Inside the storage room, Wang Yunfan could finally turn off the system after a full hour of reading through the 'website' and trying to find as much information as he could. The other quests beside the one he's doing were all locked, so he couldn't see them. The side quests were mostly locked, but there were a few that were available for him to complete; however they weren't as important nor time sensitive. The Status section consists only of five different coloured bars. The orange bar has an exp beside it, so it was probably an exp bar. However the rest didn't have any writings next to them, so he was quite clueless about that part—although he's pretty sure the blue one is something like a mana bar.
There were also rules that the system had failed to mention, probably because it was written there under the bullets in extremely tiny text.
'Note: Dear customer, to have the full experience of the Omega Program, Customer is advised to:
· Keep at least 60% of the cast alive
· Not obstruct the main character's development
· Avoid revealing anything about the program, system, nor this customer's true identity.
If any of these requirements are not met, the program would immediately end as GAME OVER. Thank you for customer's notice. Enjoy the Omega Program!'
'Enjoy' my ass! How can I enjoy something like that! And why is the bottom text so small? What if I didn't see it? I would have died!
The first requirement was understandable in a sense, since more than 70% of the characters were all destined to die, especially so if they're male. However it is extremely absurd to think that he can keep them all alive by himself.
For the second one, it was doable. It just means that he would have to follow the plot, right? Just until the point where he 'dies' and he would be able to live in peace after!
As for the third one... really, this system! Even if he did tell, none of these people would ever believe him. They would just think he had some kind of God complex if he claimed that he was their creator or even label him 'crazy' for talking about 'systems' and 'programs'.
Immediately after he turned off the system, everything became dark again. His poor, tired eyes had to adjust to the darkness, so for a full second there he was blind. But then he noticed something red on his lap...
AH! Jing Zhilian's uniform!!
Wang Yunfan immediately grabbed the set of clothing and rushed outside. Really, what kind of 'parent' was he to forget about a child? He couldn't believe he'd left him in the tub for an hour; which was certainly not good.
Wang Yunfan speed walked along the hallway and as soon as he turned into a corner, a small, naked figure jumped into him. In that split second, Wang Yunfan reflexively shielded the figure with his long sleeves before others could see. And as the cloth fully dropped to the ground, he saw another three, albeit fully clothed and dirty.
"W-Wang Shifu!" the three exclaimed in unison, their faces were that of shock as they scrambled to greet their master. Not because they saw who the figure was, but because how their master 'embraced' the 'water ghoul' like a mother bird protecting its eggs.
Wang Yunfan stared at the three, and then the semi wet sheet, then the child in his embrace. By doing so, he could roughly guess what had occurred and suddenly felt a sense of dread. This situation was definitely his fault for being too immersed in the system and he has to fix it ASAP; or else, he might meet his end earlier than planned!
With a cold, domineering stare, he asked the three.
"What are you three doing here and why are my halls covered in dirt?"
The trio gulped. The two younger disciples didn't answer out of fear and even looked at Xue Minglan pleadingly to answer for them. This was quite a common occurrence around the group. They would only be brave in a hoard and if they feel cornered, they hug the thighs of the eldest disciple, which happens to be Xue Minglan.
Of course, as any normal human, Xue Minglan wasn't too happy about it, but the chances of him being forgiven by the master is usually higher than others as he is favored, so he'd always end up explaining things. Occasionally he could push the blame to the trash, Jing Zhilian, but blaming him right now seems like a stretch.
"Shifu, we come to return the tras—ehm... Jing Shidi's belonging...b-but on the way we saw a water ghoul lurking around so we chased it! We didn't realize we dirtied your home... This disciple begs for forgiveness!" Xue Minglan explained as he bowed, hands still clasped. The other two followed suit, even repeating the last line in unison.
To this, Wang Yunfan mentally sighed. Just what has the A-hole Wang Yunfan been doing during his time as a 'peak master'? Has he ever taught? He didn't believe so, oh no. All lessons weren't exactly written in the original novel, they were only used as time indications and were mostly skipped to his convenience.
Determination filled his head. Other than keeping Jing Zhilian on track while making sure he's happy, he'd also have to educate these children and plump them up to be intelligent bodyguards loyal to him! Ah, but then again, he has to keep them alive to meet the system's requirement...
"A water ghoul? Here? In my residence without me knowing? Do you take me as such a neglectful person? Or perhaps a weak one? Remember, there are arrays around the sect, so as long as it's not a high cultivation demon; it won't be able to pass our defenses. This is why rather than hiding your shidi's belongings, it would be more productive to cultivate or learn the place you're doing it in."
"Yes Master!" The three replied. Afterwards, Xue Minglan stepped up to hand over Jing Zhilian's 'treasure' to which Wang Yunfan took with his free hand.
