Seized by the System

In the Draconic Arcane Realm, Tom was shocked, while in the System Space, the System was expressing its disdain.

“Look at you, you’re at your prime, you should be climbing up the career ladder and doing something with your life. Yet here you are, wasting your life away by playing games and reading novels. You’re worse than a three-month-old baby!” fumed the System.

“Ugh, what do you know? If everyone had high aims and soaring aspirations, the world would be in chaos. People like me are important for the world to be in harmony,” said Fang Ning confidently.

“You’re trying to pull the wool over my eyes again. If everyone sunk as low as you, how would society progress and develop?” spat the System.

“Ugh…” Fang Ning was rendered at a loss for words. Now in a sour mood, he threw his novel onto the ground, no longer wanting to read anymore.

“You should have high aims and soaring aspirations too. It’s nothing if you can’t compare to a two-year-old System, but you can’t possibly tell me that you’re even worse than a three-month-old baby right?” jabbed the System.

“High aims… Soaring aspirations… It’s not like I’m delaying the progress of anything significant, right? People are already doing the things that need to be done, and a cunning hare’s burrow has three openings so everything is going smoothly, so what else is there to be done?” asked Fang Ning.

Fang Ning had a habit of finishing all that he needed to do before playing to his heart’s content; just as how a student would finish their homework before playing.

However, now that the System was nagging at him, he immediately felt guilty and he could no longer enjoy himself.

“Setting your goals after looking at the overall situation, shouldn’t that be up to you to consider? Why’re you asking me?” asked the System in dissatisfaction.

“Oh, you’re right, and I actually have nothing to say in response to that,” sighed Fang Ning.

“Now that you know, quickly go and figure out how you’re going to strengthen yourself…” urged the System.

It was obvious that comparing him to a three-month-old baby without high aims and soaring aspirations worked in provoking him. This, however, caused the nearly two-year-old System to feel a tad unhappy.

Fang Ning, on the other hand, was quite distressed; the only person that would be able to compete with this pair of non-humans was that fellow that had apparently started cultivating since he was in his mother’s womb.

He pondered things so much that he gave himself a headache. Out of habit, he had wanted to find someone to talk about things, but he then realized that he was stuck at a dead end.

Zheng Dao was busy with matters big and trivial at the moment, and he was a patient and meticulous man that was proficient at coordination, but he was not the most suitable candidate for long-term planning.

Anderson, on the other hand, was a genius, but they used to be an evil devil. Although they had changed after their death through the spur of love and justice, they should not be trusted much. They could give advice, but playing Kong Ming’s role was just not appropriate for them.

The most important thing was that to Fang Ning, the System was a highly confidential existence that he could not share with anyone. Basically, this was a responsibility he could not entrust another person with.

This was also why the System could not approach anybody else but him about this whole matter.

No longer able to ponder on the situation anymore, Fang Ning complained, “Say, Sir System, it’s not that I don’t want to help you think about it, it’s just that your existence alone is already a big contradiction.”

“You’re once again saying things that I don’t understand. Could you explain yourself better?” groaned the System.

“In short, the best and fastest way for you to become stronger is to live in troubled times. In troubled times, the wicked appear the most frequently. You’ll be just like Black Cat Tom previously, who constantly incited battles and fights so that it could collect Death Energy. However, you’re a chivalrous System so you’ll only need to work towards maintaining the peace of the world. That way, you’ll be able to increase your Chivalry Points and maintain the foundation of your existence,” said Fang Ning patiently.

“Didn’t you have me start fostering malevolent spirits before this? That was a good idea so I’m still fostering them. But, the efficiency’s so low since herbs with the Yin ¹ . Attributes are so difficult to nurture… You need to come up with something similar,” suggested the System.

“Ugh, you actually suggested a good plan. Very well, it would work as a good starting point too.” Fang Ning pondered things for a bit, before an idea popped up in his head and excitement filled him.

“I have an idea. Our Morality City’s predecessor was the Yin Energy Realm, and fortunately for us, we managed to fool the Source of Yin into undergoing Yin Yang conversion that time. Since that’s the case, we can preserve a large piece of Yin Energy Land that can be used specifically for planting herbs of Yin Attribute, which will be used to cultivate malicious spirits. When that time happens, there would be an endless supply of malicious spirits, so wouldn’t you say that it would have a higher price then?” said Fang Ning.

