pain can't block all of the attack directed at itself, which causes several bloody wounds to appear on its body which increases the pain it feels. Especially because Ren Qingchen targeted the part already burned by his blue flames.

While that leopard was growling in pain, I saw him pull several throwing knives coated in poisons from his sleeve and throw them toward an open wound near the heart of that leopard. Seeing the sharp blade shooting toward it, the leopard barely dodged by switching its center of gravity.

Most of the knives hit the leopard's skin and got repelled. But luckily, two knives successfully embedded themselves into its wound.

Seeing his knife successfully entering the body of that leopard, Ren Qingchen smiled and retreated a fair distance. Soon, that leopard began to enter a rampage before finally twitching while lying on the floor.

I think this is quite important to say. The clothes Ren Qingchen wore were actually modified and contained many pockets to store things. For example, on one of his sleeves, there are several places to store his small throwing daggers and a flute. Meanwhile, his other sleeves are filled with several small bottles containing unknown liquids with varying compositions. His inner robes have also been modified to be capable of holding several dozen storage bottles he used to do that xianxia style chemistry.

No matter how you see it, Ren Qingchen doesn't feel like an upright cultivator, but instead has the aura of a sly cultivator specializing in poison and hidden weapons.

[Ding! Successfully devoured 25 points!]

With my notification, Ren Qingchen went to the leopard that had already lost all of its vital signs. Just when he is going to retrieve the corpse of that leopard. From the map, three blue dots that had been staying one hundred meters away quickly ran toward the corpse of that Golden Core Stage leopard.

After those dots arrived within 20 meters of Ren Qingchen, It turned out all of them were actually living creatures. To be exact, all three of them are male cultivators.

The cultivator standing at the lead screamed when he saw Ren Qingchen walking toward that leopard. "Stop! How dare you steal the beast we have killed!" 

The slightly stout man behind him continued. "Don't you know who we are?! We are Young Master Gu's subordinates! Young Master Gu is the most beloved son of Elder Gu Xian, a Soul Formation stage expert!"

Then a tall yet thin male with a scar on his eyebrows nodded. "Now, kneel down and beg for mercy! Maybe we will be kind enough to leave your corpse intact."

When I first heard how they talked, I found it funny while also getting a bit excited. What Ren Qingchen met just now is one of the famous tropes used in xianxia where the MC will get robbed by unknown guys. 

But when they call themselves Young Master Gu's subordinates, I am utterly speechless yet amazed. This Young Master Gu truly has a lot of cannon fodder below him. There is the previous Lackey A and now, there are these three new Lackeys. Let's just call them Lackey B, C, and D for convenience.

Upon seeing those three silly guys coming out of nowhere and trying to steal his kill, I saw Ren Qingchen's eye twitch. Keeping his calm, Ren Qingchen muttered. "Let's check their cultivation stage." 

Activating his magical technique, I saw his eyes slightly dilated as a faint glow appeared for several seconds. After turning off that magical technique, I saw him open my map to do another check. Upon focusing his sight on the dot representing Lackeys BCD, a screen opened in front of him.

[Name: Unknown

Realm: Foundation Building

Cultivation Method: ?

Magical Technique: ?

Note: Young Master Gu Cheng's minion] x3

Ren Qingchen muttered in a small bottle voice."Oh. They are indeed just cultivators at the Foundation Building stage." 

Next, I saw him hold his breath before silently opening a storage bottle containing a mist with many poisonous attributes in it. Within a minute, the poisonous mist has spread into the surrounding ten meter radius and still keeps on spreading further. Even when there is no wind, the mist is still capable of spreading at such a high speed.

While those mists spread, Lackey B still talked nonsense. "Trash, take a good look at me, I will be the one to kill you! My name is-"

Midway through his sentence, Lackey B's words got cut off by Lackey C. "Hahaha! Senior brother, why bother introducing yourself to a corpse!" 

Seeing as Lackey B, C, and D were still spewing rubbish from their mouths, Ren Qingchen silently destroyed a small bottle tied inside his sleeve. Next, he spoke loudly toward those three. "Hmph, why do I smell something disgusting here? Oh, there are three pairs of shits talking! No wonder I felt my nose itch some time ago."

After saying that, Ren Qingchen moved his sleeve which had been soaked with the liquid from that small bottle, and covered his nose.

What smooth movements! He first provoked them with his words. Placing his sleeve to cover his nose might seem like his attempt to further anger them. But it is actually to hide his usage of what seems like the antidote to his poisons.

When Lackey BCD heard Ren Qingchen's provocation, their faces quickly turned red in anger. Seriously, I can't watch this battle any further. I can already conclude the ending of this fight between a sly old fox fighting against three brain-dead guys.

Just like what I expected. That poison soon spread toward the position Lackey BCD stood. They who have been blinded in anger don't sense the poisons existing within the air.

"You have eyes yet fail to recognize Mount Ta-" Midway through his arrogant words, Lackey B suddenly went limp with some foam spewing out of his mouth.

Wait, Lackey B getting poisoned isn't important. Did I just hear him trying to say Mount Tai? Mount Tai also exists in this world?! 

"Hmph! Crooked cultivator that doesn't know the immensity of heaven and ea-" Just like Lackey B, midway through his arrogant sentence, Lackey C foamed and fell to the ground.

Lackey D who saw his brothers fall one after another upon talking, sensed something amiss as he quickly covered his mouth and noses. But it is already too late, the poison has spread through his body and soon he follows in the step of his fellow Lackeys.

With a steady step, Ren Qingchen walked toward the three of them. Pulling his sword from its sheath, he chopped the heads of those three.

With blood spewing from their neck, Lackey B, C, and D lost all of their vital signs.

[Ding! Successfully devoured 30 points!]

After seeing the notification, he spoke while gently rubbing the flute hidden in his sleeve. "It seems my skill hasn't rusted yet. I don't even need to use the Azure Flute to kill a Golden Core beast and three Foundation Building cultivators." 

At this time, Ren Qingquan finally woke up. This lazy little shiet actually slept for 18 frickin hours! When he previously went to sleep, the sun had yet to descend. and When he woke up, it was already midday the next day!

Chapter 64. Preparation Phase Of Artificial Protagonist Project

Once Ren Qingquan woke up, he stretched his body followed by several consecutive yawns before thinking 'System, can you summarize what happened while I slept?'

( ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ)

You dare to ask me that after leaving me alone with Ren Qingchen?!

Take a deep breath, me.Teamwork makes dream work, teamwork makes dream work. Who knows, Ren Qingquan might have a new genius idea.

Once I chanted those words and regained my composure, I answered him.

[Do you wish to spend 10 points and look at the summary of Ren Qingchen's adventure last night?]

'Yes.' With his affirmation, I collected my memories from the previous night stored inside my [Storage]. Then, I used [Calculate] to edit the scene before transferring those scenes to him.

Within twenty minutes, Ren Qingquan finished watching my edited footage. He commented. 'Darn, Ren Qingchen is incredibly scary! Guess I need to go as far as possible from him. Also, how many lackeys does Young Master Gu have?'

After giving his two cents, Ren Qingquan thought. 'System, open my panel.' 

