Student Yang Chengzhi

'Ding! Congratulations, Host, task completed. You have obtained the books The Legend of the Condor Heroes and My Fair Princess Part One.'

'Congratulations, Host, your cultivation has risen to Peak Spirit Master Stage Nine!'

After a month, the main quest was finally complete, and the system issued its rewards as promised: two books and a cultivation boost.

The cultivation boost from the system was quite impressive as well. It had shot him straight from Peak Spirit User Stage Nine to Peak Spirit Master Stage Nine. One more step, and he would enter the Spirit Sect realm.

There were people who could attain this level at Ma Feifei's age, but they were exceedingly rare. Calling them one in a million would not be an exaggeration.

However, cultivation did not seem to matter much to Ma Feifei. Even if he were given the cultivation of a Spirit Saint right now, he would not feel particularly excited. Cultivation was simply useless to Ma Feifei!

Of course, besides rewards, the system had also issued a new main quest.

A Modest Reputation: Obtain 100 reading points and 10,000 reputation points within three months.

System Rewards: Han Feizi, Diamond Sutra, My Fair Princess Part Two, and several cultivation boosts.

Ma Feifei understood reading points, but what the hell were reputation points?

"Looks like the difficulty has increased again." Ma Feifei tapped his head with a pen as he thought.

The new quest made Ma Feifei feel pressed for time. First, he had two books to copy down. He also needed to complete the reading and reputation requirements within the allotted time, so naturally, the sooner he copied the books, the better. On top of that, there was a Side Quest requiring him to create an original book himself, and its quality had to reach Blue Quality.

Looking at it this way, three months did not seem like enough time.

In the end, Ma Feifei decided that he would visit the tavern tomorrow. If he could not come up with a good story, he would put the original work aside for now and first write The Legend of the Condor Heroes and My Fair Princess.

Early the next morning, Ma Feifei headed out. He first enjoyed a delicious breakfast, then wandered aimlessly around Dubian Town.

"The atmosphere of war is far too oppressive." Walking through the streets of Dubian Town, Ma Feifei felt this deeply.

This was the border of Great Chu, and its permanent population was not large to begin with. Most people came from all over the land. Because of the war, many had left Dubian Town early, causing its population to plummet. The streets no longer had their usual bustle. Looking down an entire street, one could count the people on both hands.

"I heard that when a Spirit Saint flies into a rage, heaven and earth change, and a single palm strike can sever mountains and seas. If the Qin Chu Two Saints start fighting, they will not wipe out Dubian Town, will they?" Remembering the rumors he had heard at the tavern, Ma Feifei could not help feeling worried.

In this world, there were countless legends about Spirit Saints. It was said that every Spirit Saint was an extraordinary figure, standing atop the entire Azure Dragon Continent like an immortal.

Everything they did could draw the attention of the entire Azure Dragon Continent and be spread far and wide.

For instance, five thousand years ago, the founders of the Five Great Empires fought atop Heavenly Mountain for seven days and forty-nine nights, turning heaven and earth upside down and reversing the sun and moon. Only then did the five nations gain their five thousand years of territory.

Or three thousand years ago, the Wind Cloud Two Saints fought a battle to the death, directly causing the Azure Dragon Continent to receive not a single drop of rain that year. Rivers dried up, and the sea sank three zhang. The two saints also perished together beneath Burial Saint Mountain in that battle.

Then there was the battle five hundred years ago, when seven Spirit Saints from Vast Academy fought the Demon Cult Leader, Mo Xie. In the end, the Demon Cult Leader died, the seven Spirit Saints suffered a drop in cultivation, and Vast Academy's overall strength fell drastically.

Every battle between Spirit Saints could affect the entire Azure Dragon Continent.

As the place where the Qin Chu Two Saints would fight this time, Dubian Town could be considered the primary battlefield. Though Spirit Saints would control their strength during battle and try their best not to involve their surroundings, who could guarantee anything in a fight? If both sides got fired up and went all out, nearby Dubian Town would definitely be the first to suffer. Perhaps with a mere wave of their hands, Dubian Town would become history.

Therefore, to ensure their safety, most people chose to leave Dubian Town before the two nations went to war and lie low for a while.

Ma Feifei had no such plans. Even if he did, there was nothing he could do. The system had opened the Bookstore here, so he could not run even if he wanted to!

Still, Ma Feifei had absolute confidence in the system. He believed that even if all of Dubian Town vanished, the system's Bookstore would remain completely unharmed.

"Is there anything in this world more awesome than the system? No!" Ma Feifei's confidence came from the system.

Of course, where there were people afraid of death, there were naturally people who were not.

To those adventurers, war was no different from entering Nine Heavens Mountain to hunt spirit beasts. Both meant dancing on the edge of a blade. War was terrifying, but it also brought opportunities that could let them make a fortune from it.

Take market prices, for example.

Almost everything in Dubian Town's trading market had gone up in price. Spirit beast cores, hides, precious herbs, and so on were practically changing prices every day.

