Strongman Assistance System

"Let him die, then. He squanders money all day, and now he's even become a womanizer."

A strange, shrill woman's voice came from inside and outside the room.

"Shut up. What nonsense are you spouting? If he dies, how am I supposed to answer to my benefactor?"

A middle-aged man spoke in a deep, resonant voice, his tone tinged with anxiety.

This was Chen Manor, the residence of the Chen Family, one of the Four Great Families of Tianchen City.

The people speaking were the family head, Chen Zhengqing, and his wife, Liu Yingxue.

"Where is this? Am I dreaming?"

Inside the room, Yang Lingtian lay on the bed, still in a daze as a wave of pain stimulated his nerves.

Yang Lingtian remembered that he had been obsessed with fantasy novels and had gone five days and five nights without sleep.

He had watched the protagonists in those novels roam the heavens, grasp mountains and rivers in their hands, and shatter the starry sky.

The entire world prostrated itself beneath their feet as they looked down proudly upon the Nine Heavens.

His heart had surged with excitement, and then everything had suddenly gone black before his eyes. He had even felt as if he had seen his great-grandmother.

When his consciousness awoke, he found himself in this utterly unfamiliar place.

Then, piece after piece of memory flooded into his mind. This was a world called the Shenwu Continent.

He had possessed the body of a wastrel who was also called Yang Lingtian.

Yang Lingtian looked around. Having inherited his predecessor's memories, he knew that the people before him were his adoptive father and adoptive mother.

When his predecessor had been very young, his parents had handed him over to Chen Zhengqing for some unknown reason.

His predecessor had grown up in Chen Manor, though his temperament was rather unruly.

After growing up, he often frequented gambling houses and spent his days eating, drinking, and playing around.

Everyone called him a wastrel and a good-for-nothing, but he remained unmoved and continued doing exactly as he pleased.

"Who would've thought I'd possess the body of a good-for-nothing."

"But now that I've come here, I'll become strong—become the strongest and look down proudly upon the Nine Heavens."

"So what if my predecessor was a good-for-nothing? I'm the one in control of this body now. My fate is mine to command, not Heaven's."

At that moment, a voice rang out in Yang Lingtian's mind.

[Beep! A youth with the mentality of a strongman has been detected. Rapid system binding in progress.]

[Beep! Congratulations, host. The Strongman Assistance System has been successfully bound.]

[This system will issue missions from time to time. Based on the degree of mission completion, the system will grant various rewards to help you grow stronger.]

Yang Lingtian's heart leaped with joy.

"Haha, I get whatever I wish for! System, hurry up and issue a mission. I want rewards! I want to become stronger!"

[Beep! To become a strongman, one must continuously break through in cultivation. The main mission is now issued: obtain cultivation resources and continuously break through in cultivation.]

[Beep! A strongman must be able to protect his own lineage. The long-term mission is now issued: help the Chen Family overcome various difficulties.]

[Beep! The host has been detected to be suffering from severe poisoning, with damaged meridians. The host's heart meridians have now been protected and the toxins removed.]

Yang Lingtian felt a chill run through his heart.

"How ruthless! Who poisoned him? The poison is actually this vicious!"

"If I hadn't had the system, even that so-called Lingyuan Pill wouldn't have saved me. Who exactly wanted to harm him?"

"If I find out, I'll make him pay the price."

Yang Lingtian began recalling the events. Today was his predecessor's eighteenth birthday.

Then, several good-for-nothing friends had taken him to a brothel.

It had been his first time visiting a brothel. After eating and drinking, he had suddenly gone berserk.

He had knocked over a candle, and the entire brothel had been engulfed in flames before finally collapsing.

Fortunately, the fire had been extinguished in time, so the collapsed building had not burned down completely.

He himself had also been buried beneath the collapsed structure, where he remained until the servants waiting outside discovered what had happened.

The servants immediately went back to report it, and only then had Chen Zhengqing rushed over and brought him back to the manor.

Chen Zhengqing valued Yang Lingtian greatly. Although he was not his biological son,

he cared for him like his own flesh and blood—indeed, even more so.

That was because Yang Lingtian's father had once saved his life, though Chen Zhengqing did not know his benefactor's exact name.

He did not know his exact cultivation realm either. He knew only that the man's surname was Yang.

Nor did he know why his benefactor had entrusted his child to him.

He truly knew nothing whenever asked.

But since the child had been entrusted to him, he had to protect his benefactor's son.

However, Chen Zhengqing had always been exasperated by his predecessor's conduct, hating him for failing to live up to expectations.

At times, he would also scold him as he would his own child.

At that moment, Liu Yingxue noticed that Yang Lingtian had awakened.

"Hm? He actually woke up. Is this Lingyuan Pill really that miraculous?"

Liu Yingxue looked at Yang Lingtian in astonishment as he opened his eyes.

He had clearly been on the verge of death, barely breathing, yet he had actually come back to life.

Seeing Chen Lingtian awaken, Chen Zhengqing beamed with delight and hurriedly took Yang Lingtian's pulse to examine him.

He let out a breath of relief and said, "Fortunately, his life has been saved. However, his meridians are still severely damaged."

At that moment, a servant suddenly came to report that the brothel owner had arrived to demand compensation and was making a tremendous commotion outside the main gate.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhengqing's expression hardened, and a wave of anger surged into his heart.

"How dare a mere brothel owner come to my gate and make trouble? He clearly doesn't take my Chen Family seriously."

Liu Yingxue's expression also turned ugly. If the commotion outside continued, it would damage their reputation.

"It's all Ling Tian's fault. He had to run off to a brothel in the middle of the night, making us lose face." Liu Yingxue complained.