[Name: Ren Qingquan

Realm: Golden Core 0/150 

Absorbed Spirit Qi: 4/15 (Auto Refill OFF)

Points: 14,500

Profession: Formation master (Extremely Weak.)

Cultivation Method: Immortal Body Tempering (Immortal Ascension)

Magical Technique: Armaments Transformation (Perfection), Agile Step (Perfection), Body Hardening (Perfection), Super Duper ... Turtle Shell Technique (First Section), Turtle Divination Art (First Section) 

System function: Devour, Shop, Scan, Library, Map (1000 meters radius), Calculate, System Storage (100 cubic meters), Sub system, Quest, Transfer (100 meter/points).]

"Oh?" Seeing the amount of points in his panel which increased by 500 points compared to yesterday, Ren Qingquan smiles blissfully. 'Gaining money while sleeping is the best!'

'Now then, let's give more people with subsystems and harvest more points. The more the merrier!' That idea is exactly the same as I had. Of course I need to warn him about something, especially with how thoughtless Ren Qingquan usually is.

[Host, System recommends you to look for subsystem hosts from outside the sect. If too many subsystem hosts are gathered around the Pure Wave Sect, there might be some clue left behind. Cleaning the mess at that time will be extremely tiring, especially if you somehow got pinpointed as the one spreading those subsystems.]

I actually used a small psychological manipulation technique here. Since he reached the Golden Core stage with the Immortal Body Tempering, I feel Ren Qingquan is getting more and more lazy. So just in case, I added the word 'will be extremely tiring' on the message I sent previously.

Ren Qingquan nodded upon reading my advice. 'Well, what the System said is true. Just Ren Qingchen alone is already extremely scary, I can't imagine how sly those thousands of years old living fossils are.'

[Indeed, host. A cunning rabbit won't eat the grass by its own burrow. Also as this plan is still in trial and error phase, System recommends you to limit the amount of subsystem hosts to around 5. So if there are any bugs that may accidentally divulge important information, you can repair it without much repercussions.]

Frowning, Ren Qingquan thought for a moment before replying. 'Do you mean a bug like the list of items sold in Ren Qingchen's shop, that revealed your ability to detect his surroundings?'

[Yes.]

Shrugging, Ren Qingquan finally rose from his bed. 'Well, fair enough. But that means I need to travel around to look for suitable people, which is a pain in the ass. To be honest, I truly don't wanna go...'

Ren Qingquan then went to take a bath while I focused my attention on Ren Qingchen. Or what? You want me to peek at him as he bathes?

During the twenty minutes Ren Qingquan spent to view my edited footage, Ren Qingchen had already finished gathering his loot and cleaning all traces of the fight. 

Currently, he is continuing his work with gusto. After I watched him collecting herbs and slaying beasts for several minutes, Ren Qingquan finally finished bathing.

Punching his hand to the air, I heard him say some internal pep talk to cheer himself. 'Alright, let's go and search for suitable subsystem hosts to make them work for me. No pain no gain!'

Bringing the token used to open his cave abode, he controlled the formation to open before quickly running while following my map to reach the sect's exit.

Midway, Ren Qingquan 'coincidentally' met Elder Fengyun. Still with a gentle smile plastered on his face, he asked Ren Qingquan a question. "Junior brother, may I ask where you are going?" 

Why do I say 'coincidentally'? Well, that is because Elder Fengyun has been waiting nearby for a long time. 

Of course this Elder Fengyun is not the one I met before, and only a clone or something similar that has been left behind to observe Ren Qingquan. There are two telltale signs that give away his identity as a clone. First, this clone contains a much lower energy compared to the Elder Fengyun we met before. Second, the scene seen from the subsystem I attached to elder Fengyun is not Ren Qingquan's surroundings.

Currently, the original Elder Fengyun is staying in his office while staring at an eight sided trigrams that show what his clone is seeing. As what he does seems important, I left some of my attention to him before refocusing on Ren Qingquan. 

"Greetings, senior brother Fengyun." cupping his hands, he answered Elder Fengyun's question with half truth and half lies. "Junior is thinking of leaving the sect to travel around the world and search for fortuitous encounters. After all, I just recently arrived at the cultivation world and don't have much common knowledge "

Nodding his head, Elder Fengyun replied. "Well, it is good to have the will to learn. We, as cultivators, must have extensive knowledge. After all, knowledge is one of the means for us to pursue the Dao."

Hearing Elder Fengyun' word, Ren Qingquan just nodded.

"It seems, you are already getting impatient to start your adventure, so I won't take your time any further." After saying that, Elder Fengyun's clone waved to Ren Qingquan. "Also, good luck. May the heavens bless your journey."

Once his clone left, the [Scan] I placed on Elder Fengyun's main body saw him rub his chin with a thoughtful look. 

"Should I send someone to follow him or not? If he knows someone is following him, the sect is in danger of getting on his nerves. But if we don't, I am afraid he might offend some powerful cultivators and involve the sect." Next I saw him sigh while playing with an ornate jade seal on his hand. "Well, whatever. Let's leave this mess to the Sect Master. This thing is beyond my pay grade."

Sending some of his spirit qi toward that Jade seal, Sect Master's sound comes from it. "What's wrong, Fengyun?"

Once he heard the Sect Master's voice, Elder Fengyun then told Ren Qingquan's plan to travel and search for a fortuitous encounter. "Alright, leave it to me." 

When I heard Elder Fengyun's conversation, I started to get a headache. It seems after Ren Qingquan's massive luck is known, leaving the sect without being followed will be a bit difficult.

Switching my view to the subsystem attached to Sect Master, I saw him talking with seven other people while surrounding the Heavenly Sight Mirror that is covered with table clothes. On top of it, there are many mahjong tiles scattered around.

"Ren Qingquan is leaving the sect to search for fortuitous encounters." The word that came out from Sect Master's mouth directly silenced the surrounding people.

Soon, a woman with a runic dress screamed. "Damn, let me take a break! We just had a meeting talking about him yesterday! Why must he decide to travel around immediately? Can't he just stay at a place silently." 

This time, a middle aged man with sideburns spoke with his charming voice. "Don't get too hard on him. Do you all remember the other child of luck that came with Ren Qingquan before?"

Eldee Gu's superior, the guy with a serious eyebags problem replied. "Yeah, pretty sure he is also called Ren something and both come from the lower realm."

"His name is Ren Qingchen." Then, the middle aged man continued. "That boy went under my disciple's tutelage and hasn't caused any problem even after leaving the sect to train at a mountain for several days. Well, at least I haven't heard about any problems."

Hearing the middle aged man's words, an old man called Seven Sequence Talisman replied with a frown."That is because his luck is lower than Ren Qingquan! With the insane amount of luck Ren Qingquan has, I won't get shocked if he suddenly angers an Immortal Ascension stage cultivator who casually sent a palm to flatten our sect! For information, I am pretty sure the child of luck that charmed my master has a lower amount of luck than Ren Qingquan."

Eh? I am a bit surprised at the sudden mention of a familiar name. Are they talking about Ren Qingchen? Also, It seems their fear of child of luck is a lot worse than what I initially thought.

At this time Sect Master stopped their chatter. "You guys know how disastrous a child of luck with that much luck wandering around is. So, I suggest using the Heavenly Sight Mirror to observe him. At least if he indeed somehow offends an expert, we will have time to prepare our leftover trump card and escape."

