Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Lin Qian Leaves
Fan Gu Zhou hadn’t expected a “first reward” at all. With how brutally hardcore this game was, he’d stopped trusting it to be generous.
So when the System broadcast his name, he nearly glowed.
Most players genuinely respected Song Jiu Lai as Sect Master. Some even called her “Mom” behind her back, shameless as they were. Being singled out by her felt like a medal pinned to his chest.
Trying not to look too excited, he coughed, straightened his gray cloth robe, and went to the spawn point.
He’d read enough about Yun Zhou Continent to recognize jade spider shells—first-rank demon beast material. It wasn’t worth much on the market, but the point wasn’t value. The players couldn’t hunt demon beast yet. A reward like this was symbolism.
The spawn point was a bare transfer courtyard set up by the System. No decorations. No ceremony. As soon as he stepped inside, the System asked, “Do you want to receive the reward issued by the Sect Master?”
“Yes.”
With a soft “whoosh,” two jade spider shells appeared in the yard.
They were oval and glossy, like chunks of jade ripped from the earth. In the records, they looked almost elegant.
In real life, they were… not.
Fan Gu Zhou picked one up. The edge was still warm. Worse, it was sticky, with bits of flesh clinging to it.
He stared, brain lagging, until recognition hit him like a slap.
The System added, smug as ever, “To praise your contribution, the Sect Master slaughtered it fresh.”
Fan Gu Zhou’s face went green. The shell slipped from his fingers and hit the ground with a dull thud.
It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate her kindness. It was a reflex. Modern people didn’t handle gore well, especially when it felt this real—weight, heat, texture, all of it.
This game was too damn realistic.
He’d read the jade spider entry, too. He knew what the creature looked like without the shell: the kind of ugly that belonged in a nightmare.
And then, somehow, his mind overlaid that image with Song Jiu Lai’s gentle face.
That sweet, warm Sect Master… casually butchering something like that.
No wonder she was Sect Master.
Fan Gu Zhou swallowed hard and told himself it was a game. He could do this. He couldn’t embarrass himself after receiving her goodwill.
Gritting his teeth, he wiped the meat off with a cloth until the shell looked clean enough to hold. Once it was spotless, it really was pretty.
Then reality returned: these were forging materials. They couldn’t forge yet. They also had nowhere to store them. Was he supposed to carry two face-sized shells around like luggage?
He hauled them back down anyway.
To his surprise, Chen Miao Miao approached first. She studied the shells in his arms and asked, “Do you have any use for those right now?”
Fan Gu Zhou blinked. “No. Big shot, do you want them?”
“Not to keep.” Chen Miao Miao shook her head. “I want to study them for two days, then I’ll return them. I’ll also give you one of my spirit herbs for free. How about it?”
“Don’t be polite.” Fan Gu Zhou waved it off. “If you want to study them, just take them.”
He wasn’t joking. Right now he didn’t know what to do with these materials. Better to let Chen Miao Miao squeeze value out of them.
Besides, he had his own hopes. “I’m counting on you to figure out spirit herb wine soon. I want to get rich.”
Selling ordinary wine was still too basic. Food without spirit qi, no matter how tasty or novel, couldn’t sell for a high price. Price it too high and mortals couldn’t afford it. Cultivators wouldn’t even look at it.
So far, they’d earned only a few dozen low-grade spirit stone.
He and the others had been grinding day and night, practicing basic water control until their hands cramped, but it didn’t feel like a future.
Chen Miao Miao didn’t dodge it. “I already have some ideas. I’ll try to help you first.”
Fan Gu Zhou handed over the jade spider shells without hesitation.
—
After Song Jiu Lai discovered that the System could issue rewards directly, her mind started turning in the other direction.
If she could send items out… could she pull items in?
They had a contribution system. Spirit stones could be deducted directly by the System. Even from far away, she could access sect resources. But what about physical goods bought outside?
So she posted a task: a player would claim one low-grade spirit stone, buy one blood replenishing pill, and then donate it directly to the sect. The runner would earn one point.
One point wasn’t generous, but this was a test.
The task refreshed on the stone board at the spawn point. Zhou Xiao happened to pass by and picked it up casually.
She was going down the mountain daily anyway—restocking grain, building relationships with the common folk of Wangan County, and gathering information about Yun Zhou Continent. Asking NPCs for intel never hurt.
She’d even gotten friendly with an outer sect disciple from Flying Sparrow Sect who handled purchasing too. Through that connection, she’d learned plenty: Flying Sparrow Sect had outer sect disciples and inner sect disciples. Inner sect disciples were higher in cultivation. Outer sect disciples did most of the chores.
Zhou Xiao bought the blood replenishing pill, turned it in, and the System scanned it.
[Task complete. Reward: 1 point.]
Zhou Xiao was pleased. It was an errand she’d been running anyway.
Song Jiu accompanying Jai, however, nearly laughed out loud in the forest.
If this worked, it meant the players could act as supply relays. She could stay on First Mountain and never go back.
Even Lin Qian was starting to struggle. No matter what, this was First Mountain. first-rank demon beast appeared often, sometimes when you were sitting down to breathe. Pills became routine, and qi replenishing pills didn’t stack—take too many and the returns dulled.
Lin Qian had come for second-rank spirit-boosting grass, but they still hadn’t broken through. Her pills were running low. She’d collected scattered wild spirit herbs instead, each one guarded by demon beast.
Without Song Jiu Lai, she wouldn’t have been able to manage.
Lin Qian asked if Song Jiu Lai wanted to go back.
Song Jiu Lai refused without hesitation.
Back at the sect, she had nothing but management. Here, she had progress—fast, intoxicating progress. And with the System, she could manage remotely anyway.
She was going to stay and grind until her head spun.
At first, she’d wanted to be a slacker. Now she’d gotten addicted. Killing demon beast felt too good. Spirit qi filled faster. Power came faster. She wanted more.
“Junior Sister Song really isn’t going back?” Lin Qian looked surprised, but she didn’t force it. Instead, before leaving, she pressed a second-rank qi replenishing pill into Song Jiu Lai’s hand.
“This is for you,” Lin Qian said softly. “You helped me a lot. Take it as thanks.”
Song Jiu Lai froze, staring at the pill like it was a small, glowing fortune.