9: This system seems to be more tricky than me.

The atmosphere within the Law Enforcement Hall became extremely oppressive.

Thirteenth Elder Gou Tacheng was like a bloodthirsty beast just released from its cage.

Upon hearing the news brought by the Law Enforcement Hall Disciple, he did not roar or rave.

However, his gradually darkening expression and the surging killing intent were completely unconcealed.

Gou Tacheng's voice was icy as he said coldly,

“Do you know who killed my son, Gou Hanjian?”

“My son was an Outer Sect Elder of the Kaoshan Sect; even an Inner Sect Elder cannot kill him without reason.”

“Could it be the Sect Master, who determined he committed a grave crime?”

The Law Enforcement Hall Disciple swallowed with difficulty, fear in his expression.

He understood that if his answer was problematic, he might not escape death.

Gou Tacheng was extremely ruthless in his actions; whenever he performed an enforcement task, if the target was not under his protection,

the target of enforcement would either die or be crippled!

Therefore, he also had the title of “Cold-Faced Butcher” within the Law Enforcement Hall.

The Law Enforcement Hall Disciple replied, “Reporting to Thirteenth Law Enforcement Elder, I have not yet received news of what exactly happened.”

“Upon learning that your son’s lifeCard was shattered, I immediately came to inform you.”

“There are already Law Enforcement Hall Disciples heading to the Outer Sect to investigate.”

“I believe it won’t be long before results are reported.”

The gloom on Gou Tacheng’s face disappeared, and he actually regained his calm.

But Gou Tacheng’s composure made him even more frightening and intimidating.

He had just lost his son, yet he could remain expressionless. Wasn’t that terrifying?

“Go, and notify me immediately when there’s news.”

“Even if it was the Sect Master’s doing, I demand an explanation!”

Yes!

The Law Enforcement Hall Disciple let out a sigh of relief; he had saved his life.

If he stayed there any longer, he feared he would lose his life.

Gou Tacheng said coldly, “Continue with your duties. I’m going out!”

With that, Gou Tacheng had already risen into the air.

He was not satisfied with the results of others’ investigations; he wanted to investigate it himself.

He only had one son, and he couldn't just lose him for no reason!

“How terrifying. Who on earth killed the Thirteenth Law Enforcement Elder’s son? This is like poking a hornet’s nest.”

“Indeed, if the Thirteenth Law Enforcement Elder gets ruthless and wants to target someone, even if you haven’t violated sect rules, he can create a violation for you.”

“Say less, don’t bring trouble upon yourself!”

“Continue working. Someone who can kill an Outer Sect Elder must be strong, very likely an Inner Sect Elder or another Elder from the Outer Sect. We are not qualified to interfere.”

Tianquan Peak!

Li Changfeng had already returned with Phoenix Dance, throughout their journey flying through the air.

Phoenix Dance, out of fear, clung to Li Changfeng like an octopus, in an extremely undignified posture.

If Li Changfeng hadn't been fast enough, if someone had seen them in that position, they would definitely have suspected their relationship was impure.

“Cough cough!”

“Phoenix Dance, we have returned to Tianquan Peak now. Can you please let go of your Revered Master?”

Phoenix Dance had her arms tightly wrapped around Li Changfeng’s neck and her legs clamped around his waist, her face still a bit pale.

Upon hearing Li Changfeng’s reminder, Phoenix Dance immediately got down, her face flushed red.

She said cautiously, “Revered Master, Disciple did not mean to.”

“I was a bit scared being so high in the air. Please punish your Revered Master.”

Li Changfeng shook his head, “No need for punishment. Next, your Revered Master needs to arrange Cultivation tasks for you.”

“On the path of Cultivation, if you don’t advance, you regress.”

“When you are slacking off, others are Cultivating; when you are sleeping, others are still Cultivating.”

“If this continues, even those with lesser talent than you will gradually surpass you.”

“Therefore, remember not to slack off in any way, and do not waste your talent.”

Phoenix Dance nodded heavily, causing her chest to tremble!

She quickly said, “Revered Master, rest assured, Disciple will always remember your teachings.”

“Next, I will Cultivate diligently and never waste time.”

Li Changfeng smiled, letting out a sigh of relief in his heart; he had finally managed to trick her.

Now, he just needed to set Cultivation times and goals for Phoenix Dance, and he believed she would complete them very well.

After a pause, Li Changfeng spoke again.

“Phoenix Dance, I know you are an obedient and sensible Disciple.”

“Your Revered Master does not need to supervise you constantly. Next, your Revered Master will tell you about the arrangement of Cultivation time.”

“Every day, you must begin to Cultivate at dawn. When hungry, eat a Bigu Pill, and you can rest for a cup of tea at noon after Cultivating.”

“Then continue to Cultivate until midnight before you can rest.”

“Of course, you can also adjust your Cultivation time yourself, but your Revered Master has one requirement: you must Cultivate for no less than ten hours daily.”

“The path of Cultivation is cruel. As your Revered Master’s Disciple, you must aim for Undergoing Tribulation and Immortal Ascension to achieve longevity!”

Yes!

Phoenix Dance was very obedient, but then she whispered softly,

“Revered Master, the Divine Artifact you gave me allows me to Cultivate at all times.”

“And Revered Master asking me to actively Cultivate for ten hours, does that mean my strength can improve faster?”

Holy cow!

Just now, in order to completely lie flat, he actually forgot about this.

Now that Phoenix Dance had exposed it, Li Changfeng naturally wouldn't admit that he had forgotten about it.

Li Changfeng nodded slowly, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Exactly!”

“A Divine Artifact is always an external object; it can be relied on for a while, but not for a lifetime.”