Seeing Sect Master's serious expression, the other seven nodded their heads and gave their agreement. ""I concur.""

"Then, we will take turns to power the mirror. As I am the one who suggested it, I will do it first." Sect Master then proceeded to wave his hand and caused the mahjong tiles to float and entered a wooden box. Pulling the now empty table clothes, he folded it before placing his hand on the mirror while inputting some spirit qi.

Suddenly thinking of something, Sect Master pointed at the middle aged man with sideburns. "Junior brother, I think you need to enter secluded meditation and check on your mental state, your words just now make me a bit concerned. You might've unknowingly been affected by luck and have your intelligence lowered."

When I heard Sect Master's words, I have mixed feelings of being a bit dumbfounded, some respect, coupled with dreadfulness. Those guys actually know about the intelligence lowering aura some novel MC usually have.

As for the dreadful feeling, it comes from my fear of being affected by that intelligence lowering aura. It seems I also need to do some checks on my mental state occasionally.

Dispersing those useless thoughts, I gathered my composure and returned to the most important topic right now.

Because what Ren Qingquan was going to do must not enter anyone's sight, I decided to make some preparations before leaving the sect. Writing some word on the screen, I sent a message for him to switch direction and visit a place first.

[Host, System suggests you visit the sect library first and create a suitable stealth technique before leaving the sect. Elder Fengyun has told the sect's higher-ups about your plan to travel around, and it seems they are extremely concerned about people with massive luck like you. Just now, System saw them trying to observe you using their Mirror.]

'What the hell!' Hearing my advice, Ren Qingquan can only sigh while feeling a bit speechless. 'So, you mean I need to find a stealth technique to hide from their observation?'

[Yes. If possible, System also recommends the host to learn movement techniques. Who knows, there might be a limit to that weapon's range.]

'Alright.' Nodding his head, Ren Qingquan said 'Then system, open the map and mark the library's location.'

Thanks to the sect's guide book Ren Qingquan previously got, I know the approximate location of that library. Placing a book shaped symbol at the border of the system map, I told him to follow it.

Chapter 65. Cultivation World's Most Advanced Building

After running for half an hour, Ren Qingquan finally arrived nearby the sect's library. Thankfully, he has already reached the Golden Core stage and has strengthened body. Otherwise if he is still a Qi Refining stage cultivator, the time required to reach the library will increase by two folds.

Passing through a transparent membrane like barrier, the library building finally shows itself. When Ren Qingquan saw the library, I saw his face turn dumbfounded. Well, if I have a face I might also have the same look as him.

Different from other libraries Ren Qingquan visited before, the Pure Wave Sect's library isn't shaped like a pagoda or any eastern style building. Instead, it is cuboid in shape and made out of glossy materials. 

The area of that building is approximately 200m x 200m wide and 100 meters tall. on its glossy exterior, many crisscrossing glowing lines can be seen. The whole thing gives off a sci-fi feel and makes it look incongruous with the Cultivation World's buildings.

But that isn't my focus, when seen using [Scan] the whole buildings actually give out extremely high energy fluctuation. It is even slightly bigger than the energy contained inside the Sect Master of Pure Wave Sect!

I dare bet 1000 points, this building is definitely a weapon! Due to its shape that reminds me of Ren Qingquan's metal plate weapon, I somehow imagined this huge plate building floating and smashing toward enemies. That sight will be extremely exciting.

After regaining my composure, I started to madly use [Scan] and lick- I mean, observe every millimeters of that cuboid building. Even if I can't understand anything about this building right now, I still sent the information into my [Storage] for further study once I accumulated enough knowledge.

While I went bonkers scanning the library, Ren Qingquan already walked nearby the building. Just like the people around him, when he stood within ten meters of the library's wall, a part of the wall slid to the side and revealed an opening.

(⁠☉⁠｡⁠☉⁠)⁠!

Subconsciously walking inside, Ren Qingquan saw a super massive hall filled with several rows of huge bookshelves that reached the ceiling. With the height of a single bookshelf reaching around 50 meters. 

All around the place, there are many cultivators standing on top of a floating platform as it flies between the huge bookshelves.

Just like its exterior, the interior of the cuboid library is also created using a material that gives off glossy metallic luster. The interior is illuminated by a cold light coming from a line attached at the ceiling and wall of this hall.

The sight inside made me stop focusing on scanning the library's building.

At the center of this hall, there is a wide transparent hollow pillar containing a circular platform moving back and forth between this floor and the floor above. The pillar is surrounded by a receptionist counter manned by several disciples.

'Let's walk toward that table first and ask around.' As he walked toward the reception table I heard Ren Qingquan thought 'This place is so unscientific! I mean, uncultuvationific or whatever the equivalent of unscientific is.'

Upon reaching the receptionist table, he is greeted by a woman that looks around her early thirty. Greeting the receptionist, Ren Qingquan cupped his hand. "Greeting senior sister, may I ask how can I read or borrow a book in this library?"

Seeing Ren Qingquan standing in front of her, the woman politely replied."Greetings. To answer your question, you can read any book by paying with sect contribution. But first, you need to prove your identity as a member of the Pure Wave Sect by showing your identity token." 

Ren Qingquan placed his hand inside his inner robe. Ren Qingquan pulled his identity token from [Storage]. Giving the identity token he had, Ren Qingquan placed it on the reception table.

That senior sister froze and looked thoughtful as she held the token. When almost a minute passes, she moves her head to look at Ren Qingquan and the jade token several times before asking. "May I ask, are you senior Ren Qingquan? The senior brother of our sect? " 

When I hear her words, I am awed by the Pure Wave Sect's information dispersion ability. Even though there is no ceremony or sect-wide announcement, Ren Qingquan's status as Senior Brother is actually known by a random disciple he just met.

With an interested expression, Ren Qingquan replied "Yep, how do you know? Am I that famous?" 

"Hahaha, indeed. Senior Brother Ren is incredibly famous." After politely laughing, the woman pulled something from her desk's drawer.

Because I've been busy scanning this building, the paper that woman pulled caught me off guard. 

On it, a painting of Ren Qingquan (with beauty filter on) is drawn. Right below his beautified painting, there is the word 'Ren Qingquan' written with a huge font on the first line. On the second line, the word Pure Wave Sect's Senior Brother is written in a slightly smaller font.

If someone just took a fleeting glance at it, they might even mistake the paper for a bounty.

Holding the paper while showing it to Ren Qingquan, the woman said. "So there is no need to be so polite to me, senior brother Ren. Please just call me junior sister Mu. After all if you call me senior sister, it might confuse the sect's seniority."

Ren Qingquan just nodded his head. "Alright then, junior sister Mu."

After replying, I hear him thinking about asking junior sister Mu to start borrowing a book. 

As a good system, I choose to remind him that he is currently broke.

[Host, System suggests you to follow Elder Fengyun's advice when you first reach the Cultivation World. As you are currently a pauper, selling your Body Tempering Technique should be enough to be the capital to start browsing this library.]

'Well, alright.' Refocusing his eyes that looked dazed after reading my message, Ren Qingquan stared at junior sister Mu. "Junior sister Mu, do you know where I can sell a cultivation technique I found?"

