When Gu Li made it to the Mission Hall, he was waved over by Fu Cao.
“Senior Brother! How about this one? Collect twenty tons of Striped Tiger-Elephant dung. The reward is 200 Merit points! That’s 66 Merit Points each!” Fu Cao excitedly waved a flyer around to attract Gu Li’s attention.
“Open your eyes. That’s 50 Merit Points per person.” Hei Yu inclined his head toward Gu Ying.
“Hello, I am Gu Ying.” Gu Ying brushed the duo off with a cold tone.
“The chubby one in the red robe is Fu Cao. The lanky smoker in the straw hat is Hei Yu.” Gu Li pointed out who was who to Gu Ying. “And Striped Tiger-Elephant dung, really?”
“I tried to kuh, talk, ahem, him out of it.”
“Hey!”
“That doesn’t matter. Besides, you’re both wrong. It’s not 66 or 50 Merit Points each. We have a fifth member to our team.”
“My points! My orgy!” Fu Cao gripped his face with both his hands, and pulled at his greasy hair. “At least tell me our last member is a girl!”
“Hm.” Hei Yu nodded along.
“No such luck.” Gu Li took out his Sect Badge, and showed the message from Quolo Jing.
“He looks just like her!” Fu Cao pulled out his coin, and began flipping it like mad. Every time he flipped it, the coin came up tails.
“We are dead. So very dead.” Fu Cao’s face was awash with sweat. The more he flipped his coin, the paler his complexion became.
“Do we, kufah, have a plan?” Hei Yu lit himself a second cigarette to steady his nerves.
“Yes I do. It’s risky, but if we’re going to curtail this Arrogant Young Master, I’m going to need you guys to talk up my abilities. He practices the Dao of Dreams, same as me. At my level, I can only drag in willing participants into a dream. I have an idea that just might work. For now, grab us a beast slaying mission. You guys read the message that Quolo Jing sent me, we can’t come back unless the little twerp takes out 100 Realm One opponents. We might as well make some Merit Points on the side.”
“Brother Li, how are you going to take care of this?” Gu Ying whispered to him after Hei Yu and Fu Cao had walked away.
“The same way that parents have kept their children in line for century’s.” Gu Li smirked.
He was going to scare the ever living bajeezus out of that little shit!
“This will be good practice for raising children of our own.” Gu Ying smiled.
“Mmhmm. Right. Well, when we’re in the wild, keep your eyes peeled. Even Hei Yu or Fu Cao could betray us if enough benefits are involved.” Gu Li warned.
“Yes! You can trust me to be by your side in the wild!” Gu Ying clenched Gu Li’s arm between her breasts.
“That’s not what I sai-ahem, I never doubted you Little Ying! Ah, he’s here! Okay, let me do all the talking.”
Walking into the Mission Hall, Bei Gei made his appearance. Similar to his sister, he had long, turquoise hair, ultra pale skin, and cerulean blue eyes. He had twin swords sheathed at his waist, and wore an immaculate sky-blue robe with silver highlights.
Gu Li took a deep breath to steady his nerves. It was time to teach this Arrogant Young Master a lesson in trickery!
“Uhm, ah, are you Gu Li? Elder Sister sent me to be toughened up by you?” Bei Gei looked at the ground, and spoke in a small voice.
“That’s right Young Master Bei, I’m Gu Li. I’ll be supervising you until Mistress Quolo Jing is satisfied.” Gu Li lightly bowed.
“Oh-okay. I’ll be in your care.” Bei Gei meekly nodded.
Gu Li blinked. Shit, Quolo Jing was right. This kid really was soft for the times!
Sure, by Earth standards, it was barbaric cruelty to send a child off to experience true wilderness, and brutal killing. However, in a Xianxia world, it was expected for kids in large clans to be ruthless killers!
Should he go back on his plans to scare the child into submission?
Nah! Gu Li couldn’t have a coward, or someone who wouldn’t follow orders in his squad. In some respects, he’d rather be dealing with an Arrogant Young Master.
In Gu Li’s eyes, his current situation was like playing a video game with a skilled asshole vs a whiney coward. Sure, skilled assholes were annoying teammates, but they got the job done as long as you didn’t poke their fragile ego. Whiney cowards on the other hand? Gu Li couldn’t think of a more useless teammate!
