The Clown Turned Out to Be Me

Hearing this, Xia Wantang lowered her gaze to Xiao Rui.

"It's nothing. I helped you deal with them today, but you'll need to be more careful in the future."

"You have decent talent. This Qi Replenishing Pill should be of help to you."

As she spoke, she took a medicinal pill from her storage pouch and handed it to Xiao Rui.

This was the Qi Replenishing Pill she had obtained from the previous ten-pull draw.

It was of no great use to her anyway, so she might as well use it to do someone a favor and farm some favorability.

Xia Wantang: Hehe, who can still tell Einstein and me apart now?

The host has gained 5 favorability from Xiao Rui. Current favorability: 20. Converted into 50 Faith Points.

The host has gained 5 favorability from Elder Sword. Current favorability: 5. Converted into 0.5 Faith Points.

She had nearly forgotten.

Wasn't Elder Sword Xiao Rui's greatest cheat in the early stages?

She remembered that Elder Sword's soul cultivation was at Spirit Emperor Realm Perfection. Wouldn't that mean he could see through her true cultivation?

That was a little awkward.

Xia Wantang: After all that acting, the clown turned out to be me.

And Elder Sword's cultivation was so high—if she stayed by Xiao Rui's side, wouldn't she be in danger of getting killed at any moment?

Stay calm, don't panic. As long as the host bears no ill will toward Xiao Rui, Elder Sword should not do anything to you.

That was good. That was good.

Come to think of it, Elder Sword was so powerful, yet his favorability-to-Faith-Point conversion rate was only 10%, while Xiao Rui's was as high as 1000%.

She had not expected the gap between their destinies to be so enormous—a full hundredfold.

Naturally. Sons of Destiny are dragons and phoenixes among men, one in ten thousand. There are only a few in the entire Questioning Immortals Realm.

Azure Cloud Palace has more than just Xiao Rui as a Son of Destiny. With such favorable timing and terrain, Host, you must seize this opportunity tightly!

Xiao Rui's favorability is not difficult to farm. You absolutely cannot let this money tree slip away.

Right, Azure Cloud Palace's Holy Son seemed to be one of the ensemble male leads too.

Once she handled tomorrow's matter, it would be time to make her presence known before him as well.

While Xia Wantang and the system were whispering behind their backs, Xiao Rui and Elder Sword were conversing on the other side as well:

"Boy, there is something strange about this Saintess's cultivation."

Hearing this, Xiao Rui grew tense and hurriedly asked:

"Elder Sword, why do you say that?"

"She carries a magical treasure that conceals her cultivation. Her true cultivation is only at the initial stage of the Human Martial Realm."

Xiao Rui's eyes widened.

"What?! Then why is she acting as the Saintess? Could it be... that she too has some unspeakable difficulty?"

"Hard to say. However, this old man did not sense any malice from her. She probably sincerely wishes you well."

Even as he relaxed, Xiao Rui's heart was filled with emotion and helpless bewilderment.

"Her situation is just like mine, treading on thin ice, yet she still gave me a Qi Replenishing Pill."

"We are merely acquaintances who have exchanged greetings. Adding flowers to brocade is easy; sending charcoal in snow is hard. This..."

And the Saintess had even praised his talent!

For four years, Xiao Rui had endured others' coldness and disdain. Other than Elder Sword, he had never heard a single word of encouragement from anyone else.

Even from Ye Yilan, he had received only sympathy and pity.

Did this mean the Saintess thought highly of him?

In the void where no one else could see, Elder Sword stroked his long white beard and sighed.

"Perhaps it is simply due to her kind heart. As a Saintess, she should not lack medicinal pills."

"Since she has gifted this pill to you, accept her kindness."

Only after hearing Elder Sword's words did Xiao Rui raise his eyes and accept the Qi Replenishing Pill. He looked steadily at Xia Wantang, his gaze full of solemnity.

"Xiao Rui thanks the Saintess. I will certainly not disappoint the Saintess's expectations!"

The host has gained 5 favorability from Xiao Rui. Current favorability: 25. Converted into 50 Faith Points.