Junior sister Mu replied while still in her professional smile. "Senior brother Ren, you can give the book to me and I will send it to my superior to be appraised. This process should be completed within 10 minutes."

Ren Qingquan asked me, 'System, can you create a copy of the Body Tempering Technique?'

I am currently in a great mood upon finding an interesting thing, so I decided to not rip him off and sold it at the basic price.

[Do you wish to purchase a physical copy of Body Tempering Technique for 1 point?]

'Yes.' After answering my question, I sent the freshly created book right into [Storage]. Placing his hand inside his inner robe once again, Ren Qingquan pulled that book from storage and gave it to her. "Then, I will bother you with it."

Leaving her table, junior sister Mu went to god know where before returning after more than five minutes while holding a pouch filled with coins. "Here is your sect contribution points." 

Opening the pouch, there are five hundred coins engraved with formations that work as anti counterfeit mechanisms. The amount inside makes the two coin rewards Ren Qingquan gained from that mission to collect Steel Fin Fish look like a small change.

With quite a lot of money at hand, Ren Qingquan finally asked junior sister Mu some questions. "Junior sister Mu, how many sect contributions do I need to browse the book?"

Junior Sister Mu with her polite smile. "It will cost 10 sect contribution to browse books every hour. The books I mentioned are common books and low level techniques. Some bookshelves have the words x2, x3, x4, etc. which mean the amount of time spent while browsing those bookshelves will multiply by their respective number." 

"Then, I will purchase 10 hours of browsing." With Ren Qingquan's answer, junior sister Mu gave him a token. Inside, there are a hundred small hourglass-like symbols with only ten of them filled. 

Seeing Ren Qingquan staring at that token, that junior sister explained. "Senior brother Ren, this token is used to browse the book inside this library. With your identity, you can browse bookshelves marked with x5 or lower. Once you entered the range of a bookshelf's formation, the sand inside will start ticking. If you can't find the book you need inside a bookshelf and decided to look at another bookshelf, you can just leave the range of that bookshelf's formation and the sand on your token will stop ticking. When all of the sand inside your token went down, you will be repelled from inside the formation."

"Also, borrowing a book will cost you an hour worth of time which is equal to a hourglass for every book you bring outside of the bookshelf. So, please decide the book you wish to borrow before the last hourglass is used. Those books can't leave the library building, so you need to copy or learn them on the second floor. There are many private rooms in it for you to calmly read. If you need more time to browse books, you may return here to purchase it. And last, don't forget to return your token here, otherwise you will receive some fine!"

Hearing the reminder from junior sister Mu, Ren Qingquan cupped his hand. "Thank you for your reminder."

Leaving the reception table, I saw Ren Qingquan look at the surrounding people and followed them with his sight. 'Where do they get that floating platform? I also wanna try it.'

As I expected, he is also interested in that platform!

That's right, I am also curious and have already scanned the floating platform those cultivators used while Ren Qingquan is busy talking with junior sister Mu. 

Those floating platforms are actually quite cheap to make with only a simple formation engraved, but that formation is connected with the whole building. After doing some simulation using [Calculate], I concluded it is impossible to recreate the platform and use it to fly outside this building. Which is such a pity.

Anyway, I regressed. Sending a message to Ren Qingquan, I told him about the place where many of those platforms are parked, which is quite near to the receptionist table. There is even a huge banner with the word 'platform' written that can be seen from his current position. I don't understand how he can't see that thing.

Once arriving at the place, there are rows of empty floating platforms lying around. Stepping above one of them, Ren Qingquan saw a small indent with the words 'insert token' and 'use mental power to control' written next to it. The shape of that dent is exactly the same as the token junior sister Mu gave him.

Placing his token into the dent, an invisible barrier appeared surrounding the platform with Ren Qingquan in it.

He followed the instruction on the platform and sent a trace of his mental power toward it. After swaying several times, the platform slowly stabilized as he learned how to control it.

While standing on top of the floating platform and controlling it through his mental power, I feel Ren Qingquan having an unreal feeling.

'System, are we still inside the cultivation world? I didn't suddenly transmigrate once again, right? Is this actually a sci-fi world?' Hearing Ren Qingquan's stupid question while having a concerned face, I rolled my eyes.

When I thought that was the limit of Ren Qingquan's randomness, I heard him continue his thought. 'If I really got transmigrated to a sci-fi world, then I wanna be a mecha pilot. Or at least the commander of a spaceship fleet and join a space war!"

(¬_¬)

Even if you indeed got transmigrated to a sci-fi world, I don't think anyone with the right mind will allow you to be their fleet's commander.

After passing through several bookshelves, I found out the defensive formations used on them are actually extremely strong. Those formations can even affect my [Scan] and make me unable to read the content inside!

Guess I need to upgrade my [Scan] again. But, let's do that later. Right now, leaving the sect and collecting more subsystem hosts is a lot more important.

Amidst his delusion, Ren Qingquan has walked around many massive bookshelves before finding one with a huge 'Stealth' word written in bold. The bookshelves on this library are actually placed haphazardly without any categorization which makes him waste most of his time searching around.

Moving closer toward the bookshelf, He controlled his platform to move forward until reaching a transparent barrier.

Once he reached that formation barrier, the platform he was on stopped for a few seconds before passing through it. At the same time, the token placed on his platform glowed and the sand on one of its hourglasses started ticking.

Looking at everything currently happening, I can only scream black technology!

Chapter 66. The Power of Luck!

After arriving inside that barrier, I can finally [Scan] those books. Luckily, it seems the barrier only has a one-way defense. As when I entered, my [Scan] can still sense the place outside this barrier.

With the appetizer, which is the library building, already scanned. Let's start the main course!

I immediately asked Ren Qingquan to start working, of course I don't forget there are some people observing him right now. So, I also warned him while at it.

[Host, quickly scan all of those books, we still have several other bookshelves to scan! Don't forget to pick some books occasionally to not appear suspicious! Remember, right now you are being observed by several fossil level old foxes.]

While Ren Qingquan was busy scanning the bookshelf, I sent some of my focus toward those people inside the sect's main hall. Right now, the Sect Master is busy meditating and has stopped sending his spirit qi into the mirror, and the one in charge of being the battery for their Heavenly Sight Mirror is that ruthless fatty.

Using whatever psychology techniques I learned. I tried to check on their expressions to make sure they hadn't sensed something weird with Ren Qingquan. Several minutes pass, and I don't think they have sensed anything wrong with him.

At this time, an impatient female voice sounded. "Why is he still in the sect? Doesn't Fengyun say Ren Qingquan is leaving to look for some fortuitous encounter?! Should we close the mirror for now and only open it later when he starts leaving? After all, the cost of activating this mirror is extremely expensive! This might put a dent on our sect's already limited budget."

I never thought I would hear a cultivator talking about sect budgets here. But, my focus mainly lies on the sentence that woman previously said. - Activating the mirror is extremely expensive.

That means, I can actually use delaying tactics until they can't afford to waste more money on this. But if I do that, I am a bit afraid they might know my ability to overhear their plan. Previously, Ren Qingquan already told elder Fengyun he is going to leave the sect and only changed his destination following my command after I knew Sect Master and other higher-ups are trying to spy on Ren Qingquan with their mirror.

