"Senior Brother Xia, please enlighten me!"
Xia Jiuyuan rubbed his sleepy eyes, picked up the Peak Master's Token making noise beside his pillow,
He lightly touched the token with his finger, and the scene outside the peak appeared before his eyes.
He saw an unfamiliar man with an arrogant expression, standing outside the peak, shouting, "Li Er, an outer disciple of Sword Peak, requests Senior Brother Xia's guidance!"
Behind him were two hype men, echoing his words and shouting some unpleasant remarks.
"Tsk, what's with this outer disciple barking so early in the morning?"
Xia Jiuyuan stretched and grumbled.
Could this be a face-slapping mission sent by the system?
Xia Jiuyuan opened the system panel, and there was only one newly refreshed white mission:
【Mo Mo's Confusion】
Mo Mo has been very confused lately. Help Mo Mo resolve her confusion.
Alright, it seems not.
He shook his head. Since the troublemaker outside didn't trigger a system mission, he would act as if nothing happened.
After all, it would be too demeaning for him to personally intervene.
Someone would help him handle it.
With a wave of Xia Jiuyuan's hand, the images and shouts before his eyes vanished. He then put the Peak Master's Token into his pocket and walked out of the room.
Clink, clink,
His feet stepped on spirit stones, creating a pleasant sound as they touched each other.
If an outsider saw this scene, they would surely exclaim,
"Luxurious! Too luxurious!"
These were not ordinary spirit stones; they were incredibly pure high-grade spirit stones, and these rare high-grade spirit stones covered the entire cave dwelling.
This was like bathing in an ocean of spiritual energy!
"He He, what are you doing?"
Xia Jiuyuan walked downstairs and saw Jun Liuhe, his internally designated concubine number two.
She was sitting on a stone stool, eyes closed and unmoving.
Her skin was fair and tender, her figure curvaceous, her white hair streaked with emerald green, and she had a pair of pointed ears and emerald green pupils.
This was Jun Liuhe, a fairy who made everything around her pale in comparison, yet could seamlessly blend in.
"Meditating."
"Meditating again? You haven't been meditating here all day, have you, He He?"
Jun Liuhe's identity was very special. When she was picked up by him on Lucky Peak, his master was no longer around, so she wasn't his master's disciple.
She was the only one on this mountain peak who wasn't his master's disciple.
"It would be strange for a cultivator not to meditate."
"True. You meditate first. I need to find Mo Mo. She's out, right?"
"Yes."
For Xia Jiuyuan, completing system missions was the most crucial thing, as missions directly related to his cultivation.
The sect he belonged to was called Asked the Sect, one of the three top human forces.
In this world, those above Fourth Rank were called non-human, those above Seventh Rank were called natural disasters, and those at Tenth Rank were called world-destroyers.
As far as he knew, the Sect Master, Li Canghuang, was a peak existence in this world.
Tenth Rank, world-destroyer!
There were only three Tenth Rank powerhouses in the entire human race! And this Li Canghuang was his master's good friend, his martial uncle.
The day he was picked up by his master and brought here, he thought he was finally going to reach the pinnacle of life, open a harem in another world, and not have to bother with that useless shark-arm system.
But he didn't expect it to be a trash-tier novel!
No matter what he did, he couldn't break through First Rank!
His master threw all sorts of rare flowers, exotic fruits, heavenly and earthly treasures at him as if money were no object, but it was all useless.
However, this seemed to make his master even more convinced that this child was terrifyingly powerful and would surely achieve great things in the future.
Because even a pig, fed like this, could at least reach Third Rank, but he, Xia Jiuyuan,
Zero Rank, not even an 入門!
From then on, Xia Jiuyuan could only accept the status quo and rot away, occasionally picking up a few people according to missions and bringing them to this Lucky Peak, which only had master and disciple.
Until a year ago, when his master passed away, and he received a tragically red red mission:
『
【Beginning, End】
Go to Wu Zhu Forest, take Jun Liuhe, and care for her until she recovers.
』
It was his first time encountering a red mission, and he was startled. After much deliberation, he chose to contact his martial uncle for secret protection and went to Wu Zhu Forest.
Upon seeing the unconscious Jun Liuhe, as beautiful as a celestial fairy, Xia Jiuyuan suddenly realized that the system wasn't so bad after all.
But strangely, he didn't encounter any danger and carried Jun Liuhe back to Lucky Peak.
Considering the mission itself mentioned 'recovery,' he even carefully examined Jun Liuhe's unconscious delicate body.
The entire process made Xia Jiuyuan feel guilty.
Finally, he concluded that her body had no problems; it was perfect!
It was just that her mind seemed to have a big problem; she was an idiot...
This idiocy lasted for half a year!
