Chapter 373: Cross-Sect Hired Gun

Liang Xueyao was so exhausted that after handing the Magic Treasure to his system, he immediately logged off.

He had originally thought refining it would go smoothly.

Unexpectedly, the process of refining this Magic Treasure was much more difficult than he had imagined.

After successfully refining it, Liang Xueyao capitalized on the momentum and broke through to Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

And the Magic Treasure he had created now appeared in Song Jiulai’s hands.

Song Jiulai looked at it for a moment, then suddenly fell silent.

"System, don’t you think this thing looks like—"

"It looks like a drone."

"..."

It really did look like a drone, except this one was made entirely of jade.

It resembled a small drone, with a protruding device on its undercarriage that had five small holes.

Song Jiulai quickly learned what this Magic Treasure could do.

When used, it would expand several times in size, fly into the sky, and then spin continuously, firing Spiritual Energy Needles at everyone around it.

It was like an armed drone, and the Spiritual Energy Needles that emerged from the small holes corresponded to the Five Elements.

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.

And its—attack speed was unbelievably fast!

Furthermore, it attacked in five directions. Aside from those who could fly, it could basically suppress any Cultivator on the ground.

Moreover, since it was Earth Grade, the added effect of the Dragon Breath Spirit meant it could even be considered a Heavenly Grade Treasure!

"This is incredible. It must have been inspired by a drone, right?"

Song Jiulai couldn’t help but marvel, "His talent for Artifact Refining is off the charts. As expected, a pinnacle player for each discipline always emerges from the player base."

And the one thing they all have in common is that they arrived early.

Just like how Chen Miaomiao is skilled in Alchemy, now there’s someone for Artifact Refining. So what about Beast Taming?

Song Jiulai thought of Zhan Sheng from the Taixue Sect and Su Daqiang, who could understand the speech of spiritual beasts.

It seemed her Sect truly had a promising future.

Song Jiulai put away the Magic Treasure and mused, "With two Heavenly Grade Treasures, I won’t feel much pressure even if I run into someone at the Golden Core Stage. But I also need to break through to the Golden Core Stage as soon as possible. I can feel it’s getting close."

Reaching the Golden Core Stage meant officially facing a Tribulation and being struck by heavenly lightning.

And one would get a premonition beforehand.

Song Jiulai had to find an absolutely safe place.

But where in the Dragon Frost Swamp could she find an absolutely safe place?

Song Jiulai suddenly had a brilliant idea. "During the Tribulation, the lightning targets me, right? Do you think you could instantly teleport me somewhere else right as it’s about to strike? It doesn’t have to be far. If you just shift my position a little, wouldn’t it miss me?"

System: "My, what a little genius you are. Isn’t this the perfect time to temper your physical body? Why don’t you try taking a hit first and see how it goes."

Song Jiulai: "Are you even human?! You’re telling your own host to get struck by lightning!"

System: "I was never human to begin with. You aren’t even old, so how are you already going senile?"

"..."

The more the system interacted with players, the harder it became for Song Jiulai to win an argument against it.

"Forget it." Song Jiulai stroked her chin. "I’ll just try everything when the time comes."

Speaking of the players, Zhan Sheng’s conduct in the Taixue Sect was not as high-profile as one might have imagined.

Naturally, possessing a Metal Spirit Root, she did not disappoint. In a place like the Taixue Sect, with its incredibly dense Spiritual Energy, and adding her own aptitude for comprehension...

Even though she was one of the later players to arrive, she had already reached Mid-stage Foundation Establishment and was rapidly approaching the Late Stage.

Furthermore, according to Elder Lü Zhu’s assessment, she had considerable talent in Beast Taming. It was estimated that she would reach the Golden Core Stage soon, within a year at the latest.

It was simply because her talent was too astounding. Having a Metal Spirit Root was one thing, but her aptitude for comprehension was also exceptionally high.

Once she entered the Golden Core Stage, she would gain the ability to explore the Great Thousand Worlds.

According to her senior sister, Chu Qi, once she reached the Golden Core Stage, she could officially leave the Taixue Sect to venture out and gain experience.

Furthermore, when she was away from the sect, she was to announce her affiliation with the Taixue Sect and was strictly forbidden from concealing her identity.