After Ren Qingchen's incident, I stopped underestimating the people in this world. Unlike novels, they are flesh and blood creatures who also have the ability to scheme.

Even if those people spent most of their time cultivating and the amount of time they speak every year might be less than what a gossipy neighborhood aunty spoke in a day. They can still smash me in terms of scheming just by using the experience they gained from living such a long life.

After the woman grumbled, the surrounding people continued chatting about random things and ignored her.

Next, I spent several minutes overhearing their conversation and observing their facial expressions. Especially the expression of that fatty who is currently observing with full focus while maintaining input for the Heavenly Sight Mirror.

Making sure no notable change happened, I sent most of my focus to Ren Qingquan. He finally scanned all the books inside this bookshelf. Controlling the floating platform under him with his mental power, Ren Qingquan makes it move outside of the bookshelf's formation barrier.

Once he left the barrier, the sand on his token's hourglass stopped ticking. At the same time, I am once again unable to [Scan] the inside of that barrier.

With our main target for visiting this library completed, I urged Ren Qingquan to stop dilly-dallying and start scanning other books. Typing something on my panel, I sent it to him as a mission.

[Mission: Collect Books.

Details: [Scan] as many bookshelves as possible.

Goal: None

Reward: at least 1 free attempt to learn and/or create a magical technique.

Note: Reward will increase depending on the values of those books and their amount.

Failure condition: Raising the suspicions of the sect's higher ups currently observing you.

Punishment: 10 minutes of electric shock.]

Ren Qingquan paused upon seeing the reward I give, and once he looked at the note I wrote, I can feel his spirit increased! 'System, how come you actually give me an easy mission with such a good reward? Are you sure you aren't making any loss here?'

[No Comment. Please work hard and 'Scan' as many books as you can without pulling anyone's attention.]

Anyway, creating and helping him learn techniques doesn't cost any points from me. For information, I spent all the points he previously used to learn techniques to upgrade my [Calculate] so I can create better techniques.

With the addition of my mission rewards, even while acting as if he is checking which book he wishes to borrow, Ren Qingquan still moved significantly faster than before.

After entering another two bookshelves with the word 'Anti Divination' and 'Illusions' respectively. He finally found a bookshelf with a multiplier written on it.

Looking at the word 'Weapon Refining' and the x5 next to it, he entered while thinking. 'Well, the system doesn't say about what kind of book I need to [Scan] to complete that mission. So, let's just [Scan] whatever.'

Once Ren Qingquan entered, I saw one of the hourglasses on his token ticking with increased speed. After calculation, its speed indeed increased by 5 times compared to the previous three bookshelves! With the ticking of that hourglass, he immediately scanned all of the books

Time passes and two hours later, Ren Qingquan's token already lost all of its sand. Because he mostly entered bookshelves with multipliers written on it, the hourglass that initially could last for ten hours actually only lasted less than three hours!

Standing on top of his floating platform, he controlled it to slowly move toward the reception table.

While Ren Qingquan is busy controlling that platform, I am also quite busy myself. At first, I actually wished to only give him two or three attempts for free technique creation and learning. But after I sorted out the techniques he scanned, I changed my mind.

Ren Qingquan's filthy high luck stat seems to be working as among the book I scanned, there are actually three immortal ascension stage techniques! One for stealth, one for movement techniques, and another one for weapon refining.

Furthermore from its description, this stealth technique seems to be exactly what he needs right now.

Those three books are actually hidden inside a novel's cover. Ren Qingquan previously decided to enter a bookshelf containing fictions just to refill his list of novels. Who knows the biggest harvest this time actually comes from such a place. Luckily, I didn't stop him when he tried to enter that bookshelf's barrier.

After several considerations, I decided to give him 6 free attempts as a reward. Listing the books I scanned, I sent it to Ren Qingquan for him to check.

[Host, here are the books you have scanned. What kind of techniques do you wish to learn? System suggests you use one of your free attempts to create a stealth technique.]

'Argh. There are so many of them!' Once Ren Qingquan saw the massive lists of books, I heard him grumble in annoyance. 'System, can you recommend to me what kind of techniques I should learn? I am too lazy to think about it.'

When I heard him say that, I wish to curse whoever wrote the description for the Immortal Turtle Tempering which Ren Qingquan got from his mother.

Turn slightly lazier your damned ancestors! Give me back my old diligent Ren Qingquan who could devour several mountains for a month straight.

As if hearing my complaints, he suddenly thought. 'Never mind, system. I think I know what kind of techniques I need.'

'First, use one of my free attempts to create a stealth technique capable of blocking their mirror. Then just like what you recommended before, help me create a suitable movement technique. Finally, use three of my attempts to upgrade Armament Transformation, Body Hardening Technique, and Learning Formation Technique!'

Ren Qingquan then proceeded to count the amount of techniques he requested. Realizing he still has another free attempt, he said. 'As for the last one, just help me learn whatever you think is suitable."

Well, this is at least better than having me choose all of his techniques. Without much thought, I decided to recommend him the immortal ascension stage refining technique.

[System recommended hosting a Weapon Refining Technique that can be used until the Immortal ascension stage.]

'Okay.' Ren Qingquan easily agreed to my recommendations. Now he already agreed, let's enter the technique naming part.

[System used an Immortal Ascension stage magical technique as the main frame for Stealth, Movement, and Weapon Refining technique. Do you wish to rename those techniques or just use the name of those Immortal Ascension Technique?]

'No, just use their original name. I don't wanna bother thinking about a technique name.' Ren Qingquan declined the offer to change the name of those techniques.

Well, don't regret it later~

[Then, please name the other techniques.]

'Just name them Armament Transformation V.2, Body Hardening V.2, and Formation Technique 1 respectively.'

What a half-assed naming. Anyway, I still followed his wishes and named it as such.

Once he named all of the techniques, I prepared them to be sent toward Ren Qingquan's brain. This time I sent a warning about it, because the amount of skill sent is a bit too much and might cause his body to freeze.

[As the amount of information sent this time might be a bit bigger than usual. Please look for a safe place and do an act to not raise any suspicions.]

Hearing that, I can feel Ren Qingquan's confusion. 'System, what do you mean by doing an act?'

[The massive amount of information influx might cause the host's thoughts and body to freeze. If that happens while you're standing, it will look like you suddenly fell asleep or entered a coma. That will definitely raise those sect higher-up's suspicions.]

'Then, system. Do you have any suggestions about where I can start receiving that information? I am thinking of receiving it immediately. After all, you said those people think I am a child of luck. Even if they see me entering a sudden coma, we can just brush it off as an expert giving me his inheritance through dreams. Won't it be normal for someone with luck to gain random encounters? Coupled with the magical technique you're going to give me, it will further solidify that excuse. '

Oh shiet, he is right! Why do I start to turn stupid and overthink things?! Am I really affected by that intelligence lowering aura as I feared? Guess I need to do a check immediately. Before that, I sent the knowledge about techniques he requested into his mind.

With the sudden influx of information, Ren Qingquan fell to the ground face first.