Xia Jiuyuan had no choice but to personally attend to her for half a year, until one day, she recovered her consciousness without any warning.
The red mission was thus completed, and the reward was,
『
First Rank unlocked. Congratulations, Host, you can now break through First Rank!
』
Actually, he didn't need to look at the reward. The moment Jun Liuhe recovered her consciousness, Xia Jiuyuan broke through First Rank.
Damn it, was I unable to break through because of you, System?!
Xia Jiuyuan was so angry he cried tears of pain. The last time he cried was half a year ago.
Although his master was very good to him and he had his martial uncle as a backer, in this world where strength was revered, he didn't have it easy.
His inferiority complex made him even afraid to have too much in-depth contact with his cute junior sister Mo Mo, after all, humans and immortals were different, and if he couldn't cultivate, it was destined to be a tragedy.
He had said it himself: he could learn all sorts of cultivation techniques, alchemy, and so on instantly, but why couldn't he break through First Rank?
So it was you, System, playing tricks??
From then on, although he started to hate the system again, he still had to prioritize system missions.
However, speaking of which, today's mere white mission probably wouldn't yield anything good, at least not a key to Second Rank.
Xia Jiuyuan walked along the mountain path, pondering the incident outside the peak that had woken him up.
An unfamiliar outer disciple dared to bring people to challenge him. Who in the inner sect didn't know he had the strongest connections in the entire Asked the Sect?
Many people, even if they looked down on him, wouldn't show it to his face.
This matter was unusual.
"Senior Brother!"
A rough voice interrupted Xia Jiuyuan's thoughts. He looked towards the source of the sound and saw a muscular young man with a bare torso, carrying a dead demonic beast tied to his body, and holding many herbs and fruits in both hands.
The muscular young man's eyes were bright, and he looked at Xia Jiuyuan with full respect.
"Li Le, you've worked hard. Put these in the usual spot. We haven't finished the last batch yet."
Xia Jiuyuan smiled slightly and continued, "It's better to be careful when fighting demonic beasts. I really can't help you much with your cultivation method, but I can at least ensure you have enough pills."
"Senior Brother supporting me in this reckless way is already the greatest help to me."
He said, bowing to Xia Jiuyuan again, then carried the heavy load and ran swiftly towards the mountaintop.
"This kid, Li Le..." Xia Jiuyuan murmured, "He really managed to train it."
Li Le came from an ordinary family; his entire family died at the hands of bandits. According to the system's mission prompt, Xia Jiuyuan rescued him in his time of crisis and brought him to Lucky Peak.
The first junior sister he picked up was Mo Mo. At that time, he thought it was some kind of harem system, but he later found out it wasn't.
Li Le was his master's fourth disciple and the one who respected Xia Jiuyuan the most.
His cultivation method was incredibly unconventional: he only cultivated his physical body and didn't absorb spiritual energy. It wasn't that he lacked talent and couldn't absorb it; it was that he didn't want to.
As he put it, "I don't want spiritual energy to defile my long-tempered physical body."
This perplexed Xia Jiuyuan. He asked all over Forging Peak, one of the nine peaks of Asked the Sect, but found nothing.
Who ever heard of cultivating only the body without absorbing spiritual energy?
Didn't this amount to playing a high-martial world as a low-martial one? Even his master had never heard of a similar cultivation method.
For things he didn't understand, Xia Jiuyuan chose to support and respect them.
Facts proved that Li Le did not betray his support; he truly succeeded in this path.
The demonic beast he carried was at least First Rank, yet he had no spiritual energy whatsoever; he was completely Zero Rank.
This couldn't help but remind Xia Jiuyuan of the so-called 'human body hidden treasures' in the novels he read in his previous life. Could it be that Junior Brother Li Le had pioneered a new cultivation method?
However, he didn't dwell on it too much. After all, he was the cub he picked up; the more successful he was, the more glory it brought him.
Males picked up were treated as sons, females as wives; that's how it was.
Continuing forward, he saw Duan Shahe playing chess by himself under a tree.
"Senior Brother, do you have any new games?"
As soon as Duan Shahe spotted Xia Jiuyuan, he quickly darted to his side and patted his shoulder.
Xia Jiuyuan smiled wryly:
"No, you've exhausted all my novel ideas these past few years."
"Ah, that's a shame. Want a game?" He pointed at the chessboard.
"Later this afternoon. Right now, I need to find Mo Mo."
"Senior Brother truly favors Mo Mo. If I were also female..."
Xia Jiuyuan was long used to Duan Shahe's teasing. He kicked Duan Shahe's butt.
Duan Shahe had anticipated it and dodged by thrusting his waist forward, then kicked back at Xia Jiuyuan's butt.
