Outstanding Performance

Lin Zhiyue was leaning against the backrest of the spirit boat, resting with her eyes closed, when the system screen suddenly vibrated slightly and a prompt popped up.

Without opening her eyes, she simply scanned it in her mind, and then slowly opened her eyes.

【Gentle Reminder: The host has currently collected a total of 9 fashion sets. Only 1 set away from the "Ten Sets" milestone.】

She counted them silently in her mind—Mist-shrouded Verdure, Flowing Fire and Scarlet Stars, Ode to the Frozen Frost, Dragon-Riding Dreamscape, Forest Spirit's Verses, Jinyao Fairy, Sweet and Clever Cook, Flowing Green Satin, and Mermaid's Love Song—it was indeed nine sets.

Only one more set was needed to reach ten. She remembered the system mentioning before that the reward for collecting ten premium sets was the "Perfect Ten · Novice Journey Gift Pack." Since she had advanced it beforehand to cleanse her spiritual root before the disciple selection, she wouldn't receive the same gift pack for this ten-set milestone.

The screen then popped up another follow-up explanation: 【After collecting ten fashion sets, the system will unlock the "Trigger Story Fashion" series. Completing specific story missions will reward you with the corresponding fashion set, eliminating the reliance on card draws.

Each story fashion set comes with an exclusive storyline. Once completed, the set and its skills will be permanently unlocked. Additional note: For every story fashion set obtained, a new permanent set will be simultaneously added to the standard card pool.】

Lin Zhiyue stared at the words "eliminating the reliance on card draws" for a long while.

She had now saved up tickets to the point of becoming a calculating veteran, able to hold out until the very last moment before making her move.

But "Trigger Story Fashion" sounded much more reassuring—completing missions to get rewards meant getting exactly what she put effort into, without having to gamble on probabilities.

Moreover, each set came with its own storyline, and completing it would even unlock a new permanent card pool.

Leaning back in her seat, she digested this information, her gaze falling upon the mountain silhouettes of Tiance Palace gradually drawing closer outside the window.

The twilight had already deepened, and the outlines of the three distant main peaks were lit up with scattered spiritual lamps in the night.

The spirit boat descended slowly. As it passed through the light barrier of the mountain-protecting grand array, a layer of fine golden ripples spread through the air.

Lin Zhiyue followed the crowd off the spirit boat. The night breeze on the White Stone Plaza brushed against her face, carrying the unique fragrance of vegetation from Tiance Palace.

She set off toward the side peak.

By the time Lin Zhiyue returned to her courtyard, the sky was completely dark.

She closed the door, sat down at the table to take a sip of water, and flipped through the items she had brought back from the secret realm.

After completing her inventory, she let out a yawn, planning to tidy up and go to sleep early—tomorrow morning was the "Closing Assembly" of the Northern Realm Secret Realm. The disciples would gather at the main peak plaza, and it was said that sect elders would publicly reward those who performed exceptionally well.

She wasn't necessarily after the rewards, but she couldn't very well stand in the crowd with dark circles under her eyes.

Just as she was about to blow out the lamp, a noticeable stir suddenly came from the system space.

She froze for a moment and swept her divine sense into the space—the egg that had been lying quietly for so many days was gently rocking, and the pale-gold patterns on its shell were several times brighter than before.

With a thought, Lin Zhiyue took the egg out of the space and placed it on the table with both hands.

The eggshell continued to rock on the tabletop, subtle but persistent, as cracks began to spread from the top.

She squatted in front of the table, holding her breath as she watched the crack slowly expand, revealing a tiny patch of white, fluffy fur through the gap.

The eggshell split open mostly. A fluffy white little head poked out from the broken shell, shaking itself wetly. Its eyelids were still closed, its nose was pink and moist, and its ears drooped slightly against the sides of its head.

It struggled a few more times, kicking away the remaining eggshell, and its entire body slid out of the shell. It lay on the table panting softly, its limbs short and soft, its body round and fluffy.

Lin Zhiyue gently picked up the wet little thing and wiped the fluid off its body with a dry cloth.

The little creature curled up in her palm, let out a tiny sneeze, and then slowly opened its eyes—a pair of round, light blue eyes met her gaze innocently. It opened its pink mouth and let out a soft “whimper” that was barely audible.

Lin Zhiyue held it up to the lamp to examine it closely.

White fur covered its entire body, its limbs were short and sturdy, its ears stood up pointedly, and there was a small tuft of silver fur at the tip of its tail.