While transmitting the knowledge of magical techniques to Ren Qingquan, I leave a fraction of [Calculate]'s computing ability to do some retrospection.

Am I really affected by Ren Qingquan's aura? In some xianxia novels, there is often a hidden rule where the protagonist must be the smartest character even if their IQ is actually extremely worrying. These hidden rules usually resulted in side characters like me to have their intelligence lowered even more instead. Even those old monsters in stories can be affected. What's stopping me, a half-baked system from being affected.

Slowly combing through my past experience, I feel a chill throughout my nonexistent body. Since entering Cultivation World, there are already several times where I do nonsensical things. But, the one that rings the greatest bell is when I heard the Sect Master ask one of the sect higher-ups to meditate in case he is affected by intelligence lowering the aura a child of luck has.

I actually pushed such an important thing to the back of my mind! With such solid evidence, I immediately shuddered in horror. If I still had my body, there must be goosebumps all over it.

If not for Ren Qingquan's sudden spike in intelligence, I might not even realize this thing.

Is this the defense mechanism of luck? Just what the hell is luck, its power actually can affect someone to such a great degree.

This can't go on. I need to look for a way to block the effect of luck. At least I need to find a way to make me realize when I am affected by something like an intelligence lowering aura.

While I am thinking real hard about how to guard against the power of luck. Ren Qingquan finally woke up.

Chapter 67. A Tragic Collision In Mid air

Pushing his body from the floor, Ren Qingquan rubbed his face several times. 

Looking at the surroundings where a small crowd which almost blocked the passage between bookshelves has gathered. Ren Qingquan smiled sheepishly. "Hehe. Don't mind me, I am just testing a cultivation technique." 

The surrounding crowd dispersed upon hearing his words. Some of them even muttered under their breath."Damn it, I thought there were some interesting sights like someone suddenly dying at the library. So, he is just trying a technique. What a waste of my time."

Ren Qingquan: ???

Ignoring the person that randomly cursed him to die, Ren Qingquan asked me to open his panel.'System, show me my personal panel.'

[Name: Ren Qingquan

Realm: Golden Core 0/150 

Absorbed Spirit Qi: 4/15 (Auto Refill OFF)

Point: 14,500

Profession: Formation master (Extremely Weak.)

Cultivation Method: Immortal Body Tempering (Immortal Ascension)

Magical Technique: 

Armaments Transformation V.2 (Golden Core),

Body Hardening V.2 (Golden Core), 

Formation Technique 1 (Golden Core)

First Section of Super Duper ... Turtle Shell Technique (Golden Core) , 

First Section of Turtle Divination Art (Golden Core), 

First Part of Evanescent Movement (Golden Core), 

First Part of Void Refining (Golden Core)

First Part of Don't Peek At Me, Pervert!(Golden Core)

System function: Devour, Shop, Scan, Library, Map (1000 meters radius), Calculate, System Storage (100 cubic meters), Sub system, Quest, Transfer (100 meter/points).

Note: Agile step has been merged into Evanescent Movement Technique.

Note 2: Please look for more knowledge and points to upgrade your skills.

Note 3: Click on the skill's name for further explanation.]

After gaining knowledge about magical techniques, I decided to change how I show the list of magical techniques for Ren Qingquan.

The brackets mean the highest stage that technique can be practiced into without being upgraded or learning about the continuation. It's not like they can't be used anymore if the user's realm surpasses them. Instead, their power will just barely increase once the user surpasses that stage.

Looking at the skill with a weird name, Ren Qingquan asked me. 'System, what the hell is that skill? Which insane guy named a technique something like that!'

[Although the name is weird, the System thinks it is suitable for its function.]

Ren Qingquan curiously opened the explanation for 'Don't Peek At Me, Pervert!' Technique.

[Name: Don't Peek At Me, Pervert! (First Part)

Type: Stealth, Anti Divination, morph.

Function: Turn invisible, change shape, stop any attempt at peeking the user through divination.]

'Now that I see the effect, it is indeed suitable. Sigh, whatever, it's not like I am gonna shout the name of that technique anyway.'

By the way, while I was busy checking my condition previously. I not only keep my attention at Ren Qingquan, but also at the Sect Master and his group.

Just like what Ren Qingquan expected, those people blamed the whole 'suddenly fell into coma in the middle of a road' event to the oddities all children of luck have.

At this time, they are currently gossiping. "So, can anyone guess what he is doing?" 

Sect master just shrugged. "Dunno, probably doing a child of luck thingy. You know how they often acted weirdly." 

At this time, a female voice sounded as she steered the conversation away. "By the way, how long do you think my junior brother needs to enter secluded meditation this time? I still remember the last time I got affected by a child of luck's charm, that is really scary as it even twisted my taste in men! After all, there is no way I will be interested in a boy who is equal to my great great great grandson in terms of the mortal generation."

Once they spoke about the elder that is suspected to be affected by intelligence lowering aura, I cursed while ignoring whatever they are talking about right now.

Damn, I almost forgot the most important thing I must do. Sigh, I truly need to start taking notes of things.

Wait, that's it! A note! Writing a sentence on my illustory screen, I attached it to my field of vision. 

From now on at the corner of my vision there is an additional glowing sentence written which read - If Ren Qingquan turns smarter than me, do self introspection!

It can't be called a foolproof plan as I don't even know how to escape the power of that intelligence lowering aura. But, this should be enough for me to guard against being affected too much. At least if I feel myself getting affected, I can rethink my decisions to make sure nothing goes wrong.

If only I was rich enough, I could just smash points into [Scan] and make it capable of dissecting the power of luck for me to research.

With everything prepared, I told Ren Qingquan to start moving.

[Host, let's leave the sect and start the plan!]

'Alright' Leaving the library's premises, Ren Qingquan ran midway through the sect's exit I previously marked.

After he reached an empty area, I feel Ren Qingquan circulated his qi following the Evanescent Movement Technique. 

Once the technique is activated, Ren Qingquan's figure zips through the air at high speed while standing. He looks just like the player in Minecraft's creative mode.

From Sect Master's [Scan] I heard the surrounding people gasping upon seeing Ren Qingquan's flying speed through their mirror.

One of them said, "What kind of technique is that! His speed already reached a Soul Formation cultivator's maximum flight speed without using any technique!"

The fatty that is currently working as a battery replied. "Indeed. Also, where does he get such a powerful movement technique? I am sure there aren't any skills like that among the books he searched in the library before! Even for a child of luck, this is breaking the law of cultivation by too much."

Hearing their conversation, Sect Master who has finished his meditation joined. " Is it possible he actually created that technique himself?"

Old man Nine Sequence Talisman nodded. "What Sect Master said is indeed highly probable. So, should we increase his danger level once again? After all, the ability to create such a domineering technique means he has extremely powerful comprehension. A person with such a sharp mind is definitely dangerous!"

While those people argued among each other, Ren Qingquan suddenly screamed as he fell into the ground.

Hearing his scream, I saw everyone nearby the Sect Master stare into the Heavenly Sight Mirror at the same time.

Right now, a part of Ren Qingquan's initially clean robe has been tainted red with several feathers sticking on it. 