“The path of Cultivation must be walked by yourself. Whether you can Undergo Tribulation and achieve Immortal Ascension depends on whether your talent and will can accomplish it.”

“Alright, now your Revered Master will impart to you a Cultivation Technique and a Martial Skill to further enhance your strength.”

With that, Li Changfeng touched Phoenix Dance’s glabella.

He had only recently acquired the System and hadn’t obtained anything good from it.

Moreover, the rewards for taking Disciples, Li Changfeng directly gave to Phoenix Dance.

A Spirit Rank Medium Grade Cultivation Technique, “Burning Origin Art,” and a Spirit Rank High Grade Martial Skill, “Blazing Flame Sword Art.”

These were already the highest-grade fire-attribute Cultivation Technique and Martial Skill Li Changfeng could offer.

Whether it was Cultivation Techniques or Martial Skills, all had four Ranks.

From low to high, they were: Human-Grade, Spirit Rank, Earth-Grade, and Heaven-Grade!

Of course, there were Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills higher than Heaven-Grade, but the Kaoshan Sect did not possess them. Even the old monsters who couldn't transform only had Earth-Grade Cultivation Techniques and Martial Skills.

After Phoenix Dance fused with them, she immediately knelt down to Li Changfeng.

Although she was weak, she was not without discernment.

How noble a Spirit Rank Cultivation Technique was, everyone knew!

“Thank you, Revered Master, for bestowing the technique!”

“Disciple will definitely remember Revered Master’s teachings, Cultivate diligently, and not bring shame to Revered Master.”

Li Changfeng smiled, “Go, you’ve already delayed quite a bit of time today.”

“In this cruel world of Cultivation, wasted time could be the strength you need to save your life later.”

“Go and Cultivate diligently. In one month, the Seven Peaks of Kaoshan Sect will have an exchange meeting.”

“If you can achieve tenth place, you will receive ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a Low Grade Spirit Sword as rewards.”

“Tianquan Peak is too barren; we need these ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones to hire people to build it up.”

Yes!

Phoenix Dance responded, now only wanting to Cultivate diligently.

She felt a heavy burden on her shoulders, and her goal was not just tenth place.

If possible, she wanted to clear Tianquan Peak’s name and win first place for her Revered Master!

Tenth place already offered ten thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones and a Low Grade Spirit Sword, so anything above tenth place would surely have incredibly generous rewards?

Just as Phoenix Dance left to Cultivate in her own room,

a System prompt sounded in Li Changfeng’s mind.

“Ding! New task released!”

“Please, Host, do your utmost to help your Disciple achieve first place in the Seven Peaks exchange meeting!”

“Successfully enabling a Tianquan Peak Disciple to achieve first place will grant the Host Ancestral Phoenix exclusive Cultivation Technique and True Phoenix exclusive Cultivation Technique!”

Holy crap!

These task rewards, aren’t they a bit too generous?

However, the difficulty was also uncommonly high. Li Changfeng had no thought of achieving first place in the Seven Peaks exchange meeting before.

Simply because the other six peaks had a vast number of Disciples, and their Realms were much higher than Phoenix Dance’s.

Take Kaiyang Peak, the weakest of the six peaks, for example. It had over a thousand Inner Sect Disciples, over a hundred Core Disciples, and dozens of Personal Disciples.

Not to mention, Kaiyang Peak also had four Saints and one Divine Child.

Under normal circumstances, Saints and Divine Children would not participate.

A Saint was equivalent to a future Inner Sect Elder, and a Divine Child, if nothing unexpected happened, would be the next Peak Revered Master!

But what if the six peaks saw Tianquan Peak becoming too strong, and a Divine Child or Saint from one of the peaks met the condition of being a Disciple under fifty years old?

It was truly a headache!

But these rewards couldn’t be passed up—Ancestral Phoenix and True Phoenix exclusive Cultivation Techniques!

It went without saying that they were definitely far beyond Heaven-Grade, perhaps even more than just Immortal Rank; it was very likely Divine-Grade, above Saint-Grade!

“System, you released such a difficult task, aren’t you going to give me some benefits first?”

“I heard that other Systems are always thinking of their Hosts, giving them good things generously.”

“You wouldn’t want to see my Tianquan Peak, as the System’s Host, remain dilapidated and scorned everywhere, would you?”

System: “…”

Li Changfeng: “System, say something, don’t play dead. I know you’re there.”

“If you help me this time, I’ll help you in the future.”

“How about this, if I get a 'mother System' as a reward for taking a Disciple next time, I’ll give it to you!”

System: “Host, you are truly a scoundrel!”

“Solemn declaration: Systems are not gendered!”

“But you are right about one thing: as the Host of this System, you cannot always be scorned.”

“I’ll look for something in the vault that is relatively reasonable and can quickly enhance your Disciple’s strength.”

Li Changfeng: “System, you’re so good. It’s a pity that Systems don’t have genders.”

“Otherwise, if you could one day transform into a beautiful young girl, your Host would definitely dote on you.”

“So, my good System, do you have any wishes?”

System: “I want a different Host…”

Li Changfeng said faintly, “That’s not a good wish. Think of another one!”

Not long after, the System’s prompt sounded again.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, your strength has increased to the Nascent Soul Realm, receiving a System Strength Enhancement Gift Pack!”

“Does the Host wish to open it?”

It could be played like this?

When he had improved before, the System hadn’t made a peep.

But now there was suddenly a reward. Li Changfeng seriously suspected that this scoundrel System was deliberately holding out.

Or perhaps, if he didn’t ask, it wouldn’t give?

He was clearly already quite a scoundrel, but the System seemed to be even better than him!

“Open!”

“Ding! Strength Enhancement Gift Pack has been opened!”

“Congratulations, Host, you have obtained Time…”