Looking at the round object, it seemed more like a wooden golf ball rather than a marble. Weighing it in his hand, the wooden marble was also quite heavy. If anyone else did the same, they would most likely think that it is one hundred percent dense wood. However, unknown to the rest of this fantasy world, Wang Yunfan knew what lies behind the wooden shell and it was something incredibly important to both prove Jing Zhilian's heritage and improve his demonic cultivation later on.
Wang Yunfan, "You three may leave. If you've completed your task, go clean yourselves up and study about our sect. And I'd also have to inform you that I'll be in closed cultivation for roughly a week."
Xue Minglan timidly asked, "Erm... What about that shifu?" He pointed towards the figure Wang Yunfan was shielding, "Is it... dangerous? What is it? Can we have a look?" he asked as he took a step forward.
Wang Yunfan tightened his embrace as he frowned in disapproval.
"It's just a lost fairy. Go and do as you're told."
The three immediately stopped in their tracks, straightened their backs, and left without a sound.
Was I too harsh on them? Maybe I should be a little more kinder...
Wang Yunfan thought before shoving the set of clothing to his little disciple without a single glance.
"Here. If you need any more sets, feel free to raid the storage room. Go change. Afterwards, you can go cultivate."
He commanded before shoving the boy into another room to change. If he didn't have the self control of a near immortal, he would have jumped into the room and dived into the bed to rest. A full hour of staring at a dead white screen in a pitch dark room wasn't the best (most likely because A-hole Wang Yunfan's eyes weren't accustomed to twenty first century habits)and he was pretty sure he had lost more brain cells trying to communicate with the system, who'd often glitch or not even answer to him. This leaves many concerns for his safety during the 'program'.
As for the week in seclusion... that was necessary to re-master everything from wielding Bianhua to spells, arrays, talismans et cetera. He'd also have to read about this world. Whether it's about history, sacred beasts, demonic beasts, demons, and even other sects, he has to read them all for good measure. It would be interesting anyway, so he didn't mind having to speed read everything in the duration of a week.
Why a week, you would ask? Well that's because the cheap, knock off system had to put it as a timed quest, which would only give him about a week to accomplish. At first, he wasn't sure if he could do it, but then it just occurred to him that advanced cultivators didn't need as much sleep nor food as a normal human does. So cutting down sleep and eating, he was quite confident that he could finish on time. He just hoped that the next quest didn't require immediate action after that...
Before he could head back to his room, he heard the door behind him sliding open. Wang Yunfan turned to look around and found his disciple, all clean and dry and adorned in the sect's simple, but beautiful uniform. His skin was clear and fair, and his dark brownish hair glistened as light made its way there.
Seeing this, Wang Yunfan was certainly proud. From a beat up street puppy to a refined young master, even the air surrounding the boy seemed different. If he had a camera right now, he'd surely be one of those overly excited parents on their children's first day at school. This made him wonder if the system had a camera function...
Silently, Jing Zhilian stared at him, seemingly troubled at what to do.
Instead of forcing him to show deep appreciation or gratitude, Wang Yunfan stretched out his hand; which had the marble, to give it back to his young disciple.
"Don't lose it again."
He warned, his tone neither condescending nor concerned. With another hand, he reflexively patted the boy's head once and left to his room, leaving a speechless Jing Zhilian.
...
Today was certainly a confusing as well as a tiring day for Jing Zhilian. His master acted beyond weird, which hurt his brain and on top of that, he almost got caught running around naked in front of his shixiong. If it weren't for his master he'd...
Jing Zhilian roughly shook his head to dismiss the thought. There was no way his master would suddenly protect his dignity out of the blue, when his overall experiences of humiliation for the past year had him as the cause. Surely his master wanted something from him, so he decided to treat him nicely. What his master wants, he didn't know and frankly he didn't care. Whatever he wants, he wouldn't give it to him that easily.
But then a thought came to mind. His master changed so drastically towards him and it wasn't a secret that his kindness to others is only for his personal gain, and he knew his master would always get what he wants. Like Bianhua for an example. Be it using dirty tactics or patiently kissing up someone's ass, his master would always obtain what he desired.
He suddenly smiled to himself. In this situation, he was sure his master would use the latter technique. It'd be like investing in him. His master would be kind to him just long enough to build a sense of gratitude and then subtly ask for something in return. Since Jing Zhilian had nothing to his name, he was pretty sure his master wanted his services. But that's fine, he thought. This could be a good thing! So before that period of kindness passes, he'll have to make sure to take full advantage of it.
.
.
.
A week had passed by as if it was a blink of an eye. In full truth, Wang Yunfan did enjoy his experience of relearning the spells and martial arts. It was fun, yet grueling, but still worth it in the eyes of a normal, powerless man from earth. Thankfully he could learn it fine with the help of both the A-hole Wang Yunfan's memories and Bianhua.