Perhaps he could turn Bei Gei into a tool to deal with his annoying boss? At the very least, he was a genius at the age of 13, and a cultivation level of 1.5. He could make for a valuable squad member.
Gu Li nodded his head. First, he would break the young boy, then reforge him into a weapon.
“I can see why your sister has some concerns about you.” Gu Li said in a critical voice.
Bei Gei hunched his shoulders, slightly recoiling at Gu Li’s words.
“However, I’ll see to it that you gain some confidence. To make you a man proud to be called Quolo Jing’s brother.” Gu Li clasped his hands behind his back, and nodded at the young boy.
“I, I, I want to make Big Sis proud!” Bei Gei shouted.
“Good. We both practice the Dao of Dreams, this is partly why your sister chose me. Before we set out, I want to test your mettle.” Gu Li held out his hand.
“Oh yeah, Senior Brother Gu is awesome at dreaming! He can really sleep the day away!” Fu Cao chose that moment to make his appearance.
Gu Li’s eyebrow twitched.
‘Pig teammate!’ Gu Li mentally cursed.
“Ahem, what Fu Cao is saying, Young Master Bei, is that Senior Brother Gu is well versed in the art of parsing unreality. You are in good hands.” Hei Yu tipped the brim of his straw hat at Gu Li.
“Brother Li and I have only entered the dreamscape once together. His foundation is stronger than any other I have seen.” Gu Ying spoke up in praise.
“Come now Young Master Bei, what do you know about clowns?” Gu Li held out his hand. A devilish smirk slowly spread across his face, like oil spilling across the ocean.
----------------------------------------
Mounted on their rented Jioroc’s, Gu Li and company travelled the road for seven days, and arrived at the outskirts of the village.
Over the course of the journey back to Dark Desire Village, Gu Li farmed CP from his squad.
Every day, he would join Bei Gei, and Gu Ying in dream cultivation. Some days, he would experience classic horror. Other days, he would subject them to action packed war dramas, which were a horror all of their own from a certain point of view.
He cultivated between 5 and 8 hours every night, gaining 25-40CP respectively.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t picked up any new spells or skills. However, his [Plasma Bolt I] had increased from 5% to 21% after repeatedly experiencing the pain of being shot. After some testing, he could now manifest two plasma bolts at once with the skill increase.
When he wasn’t cultivating, he would hand out free advice.
“What do you do if you’re caught by the enemy?” Gu Li questioned the group.
“Check my coin.”
“Reveal my Big Sister’s name.”
“Pray for Brother Li’s help.”
“Commit suicide.”
“You’re all wrong! Wait, did you say commit suicide Hei Yu? Ahem, Hei Yu is correct!” Gu Li held up a finger and exclaimed.
“N-no one would have the face to cross my sister!” Bei Gei showed an uncharacteristic trace of anger in his voice.
“Sometimes reputation can sway a kidnapper away.” Gu Li inclined his head.
“However, 9 times out of 10, if you get taken prisoner, your attacker won’t care about your identity! The most common tactic of an interrogator is to hint, or even promise at the chance of an escape.
When you’re bound and weakened, hope is your biggest ally, and largest curse. With hope on your side, you might get lucky, have the attacker get distracted, and slip away. With hope on your side, you may spill all your secrets, only to have your captor break your body, and shatter your soul.”
“Can a cultivator in the Early Realms even destroy souls?” Fu Cao muttered.
“The point is, if you’re captured, and you can’t stall for time or escape, it’s better to self-destruct, than to ruin your chance at reincarnation.” Gu Li ignored Fu Cao, and exaggeratedly nodded his head a couple times to drive his point across.
“I still believe in Big Sister.” Bei Gei muttered to himself.
“Senior Brother knows what’s up!” Fu Cao plastered on a smile, and gave a thumbs up.
[+5CP]
“I, I’ll pray for Brother Li’s rescue!” Gu Ying pursed her lips.
[+5CP]
Gu Li narrowed his eyes. Bei Gei didn’t take his words seriously at all, so he didn’t receive any notification.
Likewise, Hei Yu was already aware of such knowledge, so Gu Li didn’t gain anything. In fact, Gu Li was certain he only received praise from Gu Ying, and Fu Cao.
