Chapter 7: Bonus Reward, Nascent Soul Realm Cultivation

“Master, rest assured, I will do everything in my power to protect Lingyun Sword Peak.” Li Tianyuan nodded and cupped his hands respectfully.

“Hmm.” Tai Xuan Zhenren responded briefly. After giving a few more instructions, he departed.

Once he was gone, Li Tianyuan turned to Jiang Yueli, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

“All right, girl, from this day forward, you shall be the chief disciple of Lingyun Sword Peak!”

“Yes! Disciple Jiang Yueli pays respects to Master, and vows to guard Lingyun Sword Peak alongside you!” Jiang Yueli knelt deeply, her eyes shining with resolute determination.

“Good, rise now!” Li Tianyuan nodded with satisfaction, gesturing for Jiang Yueli to stand. He smiled warmly, “With me around, no one will dare bully you anymore!”

“Thank you, Master!” Jiang Yueli stood and looked at Li Tianyuan. His eyes were gentle and kind, the smile on his lips bringing her an inexplicable sense of peace.

Since birth, she had never felt such warmth.

Back in the Jiang family, countless eyes had watched her like starving wolves, each one coveting her with fierce envy, wishing to devour her alive.

But now, with a Master by her side, she felt as if she had found a home, her entire heart finally calm.

Li Tianyuan looked at this strong-willed little girl before him. He could deeply sense that her strength was only a surface facade; inside, she was still fragile.

Born into the ancient and ruthless Jiang family, she had been deprived of her innate constitution and destiny from birth, constantly monitored by a powerful Celestial Realm expert to prevent her growth.

It was unimaginable how many hardships she had endured to reach this point.

The bitterness she bore could not be expressed to outsiders.

Just as Li Tianyuan was lost in thought, a system notification sounded in his mind.

[ Ding! ]

[ Congratulations, host, on accepting your first disciple. Task completed. Reward granted: Enlightenment Tea Tree. ]

[ Special rewards: Nine-turn Vitality Pill, Phoenix Essence, Supreme True Phoenix Blood. ]

[ Due to your outstanding performance in this task, you receive an additional reward: Nascent Soul Stage One cultivation level. The reward has been deposited into the system space. Please claim it at your convenience. ]

It has arrived!

Listening to the system’s stream of notifications, Li Tianyuan’s heart blossomed with joy.

Especially the extra reward—it thrilled him beyond measure!

The original owner had been stuck for nine years without progress, his cultivation having fallen to the Yin-Yang Realm. He had been worried about his low level.

But now, the system had handed him a grand gift.

Nascent Soul Stage One—that was two entire realms above his current level.

Though such cultivation might only be average in the cultivation world, for Li Tianyuan at this moment, it was a timely boon!

“Excellent, system, you’re really on point!” Li Tianyuan couldn’t help but praise internally.

[ You’re welcome. Adding bricks and tiles to the host’s overpowered life is the very purpose of this system, ] the system replied somewhat boastfully.

Li Tianyuan chuckled and mused:

“Hmph! That’s small-minded.”

“If you can give me extra rewards, why not just grant me the cultivation of an Emperor, achieving eternal enlightenment, instead of making me take on some troublesome disciple?”

[ Host, your thinking is incorrect—very incorrect! ]

[ Effort equals reward. If you want something for nothing, this system has no authority to generate such rewards. ]

[ Please continue your efforts and recruit more disciples. ]

“Fine! Looks like I’m daydreaming.” Li Tianyuan shook his head.

Even a life that sparkled like lightning and fireworks still required personal effort.

Effort begets reward; there is no free lunch in this world.

The system was right, and he agreed wholeheartedly.

However, his rewards were not merely proportional to his effort.

One effort could yield a hundred or even ten thousand times the return.

After taking in just one disciple, he received treasures coveted by many. What if he accepted more disciples?

At the thought, Li Tianyuan felt perfectly content.

“My disciple, come. I will take you to register at the Sacred Academy. From now on, you will officially join Lingyun Sword Peak and become one of the Lingxiao Holy Land’s own.”

Li Tianyuan called to Jiang Yueli, and the two of them headed toward a distant palace.

Watching Li Tianyuan leave with Jiang Yueli, Yuchi Xingchen and several elders nearby wore complicated expressions.

“Was it worth causing such a commotion just to accept a half-wasted person?”

“Yes, for a little girl, antagonizing the ancient Jiang family like this—Li Tianyuan truly lacks foresight. The sect leader is equally foolish to permit it.”

“Mark my words, judging by how Jiang Heng left just now, the Jiang family will never let this go. I want to see how Li Tianyuan will handle it. Don’t be surprised if we have to step in and clean up the mess later. What a headache.”

The men complained, clearly blaming Li Tianyuan for the reprimands they had received from Tai Xuan Zhenren.

In their eyes, although Li Tianyuan was a disciple of the Holy Land like them, his power was too weak to confront the ancient Jiang family.

To oppose them and forcibly accept Jiang Yueli as a disciple was sheer folly.

“Enough, Elder Yuchi, since the sect leader has made the decision, there’s no need for us to worry.”

At that moment, Du’e Zhenren, head of the Ninth Peak’s Daluo Peak, stepped forward to smooth things over, smiling warmly.

“Du’e is right,” said another Ninth Peak head, Yuxuzi of Taiyi Peak. “This is a trivial matter. Do you really think the Jiang family would dare to make enemies of the Lingxiao Holy Land over a girl?”

“Besides, even if the Jiang family had such intentions, what could they do? Do you think the Lingxiao Holy Land fears them?”

His tone was arrogant, completely dismissing Jiang Heng’s threats.

In his view, no matter how frail Jiang Yueli’s body was, once she entered the Lingxiao Holy Land, she was one of them and no one could take her away at will.

Hearing the two heads speak, Yuchi Xingchen said no more and turned away, sweeping his sleeves as he left.

Seeing the matter settled, the nine peak heads also flew toward the fifth-floor viewing platform. Along the way, several of them chatted with interest.

“Tell me, do you think Jiang Yueli of the Jiang family has some special quality beyond her talent?”

“Special? She’s just born with a defective body, severely lacking in vital energy, and with little lifespan left. I don’t see anything special.”

“I’m not talking about that. I mean, she’s basically a half-waste disciple. The Jiang family should have left her to her fate. Why would they send a Celestial Realm powerhouse to watch over her? Doesn’t that seem odd?”

“That is strange. Could it be that this little girl really has something we haven’t noticed?”

“And Li Tianyuan of Lingyun Sword Peak has seen it, which is why he insists on taking her as his disciple. Otherwise, why would he keep such a burden? Lingyun Sword Peak’s situation isn’t promising right now.”

...

The heads suddenly understood. They exchanged looks, their eyes gleaming with an unspoken meaning.

All were wondering why Li Tianyuan was so determined to accept Jiang Yueli as his disciple.