Its facial features and bone structure did look somewhat like a wolf, but those round eyes, pink nose, and soft, silly demeanor made her feel that calling it a wolf was a bit of a stretch. Instead, it looked more like the white Samoyed puppy her neighbor used to raise in her neighborhood in her previous life.

She turned it over and over under the light for a long while, then gently flicked the silver tuft on the tip of its ear with her finger.

The little thing's ear twitched from the touch. It tilted its head to look at her and let out another soft cry.

Lin Zhiyue pulled it back into her arms. Feeling the warm little ball of fluff rise and fall slightly against her chest with its breathing, she suddenly felt that her previous worries about “what on earth is this thing” were no longer important.

Since it had formed a contract with her, Lin Zhiyue thought about it and decided to give it a name.

“From now on... you'll be called... Yuetuan,” she said, smoothing down the little thing's back fur. “A fluffy little ball, it suits you well.”

Yuetuan nudged her palm, burying its head between her fingers as if searching for a comfortable spot.

Lin Zhiyue cleaned up the broken eggshells, wiped the table clean, and placed the little ball of fluff on a soft cloth she had laid out beside her pillow.

The little fellow curled into a white ball of fluff, its eyes closed and its breathing steady and long, as if it had finally reached a safe place where it could sleep peacefully.

She blew out the lamp and lay down, reaching out to gently touch the tip of Yuetuan's ear.

The little fellow moved in its sleep, nudging its head closer to her, before falling quiet again. Lin Zhiyue closed her eyes, the corners of her lips curving up.

When the morning light covered the White Stone Plaza, the disciples of Tiance Palace were already lined up in neat rows.

The closing assembly was held on the main peak's plaza, where the leading elders and outstanding disciples gathered.

Lin Zhiyue stood in the middle section of the Tiance Palace queue. She had left little Yuetuan in the courtyard, curled up on the soft cloth and sleeping soundly before she left.

She wore a clean, black disciple uniform, with a silver-threaded frog-closure hairpin in her hair, and jade pendants swaying gently by her ears.

She hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, but the morning breeze quickly picked up her spirits.

On the stone platform at the front of the plaza, Xiao Sheng stood in the center, flanked by the elders.

He spoke some polite formalities, which were nothing more than “the Northern Realm Secret Realm has concluded successfully,” “the various sects worked together in unity,” and “the disciples performed admirably.”

Listening from below, Lin Zhiyue calculated in her mind that once the assembly was over, she would go back and practice the first form of the Thousand Mountains Cold Prism Sword Art first.

She was letting her mind wander when she suddenly heard her name called out.

“Tiance Palace's disciples under Venerable Yanchen, Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er, have performed outstandingly in the Northern Realm Secret Realm. Each is rewarded with one thousand mid-grade spirit stones and a passage token for the third floor of the Treasure Pavilion.”

Xiao Sheng's voice rang out clearly over the plaza.

Lin Zhiyue was taken aback, then saw an administrative disciple walking to the front of the queue carrying a tray. On the tray lay two bags of spirit stones and two silver-white tokens, neatly arranged.

The surface of the tokens was carved with the spiritual rune patterns of the Treasure Pavilion, with a dense protective spiritual light slowly circulating around the edges.

Lin Zhiyue and Cen Xi'er stepped forward to receive their rewards, returning to the queue under the envious and congratulatory gazes of the surrounding disciples.

The third floor of the Treasure Pavilion was where Tiance Palace stored high-grade cultivation techniques and rare spiritual artifacts. Ordinary disciples might not get to enter even once a year, and the third floor was only accessible to those who had made significant contributions to the sect.

Lin Zhiyue put away the token and weighed the bag of spirit stones. One thousand mid-grade spirit stones were enough to keep her from worrying about money for a good while.

Cen Xi'er stood beside her, also putting away her token and spirit stones, the corners of her lips curving slightly as she glanced down at the newly acquired dark-gold longsword at her waist.

The two exchanged a look, saying nothing.

The closing assembly continued for another half an hour, honoring several other disciples, before finally dispersing amidst the elders' words of gratitude.

The crowd gradually dispersed from the plaza, with the disciples of Tiance Palace scattering in groups of twos and threes toward the side peaks and the main hall.

As Lin Zhiyue walked out with the flow of people, she remembered that there was still a little white ball of fluff waiting for her to return and feed it in her courtyard.

She stored the token and spirit stones in her space, her steps light as she turned onto the stone steps leading to the side peak.