After all, the Great Thousand Worlds were far too dangerous. If she didn’t announce her backing, there would always be some reckless Cultivators looking for trouble.

Zhan Sheng was in no hurry, however.

Aside from continuing to learn more about this world, she had no plans to venture out before reaching the Golden Core Stage—after all, she still had two people keeping a close watch on her.

When she had chosen the Fire Crow Beast, she had offended two disciples of Elder Dan Qiu, Elder Lü Zhu’s rival.

Wei Heng and Mi Qiao.

The two of them had been at Late-stage Foundation Establishment back then; now, both had entered the Golden Core Stage.

With the powerful resources of the Taixue Sect to support them, very few disciples encountered problems when breaking through from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Golden Core Stage.

Zhan Sheng had run into the pair several times within the Sect.

The way they looked at her always made her uncomfortable. All because of a minor squabble over choosing a spiritual beast, these two incredibly petty individuals had clearly set their sights on Zhan Sheng.

Even though she was Elder Lü Zhu’s disciple.

Zhan Sheng had once tentatively asked Chu Qi if she should report the matter to their Elder.

She wanted to use this to gauge the Taixue Sect’s style of handling things.

In response, Chu Qi had said, "Junior Sister, I know you must be worried, but we have no proof. If we report this directly, knowing Master’s temperament, they would certainly intervene and warn those two for you. But then, those two would only need to deny having any such intentions, and we would be the ones put in an awkward position within the Sect."

Although Chu Qi was young, she understood a thing or two about interpersonal dynamics.

Zhan Sheng understood.

After all, her previous life had basically been a corporate workplace.

As long as the other party didn’t make a move, it could all be dismissed as her own paranoid fantasy.

Others in the Sect would look down on her, and might even question Elder Lü Zhu’s judgment in choosing a disciple.

So Zhan Sheng said nothing more about it.

She focused on caring for her Fire Crow Beast.

The Fire Crow Beast she had chosen was originally only a mere First Rank, but it had now reached the Second Rank. As for the Third Rank, it was hard to say.

Most importantly, Zhan Sheng discovered that it was indeed different from other beasts.

It had a very arrogant temperament.

After getting familiar with Zhan Sheng and realizing she spoiled it, it started to take advantage of her kindness.

Zhan Sheng didn’t try to tame it the way one would a pet. The Fire Crow Beast was sapient and would only grow more intelligent as its rank increased; treating it like a common pet would be counterproductive.

She didn’t reprimand the Fire Crow Beast, either. She realized it was even more intelligent than other spiritual beasts, which explained its exceptional arrogance, and she figured out just how to handle it.

She crafted a few toys from modern society with her own hands.

A Nine-Section Ring and a Magic Cube.

After making them, she demonstrated them once in front of the Fire Crow Beast. "Think you can do it?"

At first, the Fire Crow Beast was disdainful.

But then it found them interesting. When it tried with its claws and couldn’t figure out the patterns, it got so angry that steam started puffing from its nostrils.

That’s right. Zhan Sheng was using modern logic puzzles to torment an Exotic Beast from the Cultivation World.

She didn’t care whether the Fire Crow Beast could actually learn to solve them or not. In any case, this method made the beast noticeably less restless when it was around her.

Until one day, she received a task.

Chu Qi came to tell her, her face fraught with worry. "Junior Sister, the Sect just issued a task to capture a Fourth-rank Spiritual Beast. The new disciples are required to go, and the one leading the team is Wei Heng."

This meant leaving the Sect.

Which meant danger.

Zhan Sheng, however, didn’t seem too worried. "I understand, Senior Sister. You’re about to undergo Core Formation yourself, you don’t need to worry about me."

She sent a private message to someone.

Zhan Sheng: [Qing Guo, how’s your cultivation coming along?]

Qing Guo: [It’s okay. I just barely reached Late-stage Foundation Establishment.]

Zhan Sheng: [Are you available for a cross-sect mercenary gig?]

Qing Guo: [Not against anyone above Mid Golden Core Stage.]

After all, their Sect Master had a Spiritual Liquid that could forcibly raise a person’s cultivation by a full Realm.

But one had to apply to purchase it.

Zhan Sheng: [Two at the Golden Core Early Stage.]

Qing Guo: [OK!]