The Senior Brother System didn’t appear to work on any random tidbit that Gu Li spouted from his mouth. It seemed that the info had to meet some nebulous criteria before awarding him the points.
Still, Gu Li was satisfied with his haul. They were on the outskirts of Dark Desire village, and he had farmed up quite a few CP.
After near endless dialogue during their travels, Gu Li had accumulated 1,295CP.
He decided that before he entered the village, and met any possible foes, that now would be the best time to increase his cultivation level.
Slotting in the 200CP necessary to advance, Gu Li saw a screen with the options “Yes” and “Cancel.” Clicking on yes, 200CP were deducted from his point total.
[-200CP]
After advancing to 1.6, Gu Li felt slightly stronger and faster. Most importantly, his Ki reserves had increased, and refreshed. Before, if he could cast Illusory Palm six times before running out of energy, now, he could cast it eight times.
It wasn’t anything impressive in Gu Li’s eyes, but who was he to complain about an increased capacity?
However, one thing he could complain about was the vast increase of CP required to advance! Looking at his system, it now took 600CP to advance to Realm 1.7, what the hell?!
Shaking his head in anger at his shitty system, Gu Li decided he could advance his level later. While a small increase in Ki and his overall basic stats was important, skill level was equally, if not more important.
After looking at his spells and skills, Gu Li decided to increase his proficiency in Devils Palm. It took the least amount of Ki to execute, and was his most reliable method of attack. At the same time, he would withhold 600CP to advance again.
If he leveled up in the middle of a fight, he could surprise his opponent with an increase in strength, and a rejuvenation in his energy reserves. Hey, if the protagonists could pull bullshit like randomly leveling up in the middle of a fight, Gu Li would do his due diligence, and copy them!
Gu Li smiled; he couldn’t wait to pull off the ultimate “gotcha” move. The look on an opponents face after they had worn Gu Li down, only for Gu Li to surge back with a full tank of Ki. Ah, this was peak schadenfreude!
After a moment of self-aggrandized imagination, Gu Li increased the proficiency of his Devils Palm.
[-490CP]
[Devils Palm I (45%) -> (94%)]
Punching out with an open palm, Gu Li could now cover the vast majority of his palm in dangerous, red-black ki.
His casual thrust created a sonic boom, knocking several birds down to earth.
Gu Li smirked. It had been a little more than two weeks since he transmigrated. He was safely on track to becoming stronger. His dreams of showing the strength of a “weak” genius were beginning to roll into motion.
Opening his system interface, Gu Li checked to make sure everything was in order.
[Name: Gu Li
Realm: 1.6 (600CP To 1.7)
Cultivation Points (CP): 605
Cultivation Manual: Readers Paradise I (92%), Devils Palm I (94%), Basics of Alchemy I (0%), Basics of Herbology I (0%)
Spells: Illusory Palm I (28%), Light Ball I (45%), Plasma Bolt I (21%)
Quests: (Daily 7/10) [Impart Knowledge To A Junior 3 Times | Reward: 5CP]
(Daily 10/10) [Receive Praise From A Junior | Reward: 5CP]
(Daily 2/3) [Guide A Junior In Cultivation | Reward: 25CP]
(Daily 0/3) [Guide a Junior In Crafting | Reward: 25CP]
(Daily 0/5) [Save A Juniors Life | Reward: 50CP]
Shop: (Weapons, Apparel, Manuals, Spells, Elixirs, Talismans, Misc)
Organization: Five Joys Sect]
“666! Congratulations on advancing Senior Brother Gu!” Fu Cao praised.
Although he had met the day’s cap on receiving praise, Gu Li wasn’t so annoyed by Fu Cao’s bootlicking this time. With Bei Gei present, and with the potential of his goons reporting on him, his incremental rise in power would be well documented.
Gradually revealing his progress was just another step in his master plan.
“Okay, enough already, we’re here. Remember the plan, and hide your Sect Badges. For now, we are rogue cultivators belonging to no sect or force.” Gu Li stared down Fu Cao and Bei Gei to make sure they understood.
“G-got it.” Bei Gei timidly replied.
“Why is it always me?!” Fu Cao threw his hands in the air.
