Chu Tian couldn't possibly have created such a pathway himself. Looking up at the plump young man above, he shouted, “Hurry, get down here! There's an exit!”

Chu Tian understood perfectly well that someone else had already dug this tunnel. What he needed now was for Tu Feng to follow him quickly, or they'd be blamed when the guards outside discovered what had happened. That wasn't a situation Chu Tian was willing to face.

Trusting Chu Tian wouldn’t harm him, Tu Feng carefully climbed down the collapsed path. When he reached the bottom and saw the long tunnel stretching out before him, he gasped. “Big Brother, your skills are unbelievable! You made this tunnel so quickly?”

“Do you think your big brother is a god? This was already here!”

“Already here? What do you mean?”

“You'll see soon enough. Let’s go!”

Tu Feng nodded and followed Chu Tian. Chu Tian was eager to see who had dared to dig a tunnel straight into the Tianxing Sect's spirit stone warehouse. As they emerged from the tunnel, they spotted piles of crates and a man dressed in black.

Chu Tian shouted, “Who are you? You’ve got some nerve stealing from the Tianxing Sect!”

The man was startled by Chu Tian and Tu Feng’s outfits and immediately turned to flee. Chu Tian didn’t bother chasing him. Instead, he smirked at the crates and said to Tu Feng, “What are you waiting for? Start packing up those crates!”

Still in disbelief, Tu Feng scrambled to load the spirit stones into bags. Before long, the crates were nearly emptied, but voices echoed from the tunnel entrance.

“Quick! Chase them down and catch them!”

Chu Tian immediately turned to Tu Feng. “Go to the Tianyun Sect and wait for me there. I'll distract them!”

Tu Feng was filled with gratitude. “But, Big Brother—”

“Stop wasting time! If you stay here, neither of us will make it out alive.”

Realizing his own limited strength would only slow Chu Tian down, Tu Feng gritted his teeth and fled. Chu Tian, meanwhile, stayed back a little longer before taking off in another direction.

Soon, Jin Cheng, a Golden Core cultivator, flew in on his sword and spotted Chu Tian. Enraged, he shouted, “You’ve got some nerve stealing from this sect!”

Knowing he couldn’t outrun a flying sword, Chu Tian stopped and turned around. Just then, the system chimed in.

“Ding! Mystery Quest triggered: Pluck a hair from the tiger. Reward: 50 anger points.”

“What? Pluck a hair? Isn’t this like stealing from a tiger’s mouth? How is that even possible? Unless I use my last life-saving talisman?”

There was no choice now. Jin Cheng was already closing in on him. Chu Tian wiped his face clean, grinned, and said, “Do you recognize me?”

Jin Cheng, initially brimming with anger, froze in shock when he saw Chu Tian. “What? It’s you?”

“Heh, scared now?”

Stolen novel; please report.

Jin Cheng gritted his teeth. “Chu Tian, you’ve got some nerve. Not only did you rob our Tianxing Sect's warehouse, but you dare to flaunt it?”

Chu Tian crossed his arms. “Let me tell you, your Hundred Herbs Hall has already been emptied by me. Soon, every single one of your mines will meet the same fate. As for your sect leader’s daughter, it’s only a matter of time before I toss her onto my bed and teach her a lesson for framing me!”

“You insolent—!”

Seeing that Jin Cheng was too afraid to act, Chu Tian smirked. “What? Scared? Do you want me to turn you into a pulp right here?”

Jin Cheng had heard of Chu Tian’s deeds, including how he had taken down two Golden Core experts before they could even react. Terrified, he tightened his grip on his sword and stammered, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Chu Tian casually walked closer, all the while keeping his trump card—a beginner-grade Earth Immortal Possession Talisman—at the ready in case Jin Cheng attacked. He took full advantage of Jin Cheng’s fear, slowly closing the distance.

When they were just an arm’s length apart, Jin Cheng pointed his trembling sword at Chu Tian. “Don’t come any closer!”

“Relax, Jin Cheng. I’m not going to kill you. I just need you to deliver a message to your young mistress for me.”

Jin Cheng hesitated. “You really won’t kill me?”

Chu Tian nodded. “Of course not, as long as you deliver the message.”

Still wary, Jin Cheng reluctantly agreed. “Fine. What’s the message?”

Chu Tian extended his hand, only for Jin Cheng to block him with his sword. “What are you doing?”

Chu Tian chuckled. “Relax. I just want to pat you on the shoulder.”

Jin Cheng stared at Chu Tian skeptically but allowed him to proceed. Chu Tian’s hand landed on his shoulder, and in one swift motion, he plucked a strand of Jin Cheng’s hair and leapt back, laughing. “See that? You’ve got a white hair already, and you’re still so young!”

He casually tossed the hair aside, leaving Jin Cheng sweating and trembling. “W-White hair?”

“Alright, we’re done here. Go tell your young mistress that Chu Tian will make her pay for framing me!”

With that, Chu Tian turned and swaggered away. Jin Cheng was too scared to give chase.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing the mystery quest. Reward: +50 anger points.”

Checking his status, Chu Tian was delighted to see he now had 55 anger points. “Time to exchange these for something good. But will Jin Cheng really leave me alone?”

Meanwhile, Jin Cheng, still watching from afar, hesitated. “Could he really be that powerful?” Unwilling to risk his life, Jin Cheng quickly retreated.

Seeing that the coast was clear, Chu Tian patted his chest. “That was way too close!”

He then opened the system’s exchange store. Many items were now highlighted, indicating they were available for redemption. With 55 anger points, he considered exchanging for five beginner-grade treasure locator teleportation talismans.

Just as he was about to confirm, the system chimed in. “Items can only be redeemed once per month.”

“What? Once per month? What’s the point of that?!”

Grumbling, Chu Tian scrolled through the store and noticed a sword technique section. For 50 points, he could unlock the first stage of an exceptional-grade Earth-tier sword technique.

“With the Fire Dragon Sword and this exceptional-grade sword technique, my power will skyrocket!”

Excited, Chu Tian redeemed the technique.

“Ding! Congratulations, Host, on learning the exceptional-grade Earth-tier sword technique: Blazing Sword Star, Stage One.”

Chu Tian was amazed. “What? I learned it instantly? This system is amazing!”

He immediately tested the technique with his Fire Dragon Sword. As he executed a move, the blade emitted fiery red sparks, resembling twinkling stars. When the attack landed on a boulder, it exploded instantly.

Chu Tian burst out laughing. “Haha, incredible! An exceptional-grade Earth-tier technique really is something else!”

On the continent of cultivation, techniques were ranked into four main qualities: Earth, Heaven, Mystic, and Golden. Each quality had four sub-ranks: inferior, moderate, superior, and exceptional.

Now possessing an exceptional-grade Earth-tier technique, Chu Tian was ecstatic. With his newfound strength, he could easily face late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators and even challenge weak Golden Core cultivators once he broke through to Foundation Establishment himself.

“Time to head back and figure out how to use these stolen spirit stones to buy some powerful elixirs!”

But upon returning to his sect, Chu Tian was met with an eerie silence. The entire area was deserted, making him wonder if he had arrived at an abandoned sect. Curious, he headed straight for the main hall, only to find the doors tightly shut.

Feeling a sense of foreboding, Chu Tian pushed the doors open. Inside the dark hall, lights powered by spirit stones flickered on, illuminating a young woman dressed in black sitting on the sect leader’s throne, smiling at him.