Everyone watching : (⁠'⁠◉⁠⌓⁠◉⁠'⁠)

Looking at Ren Qingquan who is in pain after striking a bird while flying at high speed, one of them commented. "Umm, he doesn't look like a smart guy to me." 

Should I say Ren Qingquan striking that bird as a lucky coincidence or an unlucky one? Although he seems to be in pain, that is merely an external injury that can be easily healed. Compared to decreasing the vigilance those people have on him, I think it is a win.

Well, it seems I am the only one who thinks so. As currently Ren Qingquan is repeatedly screaming while holding his crotch.

That's right, he frickin struck that bird with his crotch. Which is why he screamed as if there is no tomorrow.

Only after ten minutes of intelligible screaming does Ren Qingquan stand up.

[Host, from now on remember to activate your Armament Transformation V.2 as a windshield.]

As Ren Qingquan read my late warning, he glared at the screen. 'Why didn't you warn me at the start!'

[System also didn't expect this to happen.¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯]

Once Ren Qingquan felt better, he started to reactivate his movement technique.

This time, before he started circulating the Evanescent Movement Technique, Ren Qingquan activated his Armament Transformation and created a half dome shaped shield in front of him.

Quickly flying in a certain direction, he soon passes through the Pure Wave Sect's defensive formation.

Time quickly passed and the sun's warm light slowly disappeared through the horizon.

Even after flying for five hours until the sky darkens, I still see those people calmly peeking at Ren Qingquan through their mirror. The distance Ren Qingqun traveled at this time has reached a total of 400 kilometers. 

From their calm expression, it looks like Ren Qingquan won't be able to leave the mirror's range anytime soon.

Sigh, guess that's it. I think it's better to make him start activating his stealth technique now. 

[Host, System thinks you won't escape the range of their mirror anytime soon. So, System recommends you to activate the stealth technique.]

He replied as he flew in mid air. 'Alright.' 

Soon, I sense Ren Qingquan circulating his spirit qi to activate the 'Don't Peek At Me, Pervert!' Technique.

Once that technique was activated, I sensed an energy fluctuation coming from Ren Qingquan. That fluctuation quickly turned stronger and greatly affected my [Scan] to the point where he is almost invisible on it.

Different from normal techniques that require the user to keep on circulating their spirit to be used. The 'Don't Peek At Me, Pervert' will be constantly active until the user wills it to stop. Even while sleeping or doing other chores, the technique will automatically circulate the user's spirit qi to achieve the result of stealth. Which is why I said the technique is exactly what Ren Qingquan needed.

At the same time as my [Scan] started losing sight of Ren Qingquan, I saw the Sect Master's surroundings turn silent as everyone stopped gossiping.

The one who breaks that silence is the fatty who worked as a battery for the Heavenly Sight Mirror. "It's definitely not my fault. I sent my spirit qi according to the guide."

"Sigh, it's not your fault. He most likely used a high leveled anti divination technique." Sect master replied before staring at the woman with the runic dress and the person who previously brought Ren Qingquan. Wearing a serious face, the Sect Master asked them to follow Ren Qingquan.

"Peak Master Xue and Peak Master Tumultuous Wave will look for him and observe the situation. Once you find Ren Qingquan, immediately contact us! Also, try not to be found out by him. Meanwhile everyone else prepares for an emergency at all times." 

"Alright." When she heard Sect Master's serious tone, Peak Master Xue nodded and immediately jumped toward the sword Peak Master Tumultuous Wave had prepared.

Controlling his sword to fly, Peak Master Tumultuous Wave left the hall together with Peak Master Xue.

Seeing the speed they were moving, I hurriedly asked Ren Qingquan to change direction. Otherwise, they might catch up to him by tomorrow.

[Host, quickly change your direction. Also, don't stop at cities and hide in the forest instead. Some people from the sect are chasing after you!]

Ren Qingquan nodded and changed his flight path 45 degrees to the right. 

After flying for another six hours, Ren Qingquan found a cliff to sleep on. Digging a hole using [Storage] by pulling and releasing the cliff's rock at another place, he placed his 2x2x2 meters metal house inside.

Walking inside the metal, Ren Qingquan approached the bed placed inside while saying. 'System, warn me if those people are approaching me.'

[Yes.]

While he is blissfully sleeping, Peak Master Xue and Tumultuous Wave are currently braving the cold night wind to reach the last location where they saw Ren Qingquan.

Chapter 68. System The Kidneypper

The next morning, Ren Qingquan woke up from his sleep. After stretching his body, he went outside the metal house and stored it inside [Storage].

While flying in mid air once again, Ren Qingquan talked to me. 'System, do you think it is better to grant a subsystem to a child of luck or to an expert?'

Right after saying that, he paused.

If I had a body, both of us would be staring at each other right now.

Ren Qingquan thought. 'Never mind, let's choose another child of luck. One Ren Qingchen is scary enough, I don't want to handle another old fox.'

Sigh, even Ren Qingquan is traumatized by Ren Qingchen. I guess it will take a long time until both of us heal mentally from that shock.

[Agreed. Furthermore, we still don't understand the trump cards of high-level cultivators. Although the System can activate 'Devour' and make the world summon a space crack to attack them. But who knows, one of their trump cards might be to block that space crack. For the sake of stability, System recommends the host to look for children of luck that have at most nascent soul stage cultivation.]

'Alright.' nodding his head, Ren Qingquan continued to fly randomly while in a daze.

Soon, from Ren Qingquan's shared sense of sight, I saw small dots in his 2 o'clock direction. After another five minutes, the dots turn bigger and the silhouette of a city can be seen.

[Host, there is a city at your 2 o'clock direction.]

Shaking his head to wake up, Ren Qingquan tilted his head to the left before squinting his eyes really hard.

[Host, 2 o'clock is to the right!]

Which elementary school do you study at! I need to mark it down so if I have a child, I won't accidentally send them there.

After retorting him in my mind, I checked the Peak Master duo tasked to follow Ren Qingquan. Seeing how they actually choose the wrong direction, I sighed in relief.

Guess Ren Qingquan can stay in this city for a while.

When Ren Qingquan was within one kilometer of the city wall, I sensed the existence of a formation engraved on the city wall. Using my knowledge in formation and a little bit of wild guess, that formation is most likely used to block cultivators from forcefully entering.

So, I warned him about that formation.

[Host, don't forcefully enter the city! There are formations guarding it. System recommends you to change your body and turn off your invisibility technique while only keeping the anti divination part on.]

'Alright.' Ren Qingquan then followed the method written inside Don't Peek At Me, Pervert! technique and transformed his face and body.

When I saw the super dashing face Ren Qingquan transformed into, I wanna vomit blood.

[Please be serious and use a normal face. That face you used will attract a lot of attention!]

At this time, he is already extremely close to the city gate. Below it, there is a winding line of people and caravans trying to enter the city.

Controlling his Evanescent Movement technique, Ren Qingquan who now has a normal-looking face, floated down gently as he turned visible. While removing his invisibility, Ren Qingquan also activated his Turtle Divination Technique and took a quick glance toward the crowd.

Seeing Ren Qingquan who suddenly appeared while slowly descending, the surrounding people bowed in respect and fear.

After scanning the line of crowd, Ren Qingquan can't see any people with great luck. To be honest, the average amount of luck those people have are lower than the people he scanned at the Pure Wave Sect before.