“But what are you going to do about manpower? That would be our base camp, so we can’t exactly get a bunch of ghosts to work for us right? That would be horrifying, and when word gets around, what is going to become of my reputation?” complained the System.

“Uh, you’re actually making a good point. Let me think about it for a sec. The Yin Energy Land isn’t suitable for Yang Attribute living beings, but I wonder if the stone people can survive there? There are too little of them, though… Having them work specifically on farming rare herbs is fine, but there’s definitely not enough manpower for cultivating herbs in large quantities. I should come up with a plan,” said Fang Ning with a frown.

“You better, otherwise don’t even think about going online. Besides, now that I know how you use your generator, I’ll be confiscating it as well,” hummed the System.

“D*mn. As virtue rises one foot, vice rises ten,” grumbled Fang Ning. ²

…

Fang Ning did not take long to come up with a suitable candidate.

He arrived at the Draconic Arcane Realm.

Tom the tiger was lying on the ground, its breath coming out in rapid gasps as it had just brought the young Hong Hu across the Draconic Arcane Realm.

However, this was no big deal. After All, the entire realm was not very big, merely a square kilometer wide.

The main culprit behind its overexhaustion was the constant questions the young girl had; she asked about everything, and her questions were all profound ones too. There were a few times where it almost revealed itself because of her questions. Even the master of the realm, the Venerable White Dragon, was no match for her long-windedness.

It really was true that all women were tigers…

“Thomson, I’ve noticed that you’re covered in black entirely. I believe you’re more familiar with things of the Yin Attribute, correct?” asked Fang Ning as he stood before it.

Tom the Cat was shocked upon hearing these words.

This question was ridiculous. Just because it was “covered in black entirely”, it meant that it was familiar with things of the Yin Attribute?

He should have went to ask Bodhisattva Spirit King, who was the true professional, instead.

There could only be one reason behind him coming to look for it, and that was because the other party already knew its true identity.

There was no denying it; the Death Energy it was most proficient at handling was an energy of extreme Yin.

It was the same for Life Energy, which was an energy of extreme Yang. Yin and Yang existed in harmony with each other, just as life and death did. From the moment of birth, one’s life already contained death.

Therefore, it was more than familiar with matters regarding the Yin and Yang Attributes.

It could not escape either, since the other had given it a tiger saddle.

Even when it secretly turned back into a cat, the saddle would become smaller with it, and it could not remove the saddle no matter what.

It immediately lowered its head and said honestly, “This humble tiger is indeed proficient in matters related to the Yin Attribute. When I was in the Upper Realm, I received the teachings of a mighty being, which dabbled in spirits and monsters, Yin and Yang, and the path of life and death.”

“Oh, how unexpected of you to be a tiger of knowledge, unlike some fellows who know nothing. The situation’s like this—I want to cultivate herbs of the Yin Attribute in large quantities, and I’ve already picked out the perfect place, but I don’t have enough manpower. You have two choices; the first one is to continue accompanying Hong Hu and the second one is to become the owner of that place. What’s your choice?” asked Fang Ning with a smile.

“I pick the second one,” answered Tom without hesitation.

Being a nanny cat for a day was more than enough. If it were to continue, it just might go insane, so the further it could go, the better.

“Hmm, that’s good. Then you hold full authority over this matter. Try to cultivate herbs of the best quality. When the time is ripe, I’ll give you your dividends.” Fang Ning was elated at the course of events.

Tom the Cat had already been bluffed into putting on the “System-bound” saddle by him and Sir System, so Fang Ning was not afraid of it escaping, which meant it was still useful to them.

“Thank you so much for your generosity. If I may, I have a small request.”

“Pray tell.”

“That little grey ant seems to be quite talented in terms of matters regarding the Yin Attribute. Once it returns from the Spiritual Insect Realm, I hope you transfer it back to me,” requested Tom.

“That’s no problem, I’ll have it transferred back to you.” Fang Ning did not know the background of the little grey ant that was good at treasure hunting, so he did not mind the request in the slightest.

If the any wanted to look for new treasure, it would naturally climb out by itself, so there was no need to pay attention to it.