"Father, this happened because of me. I'll go out and handle it!" Yang Lingtian volunteered.

This was a chance to obtain a system reward. He had no intention of letting it slip away.

Chen Zhengqing and Liu Yingxue both showed a trace of surprise. How had Yang Lingtian suddenly become willing to take responsibility?

In the past, whenever he caused trouble, he would hide and leave behind a complete mess.

Liu Yingxue let out a cold laugh and said, "Hmph. How can someone as timid as you handle anything?"

"You've already dragged the Chen Family's reputation through the mud. Do you still want to go out and disgrace yourself?"

Chen Zhengqing stopped the exchange at that point.

"That's enough. Say a little less."

"Ling Tian, stay here and rest. I'll handle it personally."

With that, he transformed into a blur and flew outside, arriving at the main gate in no time.

Liu Yingxue also left his room in a huff.

A large crowd of onlookers had already gathered outside, chattering among themselves.

"I wonder if that wastrel Yang Lingtian is dead yet."

"I wonder what the Chen Family Head was thinking. He actually took in a son-in-name like that. I hear he even plans to betroth his own daughter to that good-for-nothing."

"Exactly. What a pity for Eldest Miss Chen, such a beauty. Once she turns eighteen, it'll be time for them to marry."

"Yang Lingtian is truly scum. He already has a fiancée, yet he still ran off to fool around in a brothel. Couldn't he have shown some restraint?"

Only after Chen Zhengqing arrived did the discussion gradually quiet down.

The brothel owner had brought a madam and more than a dozen guards, surrounding the main gate menacingly.

The owner was named Wang Chenghan. He operated many brothels in Tianchen City, and the one where the incident had occurred was merely one of them.

When the incident happened, the madam of that brothel had been intimidated by the Chen Family's status and strength and had not dared to demand compensation. She could only report it to the owner behind the scenes.

This brothel owner was also a somewhat influential man—and an extremely greedy one at that—which was why he had come to demand compensation.

Seeing Chen Zhengqing arrive, Wang Chenghan shouted, "Family Head Chen, your adopted son went completely wild last night."

"He actually burned down my brothel. There were plenty of people who saw it. Tell me, what are you going to do about this?"

Chen Zhengqing's face was filled with fury as an aura erupted from him.

He said harshly, "Boss Wang, if you want compensation, you could have properly sent someone to my manor to negotiate."

"Instead, you brought all these people to cause trouble at the gate of my Chen Manor. Isn't that going a little too far?"

Wang Chenghan was not intimidated. Instead, he spoke without the slightest restraint. "If I didn't make a scene like this, would you compensate me?"

Chen Zhengqing saw the large crowd surrounding them and did not dare attack, lest he leave himself open to accusations of bullying others through his power.

He could only suppress his anger and ask, "Name your price. How much compensation do you want?"

"My Chen Family acts fairly and honorably. Whatever should be paid, I won't short you by even a single coin."

Seeing Chen Zhengqing compromise, Wang Chenghan's face lit up, and he began naming his price.

"Fine. Besides the cost of rebuilding, there are also the losses from suspending business. Let's make it an even two hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones."

The crowd was stunned, and Chen Zhengqing's expression darkened.

This was clearly an outrageous demand!

Although two hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones was not a huge sum for the Chen Family,

rebuilding would cost at most ten thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, while a brothel of this size would earn only a hundred thousand or so in a year.

This compensation was obviously far beyond any reasonable price.

Chen Zhengqing was angered once more. With killing intent in his eyes, he said, "What did you say? Two hundred thousand? You really have the nerve to ask for that!"

Although there was a threatening edge to Chen Zhengqing's voice, Boss Wang refused to back down.

"Why wouldn't I dare? You told me to name my price. Two hundred thousand. Not a single Spirit Stone less."

The onlookers were baffled. How could Boss Wang dare to be so brazen when facing the Chen Family, one of the Four Great Families of Tianchen City?

At that moment, a booming voice came from inside the manor.

"What gall! You actually dare to extort us. Rebuilding would take three days at most, or a month at the very longest."

"You're asking for two hundred thousand right off the bat. Are you planning to suspend business for a year and a half?"

Yang Lingtian slowly walked out. His face was cold and stern, his gaze resolute, and his aura imposing.

The crowd's eyes immediately turned toward Yang Lingtian.

"That good-for-nothing wasn't crushed to death? He even looks full of vigor."

"He still has the nerve to come out? He's already thrown away all of the Chen Family's dignity."

In a distant corner, a Black-Clothed Man was still wearing a mask.

When he saw Chen Lingtian emerge, his brows drew tightly together, and his eyes filled with disbelief.

"He didn't die? How is that possible?"

"Even a Golden Core expert couldn't survive this poison for more than three days without an antidote. Could it be that the Chen Family possesses some heaven-defying pill?"

After his shock passed, the Black-Clothed Man quickly left.

Wang Chenghan had long since heard the rumors about Yang Lingtian's spendthrift ways. He also knew that Yang Lingtian was a good-for-nothing, and he held him in utter contempt.

He began mocking him mercilessly. "Hmph, Young Master Yang, is this a place where you get to speak?"

"Besides, are two hundred thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones really a lot?"

"The Spirit Stones you squander in one year far exceed two hundred thousand. What face do you have to come out here and speak?"

Yang Lingtian replied calmly, "The proper compensation for this brothel would be around twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, yet you're asking for two hundred thousand."

"If you succeed in extorting us, where will that leave the dignity of our Chen Family?"

"If you want compensation, fine. We can only give you twenty thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones. Take the twenty thousand Spirit Stones and get lost."