Soon, a guard with Qi Refining cultivation went toward him with a fawning smile plastered on his face. "Greeting senior, how may this junior help you?"

Ren Qingquan answered while looking at the guard, "Don't you see I am lining up to enter the city?"

As if surprised by his answer, the guard replied. "Ah? There is no need for senior to line up. This line is for low-level cultivators and mortals who wish to enter the city."

When Ren Qingquan heard it, he was a bit confused. Sensing the confused look he had, the guard explained. "Senior seems to be someone focused on attaining the dao. From senior's ability to fly, you are definitely an expert at the Golden Core stage and above. That's why senior may enter the city immediately."

"I see, then please bring me inside." Ren Qingquan calmly replied to the guard while internally he was screaming, 'Woohoo! Preferential treatment rock!'

With the guard in lead, they quickly arrived at the city wall's gate.

"Senior, is it alright if I notified your arrival to my superior first?"

Hearing the guard's sudden question, Ren Qingquan replied. "Mhm. But please tell him to hide it from everyone else, I am currently traveling incognito."

"Then please excuse me for a moment." Right after saying that, the guard ran inside the city wall while leaving Ren Qingquan behind.

As I sensed that guard leaving, I think my plan went awry. I didn't know Golden Core cultivators are actually rare, which interferes with my calculation. With how the people reacted before, they will definitely remember an unknown Golden Core expert's visit. If the people tailing Ren Qingquan found this city, they might connect the dots easily.

So, I need to warn Ren Qingquan to leave as far as possible after he stays in this city.

[Host, system recommends that you visit a different city soon. Furthermore, it is better if your new destination is located far away from this city. Your flashy entrance before has left a trace for those people following you.]

Ren Qingquan readily agreed to my suggestion. 'Okay.'

After warning him and gaining his response, I looked at the formation of the city wall. Now that I see it from a close distance, those formations actually aren't that powerful. If Ren Qingquan tried to pass through it, he would need at most 10 attacks before that defense fell.

Around the wall, I scanned hundreds of guards moving around. From the energy they have, every single one of them is at the Qi Refining Stage. Seeing such a weak defense, I am a bit concerned.

Ain't the defense of this place too weak for a city? Even a restroom at the Pure Wave Sect has a stronger formation barrier.

Wait, is it possible my judgment is wrong, and this is the normal defense for this world? Instead, the Pure Wave Sect is the one that is amazing?

While I was pondering, the guard entered a room with a middle-aged man in it. From the energy I scanned, that middle-aged man has already refined two hundred strands of spirit qi, which is the strongest among all the guards around the city wall.

"Captain, there is a senior cultivator at Golden Core or above visiting our city. How should I proceed with this?"

When the captain heard that guard's explanation, he nodded and tapped his hand several times on the table.

Hearing the knocking sound, the guard looked thoughtful before shaking his head. "No."

Then, the captain once again knocked his hand on the table several times. Once he stopped, the guard replied. "The senior asks not to cause too much commotion about his arrival."

Nodding his head, the captain said. "Then proceed as usual."

"Yes!" Replying to the captain, that guard saluted and then left the room before walking toward Ren Qingquan.

Holy shiet! Did they just use some kind of morse code to talk? Seeing that mysterious conversation, I can't help but think so.

Once he left that room, the guard soon arrived at Ren Qingquan's side.

"My apologies, senior. We need to report the visit of any cultivators at Golden Core stage and above."

"Mmhm." Ren Qingquan just gave his acknowledgement.

Smiling, the guard replied. "Then please follow me inside."

With this, the guard joined him and became his tour guide.

After entering the city gate, the guard immediately spoke. "Senior, do you have any plans for your visit? Also, do you wish to stay in the city for the night?"

Faking a dignified tone, Ren Qingquan spoke, "I am just traveling around where the wind brought me. I will leave the city after resting for one or two days."

I saw the guard having a thoughtful look before telling Ren Qingquan. "Then if seniors have the badge for one of Immortal Alliance's associations, I suggest senior to pay them a visit. Their branch in this city will gladly welcome a golden core expert as a guest."

While talking about the Immortal Alliance, the face of that guard is full of awe. Seeing the guard's face, Ren Qingquan actually got curious and thought of asking the guard about it.

When I heard that, I immediately stopped him.

[Host, please hide your ignorance. System recommends you to search for the information by yourself. After all, just from the organization's name and how a cannon fodder level guard actually knows about them, information about Immortal Alliance is most likely a common knowledge.]

Now that I think about it, our understanding of the cultivation world's common sense is seriously lacking.

I guess this is the result of Ren Qingquan skipping those basic classes the Pure Wave Sect taught in exchange for experimenting with [Devour]. Can't find fault with him though, [Devour]'s problems are indeed more important.

I deviated from the important topic. Anyway, as learning common sense is incredibly important, I sent a mission to make sure Ren Qingquan will do it.

[A mission has been added.

Mission: Learn common knowledge

Detail: Learn common knowledge of the cultivation world.

Deadline: 1 day.

Reward: 1000 points.

Punishment: 10 minutes of electric shock. ]

Seeing the sudden mission notification I sent, Ren Qingquan rolled his eyes. 'System, can't you get a bit creative with the punishment?'

ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ

Are you challenging me?!

Changing the word of that mission screen, I sent a new one to Ren Qingquan.

[A mission has been updated.

Mission: Learn common knowledge

Detail: Learn common knowledge of the cultivation world.

Deadline: 1 day.

Reward: 1000 points.

Punishment: Losing a kidney. You have two anyway. ]

Looking at the mission panel I updated, Ren Qinquan immediately screamed internally.

'Wait System! I take back my word! You are the most amazing system in the world, the most creative system in the world, and... and the most knowledgeable system in the world!' Due to panic, I even heard him stutter midway through his thought.

[No, don't worry too much. As long as host finishes the mission, you will still have a pair of kidneys.]

Reading my cold-blooded words, his face paled. 'I still don't wanna bet on my kidney~.'

Looking at Ren Qingquan whose face turned pale, the guard asked in concern. "Senior, is there anything wrong?"

"Nothing. Can you lead me to the nearest association? I am not a member of any association, though. So, I only wish to look around."

"Alright! Please follow me, senior!" Right after saying that, the guard looked at Ren Qingquan.

Seeing as Ren Qingquan nodded his head, the guard quickened his footsteps.

While walking, the guard spoke. "The nearest association is the Talisman Association. Not only are they capable of creating talismans, the calligraphy they wrote is also often sold like a hot cake."

Right after the guard said that, I heard him mumble in a soft voice. "Their writings are ugly as shit though."

Both of them soon reached the Talisman Association's building. It is a three storied building made of wood that gives off a calming fragrance. Above the main door, there is a wooden sign with three vertical squiggly lines written.

When Ren Qingquan and the guard were only several meters from the main door, it suddenly flung open as a young man with a pair of dark eye bags got thrown out of it.

Following the flying young man, a middle-aged man wearing a robe engraved with the same symbol of Talisman Association snorted as he glared at the young man.

"Hmph. A trash like you actually dares to call yourself a Talisman Master. What a shameless brat! You are tarnishing the name of our association!"