Duan Shahe was like that; he had no respect for Xia Jiuyuan, more like a buddy, often bickering and teasing each other.
But such a seemingly casual person was even more extraordinary; he possessed a power, a rule.
He could pull a person into his rules and engage in a gamble, a "fair" game.
The fairness of the game could be said to depend on the strength difference between the two parties.
Because of this, he, like Xia Jiuyuan, learned many aspects of knowledge, such as alchemy, formations, body tempering, soul cultivation, divination, and so on.
Of course, Xia Jiuyuan learned so much knowledge because he had nothing to do, so he just learned it.
And sometimes the system mission rewards always gave some cultivation methods, formations, and pill recipes from who knows where, and he felt it would be a waste not to learn them.
Continuing forward, the sound of flowing water gradually grew louder. Around a bend, he saw the cascading waterfall.
Beneath that waterfall, little Mo Mo sat on a large rock, contemplating a canvas spread out before the waterfall.
This was his internally designated concubine number one, Mo Mo, who cherished painting like her life.
Xia Jiuyuan quietly walked forward, but Mo Mo seemed to sense him, turned her head to look at him, and smiled. She raised the paintbrush in her hand and gestured towards Xia Jiuyuan.
"Don't move."
Her voice was so soft that it was barely audible over the sound of the waterfall.
But Xia Jiuyuan saw her actions and knew what she wanted to do, so he stayed put, his eyes fixed on one spot, unmoving.
Half an hour later, Mo Mo nodded at Xia Jiuyuan, finally finishing her painting.
But when Xia Jiuyuan sat next to Mo Mo and saw her creation, he was stunned.
It was messy and abstract; Xia Jiuyuan in the painting had become a few simple lines.
Mo Mo observed his expression, then climbed onto his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and whispered close to his ear with her pink lips:
"Is Brother angry?"
"Not angry."
Xia Jiuyuan replied with a smile,
"Why would I be angry? What you've painted is no longer just a scene, just a person, but an inner world, a concept, art. Congratulations, Mo Mo."
Congratulations, Host, for completing the mission 【Mo Mo's Confusion】. Reward obtained: "Blue Raspberry Spirit Recovery Pill Recipe."
Xia Jiuyuan was already accustomed to such idiotic rewards and chose to ignore it.
Mo Mo, who heard Xia Jiuyuan's words, was stunned. Her expression was complex, then she revealed a captivating smile, actually speaking with a hint of coquetry:
"That's why I really like you, Brother."
"Me too. Who taught you that coquettish tone?"
Mo Mo liked Xia Jiuyuan very much, but due to her personality, she had never acted coquettishly towards him! Never towards anyone!
"Don't you like it?"
Mo Mo pushed Xia Jiuyuan onto the stone, lay in his embrace, and looked up at the sky, continuing:
"That painting, you know, I can paint you very accurately, almost like using a recording stone. But recently, I feel that's really boring and meaningless.
If I can paint it just like a recording stone, why not just use a recording stone directly?
So I started painting according to my heart, but what I painted this way was criticized by them as being no different from a child's scribbles...
Only you, Brother, are the best."
"Oh, who said that about our Mo Mo?"
"Ordinary people down the mountain."
"They just don't know good art."
"Mhm mhm."
Mo Mo was the first person Xia Jiuyuan picked up and brought to Lucky Peak. At that time, she was only 13 years old, an orphan.
When Xia Jiuyuan found her, she was squatting beside a corpse, painting with the blood of the dead...
Xia Jiuyuan had asked her why she did that, and her reason was that red pigment was too expensive!
Actually, Xia Jiuyuan felt that Mo Mo and Jun Liuhe were somewhat similar. Mo Mo seemed friendly to everyone, but in reality, it was very difficult to get close to her.
Jun Liuhe, on the other hand, was consistent inside and out; she just ignored you, very cold!
And no matter what they encountered, they both appeared too calm.
At least, painting with dead people's blood was something Xia Jiuyuan couldn't do.
One could only say that the children chosen by the system were all abnormal.
Mo Mo, in Xia Jiuyuan's embrace, seemed to feel something, suddenly stiffened, then began to adjust her lying position. She spoke:
"Brother, you again..."
Xia Jiuyuan looked at Mo Mo's dark pupils with a slight embarrassment, remaining silent.
He was not Liu Xiahui; he couldn't remain unmoved when a woman was in his arms!
"..."
Mo Mo gave up thinking, closed her eyes, and stopped twisting her body, enjoying this moment of peace.
After a long while, a voice transmission interrupted Xia Jiuyuan's rest,
"Junior Brother Xia, something has happened outside Lucky Peak. It's gotten a bit big. Please come out and resolve it."
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