The host has gained 5 favorability from Elder Sword. Current favorability: 10. Converted into 0.5 Faith Points.

Xia Wantang: What exactly did those two imagine? Something is seriously off about that look in his eyes.

Forget it. It was a good thing overall.

Come to think of it... wasn't a Son of Destiny's favorability supposed to be difficult to farm?

Why had this Xiao Rui's favorability already risen to 25 after meeting her only once?

Could it really be because the author wrote me as too beautiful?

Um... Host, don't overthink it. A favorability score of 25 just means he sees you as an ordinary friend.

Sons of Destiny tend to be highly vigilant. They do not easily place their trust in others.

Besides, favorability is only easy to raise in the early stages. Once it passes 70, it becomes much harder to increase.

Xia Wantang: OK fine, so I was just being self-indulgent.

"No need to thank me. Cultivate well, then. I have matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."

Hehe, she now had more than 250 Faith Points. She could do two ten-pulls, with plenty left over.

With this many pulls, she refused to believe she could not handle the harassment from all those inner disciples tomorrow.

There was plenty of time ahead. Even wool had to be sheared slowly—shear the sheep bald, and there would be nothing left.

Xia Wantang was in no hurry to farm favorability. She intended to take it step by step.

Watching her graceful, enchanting back recede, Xiao Rui could not help swearing silently to himself:

If the Saintess encountered trouble in the future, he would surely help her!

After returning to Quiet Heart Peak, the Saintess's residence, the first thing Xia Wantang did was have the system arrange a card draw.

"System, hurry up, hurry up! I've been waiting so long I'm practically starving!"

Coming, coming! Is the Host planning to go straight for twenty pulls?

"Of course. The point is to live in the moment."

"And with twenty pulls, I'm definitely more likely to pull gold!"

Understood! Drawing... Every ten-pull guarantees an Immortal Grade treasure or above.

Two streaks of purple light flashed through Xia Wantang's mind in succession, followed by the system's voice:

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Spirit Feather Fox Demon Tribe Bloodline (Immortal Grade Sixth Tier), Jianjia Sword (Heaven Grade Fifth Tier), True Essence Pill ×4, Qi Replenishing Pill ×4.

Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: Marrow Cleansing Body Purifying Pill (Immortal Grade Fifth Tier), Purple Firmament Swordplay (Immortal Grade Fifth Tier), Essence Restoration Pill ×5, Energy Augmentation Pill ×3.

"What a pity. No Divine Grade Magic Treasure."

Sure enough, luck could not save the unlucky, and spending could not change one's fate.

Don't lose heart, Host. Even if you drew a Divine Grade Magic Treasure, it might not necessarily be useful. What suits you is best.

The Spirit Feather Fox Demon Tribe Bloodline can be used on the Supreme Yin Demonic Physique. If you draw a more powerful demon tribe bloodline in the future, you can upgrade or overwrite it.

These twenty pulls yielded three Immortal Grade treasures. Among them, the Marrow Cleansing Body Purifying Pill can be used to cleanse and refine your Ice Spirit Root.

After cleansing your marrow, you will be able to cultivate the Purple Firmament Swordplay and the Ice Heart Art!

Work hard today and use pills to assist your cultivation. Getting through tomorrow will not be difficult.

The Ice Heart Art was the cultivation technique practiced by every generation of Saintesses in Azure Cloud Palace.

After Xia Wantang obtained it, she had been completely unable to cultivate it due to her poor talent.

Fortunately, the Palace Lord of Azure Cloud Palace was extremely busy and had never found the time to inspect her cultivation progress.

Otherwise, Xia Wantang would probably have become a wandering soul before the novel had even begun.

At the system's reminder, she immediately took out the Marrow Cleansing Body Purifying Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

What followed was intense pain coursing through every limb and bone.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, Xia Wantang finally woke from the agony and gritted out:

"System, you never told me marrow cleansing and body purification would hurt this much!"

Uh... there was nothing I could do. It's my first time being a system too—I don't have any experience~

Xia Wantang: Get lost!