Across all of Dubian Town, everywhere else was desolate. Only the trading market, taverns, and pleasure houses had not been affected in the slightest. They were even livelier than usual.

Ma Feifei first wandered around the trading market. Everything inside was expensive, and Spirit Crystals were the main currency. A fourth-level spirit beast core cost a hundred Spirit Crystals, frightening Ma Feifei into repeatedly declaring that he could not afford it.

At lunchtime, Ma Feifei went to the tavern across the street, sat down, ordered a whole table of delicious food, warmed a pot of wine, and happily began eating.

"Little brother, would it be convenient for me to share your table?"

Ma Feifei raised his head and looked at the speaker. He appeared to be around twenty-six or twenty-seven, dressed in blue robes, with fine features and an imposing air. A sword hung at his waist. He was quite the handsome man.

He was kind of handsome! Ma Feifei felt a little sour.

Ma Feifei looked around and found that the tavern was already packed, with no seats left. Every table had groups of two or three people, while he alone sat by himself.

"Have a seat. It's fine." Ma Feifei smiled.

Being kind to others was being kind to oneself, Ma Feifei thought.

"Thank you, little brother." The handsome man thanked him, then sat across from Ma Feifei. He called over the server and ordered several dishes and some wine before turning back to Ma Feifei. "My name is Yang Chengzhi. May I ask little brother's name?"

Ma Feifei gnawed on a ham hock and replied, "My name is Ma Feifei."

"A pleasure." Yang Chengzhi thought for a moment and realized he had never heard the name before. Still, judging from Ma Feifei's relaxed demeanor and the cultivation he could not see through, he was surely a low-profile expert.

After exchanging greetings, the two did not speak further. When Yang Chengzhi's food and wine arrived, Ma Feifei had the server shift his plates slightly to give Yang Chengzhi an extra third of the table, earning another word of thanks from him.

"Did you hear? There was a brawl among the students from Zhenguan Academy yesterday."

At that moment, the conversation from the next table reached their ears.

"Oh? A brawl?" the others asked in confusion.

"My uncle-in-law's third concubine's nephew cultivates at Zhenguan Academy. He came with the main force to participate in the national war this time. Yesterday, when I went to my uncle-in-law's house for dinner, I heard from my third aunt's nephew that the students had an internal conflict. One of those involved was Xiaoyaozi."

"Xiaoyaozi, the one ranked first on the Dragon Ranking?"

Xiaoyaozi of Zhenguan Academy had already become famous despite his young age.

"That's right! I heard it was over the right to command the three hundred students. Xiaoyaozi fought someone over it."

"Is there really anyone among the students who can match Xiaoyaozi?"

"Of course not. My eldest nephew told me that Xiaoyaozi defeated his opponent within ten moves."

"Xiaoyaozi is that strong?" Everyone expressed their shock.

The three hundred students Zhenguan Academy had brought this time were all ranked within the top three hundred of the Dragon Ranking. They were all the proud sons of heaven from the Great Chu Kingdom. To outsiders, even if Xiaoyaozi ranked first on the Dragon Ranking, it should have been impossible for him to defeat another student ranked within the top three hundred in ten moves.

"I heard the matter got quite serious. Even General Baili stepped in. In the end, Xiaoyaozi was reprimanded, while the student who fought him was forbidden from participating in this national war and ordered to await the academy's punishment after returning."

Zhenguan Academy had strict rules. For students to engage in internal conflict at such a crucial time during a national war was an extremely serious matter. Everyone was nearly certain that the defeated student would likely face expulsion upon returning to the academy.

As for Xiaoyaozi, General Baili's decision made it clear that, as the Dragon Ranking's number one, Xiaoyaozi would not receive any substantive punishment. At most, he would receive a verbal warning.

"Then who was the student who fought Xiaoyaozi?" everyone asked.

"The defeated student is named Yang Chengzhi. He ranks three hundredth on the Dragon Ranking."

"Pfft..." Ma Feifei had been drinking when he heard Yang Chengzhi's name. Unable to hold it in, he sprayed out the wine before he could swallow it and choked for quite a while.

"Cough, cough." After recovering for a while, Ma Feifei casually glanced at Yang Chengzhi. He found that Yang Chengzhi's handsome face had turned somewhat red, and veins had begun bulging on the hand gripping his chopsticks. He was clearly on the verge of anger.

Oh no, he is not going to suddenly explode, is he? Ma Feifei was genuinely worried.

But then he thought about how he was already at Spirit Master Stage Nine, while Xiaoyaozi, ranked first on the Dragon Ranking, had only just entered the Spirit Sect realm. Yang Chengzhi ranked dead last on the Dragon Ranking. If they really fought, Yang Chengzhi should not be his match, right?

Ma Feifei had clearly underestimated him. Although Yang Chengzhi was furious, he did not take it out on anyone. Instead, he gradually calmed down, slowly loosened his fist, set down his chopsticks, poured himself a cup of wine, and gulped it down. Then he revealed a self-mocking smile.

"I have made a fool of myself before you, little brother. I am the incompetent student who was defeated—Yang Chengzhi."