Chapter Thirty-Four: The Mysterious Grand Gift Package

In a grand attic hall, a dignified and strikingly handsome middle-aged man sat with commanding presence at the head seat. Beside him was a woman of opulent bearing, and below them stood five members of the Celestial Squad, their heads bowed like children who had made a mistake.

“So, you’re telling me that a mere youth at the third level of Core Formation managed to kill Di Yi, and then escaped unscathed right before your very eyes?” The man at the head seat spoke in a deep, stern voice, his face darkening.

The five of the Celestial Squad trembled as one. The leader, a Nascent Soul cultivator of the eighth level, gritted his teeth and nodded reluctantly.

This man was none other than Zhuang Yunlong, Lord of Tianxuan City. He had been cultivating in his private chamber when he first heard of this incident. His initial reaction had been disbelief, but the report came from his most trusted subordinates, making it difficult to doubt.

“Hmph. Very well. I’ll give you a chance. The five of you, join forces and fight me. Let’s see if you can escape from my hands unscathed!” Tianxuan snorted coldly, his voice sharp as a blade.

The Celestial Squad paled with shock. “Lord, please have mercy! We saw it with our own eyes. If it weren’t true, how could we dare report such an outrageous tale?”

“Yes, Lord. If you do not believe us, you can ask General Wei Hu, commander of the city defenses. He was present and knows the details even better than we do.”

They bowed deeply, hastening to explain.

“So you know how preposterous it sounds! Enough. Go post a notice, sketch that boy’s likeness, and put out a warrant for his arrest.” The middle-aged man waved them away.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his subordinates, but this was simply too incredible—a third-level Core Formation cultivator slaying a Nascent Soul expert, injuring a seventh-level Nascent Soul on top of that, and escaping without so much as a scratch. Who in the world would believe such a tale?

The five members of the Celestial Squad exhaled in relief, bowed, and withdrew from the hall.

“Yunlong, this cannot be left at that,” exclaimed the noblewoman at his side in a shrill voice. “That boy frightened our son so badly he’s lost his senses and still hasn’t recovered! We must capture him and tear him to pieces for our child’s sake.” Her once-beautiful face was now twisted with rage.

Zhuang Yunlong’s brows knitted together. He said in a low voice, “What are you making a fuss about? I know what happened, but dealing with him will require careful planning. Do you understand that?”

He was growing weary of this woman’s constant histrionics. She never considered the consequences. If not for her family’s influence, he would never have married such a flat-chested, brainless woman.

The noblewoman, Sun Meiyan, was incensed at being scolded, especially with her son’s condition weighing on her. “Zhuang Yunlong! Have you grown so bold that you think the Sun family can no longer keep you in check? Your son’s been turned into a half-wit and you’re still hesitating? Do you even care about him?”

Zhuang Yunlong longed to say he did not—what use was such a worthless son? From what he’d learned, it seemed the boy had sent Di Yi to kill for reasons unknown, and there was said to be a masked beauty with a stunning figure at the victim’s side. No doubt it was his son’s lust that had stirred up this trouble.

“Enough! Sun Meiyan, calm yourself and think for once. That person killed Di Yi with only a third-level Core Formation base, injured the seventh-level Nascent Soul Tian Si, and escaped unharmed with a treasure akin to a ‘Space Compression Talisman.’ Is such a man ordinary? Does your Sun family possess such depth? Do you have any genius capable of crossing so many levels to slay an enemy?” Zhuang Yunlong’s voice thundered as he fired off his questions.

Sun Meiyan shuddered. On reflection, it was true. Without a powerful clan’s support, no lone cultivator could achieve such feats, and even her Sun family could, at best, produce a junior who could cross three cultivation levels in battle.

Realization dawned, and fear gripped her heart.

“So what do we do? Let it go?” she asked, more subdued now.

Zhuang Yunlong shook his head, a strange glint in his eyes. “No, we won’t let it go. I’ll put out a bounty for him in the city. That will show my authority is not to be challenged. And if I cross paths with him again, I’ll handle him myself.”

…

Elsewhere, two people found a random inn in a small town for the night. Only a few had noticed their sudden appearance, so there was no commotion.

“Qin’er, get some rest. Tomorrow we set off for the Far South!” Chen Xiang said, winking mischievously at Li Qiner.

“Mm.” Li Qiner nodded with some difficulty. She had spent enough time with Young Master Li to know his mind often wandered, yet she still felt an urge to hit him.

Once inside his room, Chen Xiang threw himself onto the bed, hands propping up his head, feeling elated.

He opened the system interface to check his inventory.

“I wonder what a Nascent Soul cultivator’s Nascent Soul is good for. It even costs a hundred reputation points to capture,” Chen Xiang muttered.

He tapped on the infant-shaped item.

“Nascent Soul condensed by a Nascent Soul stage cultivator: The Nascent Soul is the core of a cultivator’s life. As long as the Nascent Soul endures, the cultivator cannot be destroyed and can even teleport.

“Effect: Fusing with a Nascent Soul has a thirty percent chance of granting all the cultivator’s lifetime experiences and techniques; a thirty percent chance of gaining a second Nascent Soul (equivalent to a second life); a twenty percent chance of suffering a heart-devil backlash (from minor loss of cultivation to severe soul damage); and a twenty percent chance of no effect.

“Can be recycled for fifty thousand experience points.”

“Damn! What use is that? The second Nascent Soul sounds cool, but a twenty percent chance to be devoured by inner demons? What if that happens—am I supposed to turn into an idiot?” Chen Xiang grumbled, thinking his hundred reputation points were wasted. Still, being able to recycle the Nascent Soul for experience made him feel a little better.

“Detection: Host possesses a low-grade Nascent Soul. Five low-grade Nascent Souls can be fused to create a mid-grade Nascent Soul with any one of the five elemental attributes. The effect will be improved.”

Chen Xiang’s eyes widened at the system’s voice. “You can do that? Fuse five low-grade ones for a mid-grade? There are grades to Nascent Souls too?”

“Never mind, I’ll leave it for now and try later when I have enough,” he murmured, withdrawing his consciousness.

He recycled a few golden cores, earning tens of thousands of experience points. The Nascent Soul was like a powered-up golden core, so the experience gain was delightful.

Now it took several hundred thousand experience points to level up, which was exhausting.

“All right, let’s see what these two ‘Mystery Packs’ have in store!” Chen Xiang thought, tapping on the first pack.

He had yet to open the reward for his first Core Formation kill, and now had another for his first Nascent Soul kill. To grow stronger, he needed more powerful combat techniques.

“Ding. Would you like to open the ‘Mystery Pack (Core Formation Edition)’?”

“Yes!”

“Ding. Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, you have received ten Beginner Void-Treading Escape Talismans.”

“Ding. Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, you have received a seventh-grade profound-level spiritual weapon: Coiling Dragon Staff.”

“Ding. Congratulations, Host ‘Chen Xiang’, you have received a low-grade earth-level martial art: Dog-Beating Staff Technique (Revised).”

…

“To be continued…”