He was especially grateful for Bianhua. In his time in training, he felt that he was being guided. He didn't know what, but about a couple of days in, he was sure it's Bianhua. The legendary weapon didn't speak much, but it helped him throughout his training and it was surprisingly easy to use—that is, if one manages to meet its worth.
'Re-master Skills: Quest Complete!'
'Quest Rewards: The Immortal Demon Path Bestiary, +600 Exp'
'New Quest Unlocked: Evolve the Main Character'
Wang Yunfan felt proud for completing the quest on time, but before he could even celebrate, a new quest unlocked. And much to his disdain, the time limit was two days...
AHH! What the f*ck system?! Let me rest for a moment!
A visible vein popped on Wang Yunfan's forehead as he glared at the bright screen. If the quests are going to be like this, then he'll sure as hell be tired for the rest of his short life. As for the rewards, he didn't get anything like 'The Immortal Demon Path Bestiary' anywhere and the exp was probably as useless and nonexistent anyway, which adds to his irritation and fatigue.
During the week of re-learning nearly everything, he didn't sleep and barely ate. His spiritual powers also decreased a lot, since there were so many to re-learn and with him as the host, there were a handful of trial and error. The backyard in which he practiced his fire spells in had already been charred by him; unintentionally of course. Other techniques he had to practice more, because they didn't correspond to his fire element spiritual vein and Bianhua piled up more tasks for him to do by forcing him to master each of its eight forms of weaponry. It was safe to say that he's pretty much drained!
Wang Yunfan let out a tired groan as he shut off the system. There was nothing he could do to alter or extend the time limit and if he didn't do it, there's a high chance that the Program would really kill him.
Seeing as he was powerless, he decided to resign to his fate.
A few replenishing magical pills, a warm medicinal bath, and some self reassurance was all he need to get up and go out—which was actually a lot more than stated. However as a golden child peak lord, he had many ways of gaining and regaining magical pills for absolutely nothing, so he had an abundance of them in his interspacial ring. As for the medicinal bath however, it was something that his shixiong, Gu Bolin had concocted himself which he had given his xiao shidi a long time ago when he became peak lord. The A-hole Wang Yunfan just never actually used it or discovered its potential.
However, the powder of medicine that Gu Bolin gave wasn't very much and he found the jar almost empty. The effectiveness of the medicinal powder was worth more than gold! Even as he helped wash Jing Zhilian, the little bit of medicinal water that made contact with his wounds healed in less than a day. And that was saying a lot, because his hand was injured by a legendary weapon, which would usually take longer to heal.
Gu Bolin... that man is really something...
He thought to himself proudly. He was, after all, the one who created the aloof healer. Now he just has to find a way to get more of that powder, which he knew would be difficult.
Wang Yunfan walked out of his residence and told one disciple to gather the rest of his disciples who were above the age requirement to enter the mountain. His quest had already started ticking, so despite his fatigue, he really must be going.
As the system stated: 'Evolve the main character', he was sure that it meant unlocking the first half of Jing Zhilian's demonic blood. The time stamp was also accurate, since it was around this time he'd have to unlock his powers.
Faintly, he remembered writing about the event. If his memory was correct, the A-hole Wang Yunfan had brought about half of his disciples to Beast Mountain, the mountain at the back of the peak where many types of sacred and demonic beasts lurk. Then for some reason he decided to leave his disciples unsupervised, leading to a fight between the other disciples and Jing Zhilian. Then somehow Jing Zhilian ended up in the dangerous zone of the forest, which Wang Yunfan remembered was caused by Xue Minglan. Then with the cliché trope of the protagonist being cornered and unlocking his power yada yada yada, a boom of spiritual power suddenly blew up and alerted the whole mountain. Afterwards, he remembered that both Jing Zhilian and Mo Chou was badly injured and Xue Minglan became the first person to taste Jing Zhilian's innate powers.
Yeah... that was it... right?
He was sure that was how it went, but he couldn't help but feel like as if he was missing a detail.
In the middle of recollecting his thoughts and memories, the same disciple came up to him. "Master," He saluted respectfully, "Your disciples have all assembled."
"Mn," Wang Yunfan nodded, "Thank you."
For a second, that disciple looked at him with wide eyes before silently returning to his line.
In front of Wang Yunfan were now filled with children ranging from twelve years old to fifteen. They all looked either scared or expectant. Xue Minglan still had a confident expression as he stood straight in the front row as how a model student would, while Jing Zhilian stood in the back, head hung rather low.
A-Lian, what's wrong, ah?
Was he upset? Did the others bully him again? He didn't know and it's becoming even more difficult to think of a way to keep him happy. Wang Yunfan mentally sighed before lifting his head to face his disciples.
"LianHua Peak Disciples!"
"Yes master!" They all clasped their hands and answered in unison.
Seeing this, the corners of Wang Yunfan's lips subconsciously lifted up into a crooked smile, sending shivers down their spine.
"We're going on a field trip!"