The night wind was a bit chilly.
Fang Xuan stood before the disciple room assigned to him.
This small room was located halfway up Sword Peak. It wasn't luxurious, but it was quiet enough, and he rather liked it.
Instead of rushing in, he looked up at the sky.
A dark moon and strong winds—a good night, indeed.
Today, he had completed a historic step: successfully getting Ning Xian to train him, complete with a full-service package of healing and medicine-feeding!
Surely, this beginner's gift package would be generous, right?
System, oh system, seeing how hard he worked today, playing both doctor and spirit medicine porter, please give him something good...
Preferably something that could let him immediately soar to greatness, or at least defend against Ning Xian's world-ending attack later on...
【Daily mission settlement and reward distribution commencing...】
Here it comes!
Fang Xuan's spirits lifted, and his eyes brightened slightly.
【Settlement complete.】
【Newbie mission 'Accept one effective training action' completed. Rating: F+】
【Reward distribution: Newbie Gift Package (unlocked) — spirit buns * 2.】
【Today's cumulative training actions contributed training value: 0.3.】
【Based on training value conversion rate, reward distributed: spirit bun crumbs * 0.06.】
The anticipation on Fang Xuan's face instantly froze.
Spirit... buns? Only two? Plus... 0.06 crumbs?
He incredulously opened the system space with his mind.
Sure enough, two plump, white spirit buns lay quietly in the corner, looking indistinguishable from the buns sold on mortal streets.
Next to them was a small pile of... bun crumbs, barely enough to pinch into a fingernail-sized clump.
Even though he knew these two buns could increase cultivation, the system specifically noted that they 'increase a small amount of cultivation.'
He had toiled all day, risking life and limb, battling green tea, and healing severe injuries.
And all he got in return was... two buns that could slightly increase his cultivation, plus a mouthful of crumbs?
And 0.06 of a bun? That was too insulting...
He was trained too, wasn't he?
Truly, he had never felt such injustice in his life.
He had thought it would be a divine artifact or a powerful cultivation technique, at the very least a few hundred spirit stones.
Two buns, still warm, probably freshly steamed by the system.
“Useless system,” he cursed again.
He actually felt a bit regretful.
Binding himself as a training target was absolutely the most brilliant decision he'd made since transmigrating, bar none.
Always feeling like he was the system's personal target or pawn, and all he got for it was this meager ration?
He entered the room and sat on the bamboo bed.
'Even a mosquito has meat on its bones,' he thought.
He still took one out of the system space.
The bun felt warm and soft in his hand. It smelled... surprisingly appetizing?
He took a tentative bite.
It was soft and slightly sweet, tasting exactly like a high-quality steamed bun, even more fragrant and moist than ordinary ones.
But then, a surge of pure spirit energy flowed down his throat, rapidly dispersing throughout his limbs and bones, finally converging in his dantian.
This spirit energy wasn't vast, but it was exceptionally pure.
It almost didn't require refining; it naturally merged into his own cultivation.
After finishing one bun.
His cultivation, already at Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, subtly loosened its bottleneck under the impetus of this spirit energy.
His cultivation steadily advanced a small step, reaching the 'Half-Step Void Core' level.
(Realm divisions: body tempering, qi refining, foundation establishment, Void Core, golden core, nascent soul, transformation).
“Hmm?” Fang Xuan froze for a moment, then quickly inspected his inner self.
His cultivation had indeed risen a notch, and his foundation was solid, without any hint of instability.
He quickly devoured the remaining bun. The same sensation reappeared, and his cultivation solidly grew another small increment, firmly establishing him at the 'Half-Step Void Core' level.
The effect was actually pretty good, which surprised Fang Xuan.
Boosting cultivation without bottlenecks—this effect was truly heaven-defying.
While the increase from a single bun wasn't enormous for his realm, its advantage lay in having no side effects, and the cumulative effect would be considerable.
He then picked up the “0.06 spirit bun crumbs,” hesitated for a moment, then tossed them into his mouth.
The taste was the same, but the quantity was too small; the spirit energy felt negligible.
He smacked his lips, and the resentment in his heart subsided ever so slightly.
But thinking about reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, Transformation Realm, or even higher, how many buns would that take?