“Follow me, and stay quiet.” Gu Li whipped the reigns on his Jioroc, and led the way.
Coming into town was different from the last time. The atmosphere had changed.
Before, many peasants and farmers were out, working the fields. Now, the fields were almost empty.
On one farm, Gu Li spotted an old, stubborn man keep up his work.
Approaching the man, Gu Li held out five spirit stones. “Hail farmer, what do you know about the rumors of an auction house springing up in town?”
The old man was knee deep in mud, and sprinkling rice seeds. His old wrinkly hands placed some seeds back into a basket, he then turned to address Gu Li.
“Ah, more rogue cultivators have arrived in my small town. That’s right. After the inn was damaged, and the inn keep slayed, his nephew, Guan Oh took over.” After answering the question, the man snatched the spirit stones, and returned to work.
“Besides the inn being damaged, have there been any other interesting events in Dark Desire Village?” Gu Li held out another five spirit stones.
“Hm, I don’t know if it would satisfy you, but Guan Oh recently jumped off the cliff at Dark Desire Gorge after his marriage contract was broken. We all thought he was heartbroken from grief, and killed himself. Now that he’s back, it’s as if he was never engaged in the first place.”
Gu Li’s eyebrows rose, stunned at the information he had just received.
“One last question. Was Guan Oh’s betrothed from an important family?” Gu Li pressed.
“Oh, aye. His betrothed belonged to the Five Joys Sect. Her family clan has a member in the Upper Realm! Apparently, Guan Oh’s great grandfather saved the betrothed’s grandfather’s life, so they owed the Guan family a debt. Marriage was the price, only for the woman’s family to cancel on the wedding day. As rogue cultivators, you may not know this, but they’re the local overlords of this area!”
“Many thanks.” Gu Li pulled out fifteen more spirit stones, and handed them to the man. Then walked away.
“Senior Brother, why did you hand out so many spirit stones?!” Fu Cao sputtered.
“Because he sold us valuable information. We learned that: 1) Guan Oh has a grudge with us for killing his uncle, and for his cancelled marriage. 2) Guan Oh fell down to the same place that Li Ping did. After which, he had a change in disposition. And 3) There are other forces in this town besides us.” Gu Li held up one finger at a time as he explained the knowledge that they had gained.
“What, you got all that?!” Fu Cao exclaimed in surprise.
“It keguh, was obvious.” Hei Yu shook his head in derision.
“So, this is what Big Sister meant by “broaden your horizons.” Bei Gei widened his eyes.
Gu Ying smiled brightly at Gu Li.
Gu Li nodded to them. “Right. So given this information, we can assume that Guan Oh does not have a backer, and that he gained a fortuitous encounter down Deep Desire Gorge. Our next step is to observe the situation, and cause chaos. From chaos, opportunity for mischief will arise.”
“We’re with you Brother Li, how do you want to take care of Guan Oh?” Gu Ying questioned; excitement spread colored her voice at the prospect of fighting alongside Gu Li.
“Here’s the plan. Hei Yu, Gu Ying, I want the two of you to speak with other rogue cultivators at the auction house, and incite a riot. Promise them to split the loot, but that you’re more interested in revenge on Guan Oh. If pressed, claim that we’re from the Five Joys Sect, and that we’re here to shut down this illegal operation. Say that we have no desire for their trinkets, and that we’re only here to fulfill a Sect Mission. When their greed surpasses their reason, let the rogue cultivators attack first. Then, Fu Cao, Bei Gei and I will move in from the sides to support.
I’ll enter first with Fu Cao and Bei Gei. You two enter separately. Everyone understands? Okay, let’s go.”
After leaving the fields of the rice farm, Gu Li and company walked down the main street towards the old inn.
On the streets, many vagrant cultivators of all stripes had gathered. In Gu Li’s eyes, they were likely rogue cultivators, drawn to this little village for the auction house. Since they had no force to back them up, acquiring rare, and precious resources was difficult. Auction houses served as a place where they could buy and sell rare items such as medicine, manuscripts, and weapons that otherwise would be unavailable to them.
Fortunately, they all appeared to be Realm One. If the plan turned upside down, Gu Li was reassured that he could take them on, or flee at the very least.
Discretely nodding his head to his compatriots, Gu Li entered the auction house.