How many times would he have to be Ning Xian's 'training target' to earn enough?
He sighed helplessly, walked to the window, and pushed open the small bamboo lattice.
Cool night air poured in, accompanied by the rustling of bamboo leaves.
Outside the window, moonlight streamed down like water, illuminating the swaying bamboo shadows. The scenery was indeed serene and elegant...
...................
The Qingyun Sect, where he resided, was located in the Southern Wilderness of this world.
This region was far from the prosperity of the Central Plains, abundant with towering mountains, dense forests, and deep marshes—a land overrun by demonic beasts and treacherous locations.
Precisely because of this, the Qingyun Sect could dominate here. Its disciples constantly battled demonic beasts, their combat abilities were generally strong, and the sect's overall style leaned towards ferocity.
In the original novel, this place later became the final 'dungeon' where the female lead, Ning Xian, pursued the dao of eternal life by refining all spirits.
A place chosen by her as 'material' would naturally possess considerable quality and quantity of spirit veins, demonic beasts, and even cultivators.
At the very least, his own Fang family, despite its power, would never willingly launch a frontal assault on such a formidable sect rooted in a dangerous land.
Fang Xuan mused that, for now, moving around and investigating within the sect with his direct disciple identity shouldn't be a problem.
His current identity was that of Sword Peak's peak lord's newly accepted direct disciple. He had only seen that peak lord once from afar during the initiation ceremony.
Later, he was merely summoned, asked a few simple questions, bestowed some basic resources and an identity token, and that concluded his discipleship.
He had discreetly inquired and learned that this peak lord seemed to have a good evaluation of his talent and character, but that was all; no special attention was shown.
That was fine too; lie low, stay hidden, and observe how things unfolded.
According to the original plot, the next period would be when Ning Xian was gravely injured and bedridden, silently enduring humiliation and pain.
Until soon after, during a sect mission, Shen Qingqing would cause trouble again, slandering Ning Xian as 'still harboring ill intentions,' attempting to poison her and destroy her newly transplanted spirit bone.
The reason was also ridiculous.
Someone whose cultivation had plummeted to rock bottom and hadn't recovered from severe injuries supposedly wanted to murder a junior sister who was showered with resources and at the peak of her strength.
Yet, inexplicably, everyone on Sword Peak, from the biased master to most of the fellow disciples, actually believed it!
Or rather, they were willing to believe.
Thus, Ning Xian faced another round of blows and torment.
It was absurd, but such was the logic of an angsty novel world...
Fang Xuan shook his head.
He needed to think about how to break this situation, or perhaps... how to use this opportunity to gain another wave of favor.
And incidentally, see if he could advance the training progress.
Of course, the prerequisite was to ensure he didn't get dragged into it himself.
Otherwise, he'd have no choice but to reveal his identity as the young master.
To make a group of people furiously slap themselves and say, 'I was blind and foolish.'
Snapping back to reality, feeling the cool night wind, Fang Xuan suddenly thought that, putting aside the system missions and future crises, this little place was actually quite nice.
He didn't seem to have any grand ideals.
Fighting and killing, conquering the world—all that sounded exhausting.
At his core, he was still a modern person who yearned for comfort.
Busying himself, eventually living a comfortable life, never lacking resources, never provoking anyone, and occasionally... ahem, appreciating beautiful things—that would be just fine.
For instance, Ning Xian's remarkably fair legs under the moonlight...
He'd never seen such perfect jade feet; they were truly a captivating sight.
“Hahh...”
He stretched with a big yawn; a day's fatigue seemed to wash over him.
He closed the bamboo window, walked back to the bed, and lay down fully clothed.
The bamboo bed was a bit hard, but very refreshing.
“Well, it is what it is...”
He pulled the thin quilt over himself, closed his eyes, and mumbled, “Time to sleep.”
Tomorrow, he still had to attend the formal discipleship ceremony and, incidentally, see if he could gather more information on Sword Peak.
Forget about a four-dishes-one-soup meal; with a little more effort, maybe he could manage three buns.
As his breathing gradually steadied, Fang Xuan drifted into slumber.
In his dream, Ning Xian's fair legs seemed to sway, and warm buns flew through the air...
Rate on N.U.
