New Side Quest

"My god! He actually won!"

Watching Yang Chengzhi stand unsteadily on the stage, the entire Jiaolong Plain erupted in cheers.

The tail-ender ranked third hundred on the Dragon Ranking had defeated the peerless genius ranked first!

On the stage, Yang Chengzhi struggled to support himself. He looked at Xiaoyaozi, who lay in a pool of blood, and a smile cracked his blood-splattered face.

"You didn't expect this, did you? That you would actually lose."

"I didn't expect it either. To be honest, I was already prepared to die by your hand."

"Perhaps, the heavens have finally taken pity on me, Yang Chengzhi, for once."

Yang Chengzhi muttered to himself softly, his gaze slowly shifting in a certain direction. There stood a group of students from Zhenguan Academy. As Yang Chengzhi's eyes swept over them, they landed on the figure he most wanted to see.

Gazing at that figure, Yang Chengzhi fell into a memory.

"Little Yun Chang, do you want to cultivate?"

"Of course, I do. But I don't have any Spirit Crystals, and no cultivators are willing to teach me."

"I'll teach you! I have Spirit Crystals too."

He was twelve that year, just beginning his path of cultivation. He poured all his knowledge into teaching her and gave her all his Spirit Crystals, while he cultivated diligently.

"Little Yun Chang, here's a third-grade cultivation technique. Take it."

"Thank you, Brother Chengzhi, but I'd rather have a Spirit Sword."

"Alright."

He was sixteen that year, his cultivation having reached a certain level. To fulfill Little Yun Chang's wish, he ventured into Nine Heavens Mountain five times to hunt spirit beasts. He was severely injured, but in the end, he used the Spirit Crystals he earned to buy her a third-tier Spirit Sword.

"Yun Chang, I've been accepted into Jian Shan Academy. I'll be able to learn more profound cultivation techniques and martial arts from now on."

"I want to go too."

"Alright."

He was eighteen that year. He displayed extraordinary talent and was noticed by Jian Shan Academy. To fulfill Yun Chang's wish, he knelt at the academy's gates for three days and three nights, finally moving the academy's instructors to allow both of them to enter the academy to cultivate together.

"Brother Chengzhi, the Zhenguan Academy freshman exam is coming up in a while. Let's take it together."

"Okay."

He was twenty-three that year. His cultivation had reached Spirit Master Stage Five, and his name as a genius echoed throughout the region. He was even noticed by the academy's vice-dean, who intended to take him as his final disciple. Still, to fulfill Yun Chang's wish, he refused and resolutely embarked on the road to the imperial capital with Yun Chang.

"Yun Chang, I received a fifth-tier martial skill as an academy reward. Here, for you."

"No need. Keep it for yourself."

"Yun Chang~"

"Yang Chengzhi, please stop pestering me. I don't want people to misunderstand."

He was twenty-four that year, in his first year at Zhenguan Academy. With his Spirit Master Sixth Stage cultivation, he broke into the top hundred of the Dragon Ranking and obtained this fifth-tier martial skill as an academy reward. However, Yun Chang no longer needed his help, because someone ranked first on the Dragon Ranking had taken his place.

He was still the same him, but she was no longer the same her from back then.

"It's not that I'm not as good as him; it's just that I gave you everything I had." Looking at the unfamiliar yet familiar face, Yang Chengzhi's eyes were filled with desolation.

What was the point of winning? The past was the past; there was no way to turn back time.

'You deserve to die!'

A roar echoed through the silent Jiaolong Plain, and a figure instantly appeared before Yang Chengzhi. Before anyone could react, they saw this person raise one hand high, crackling with lightning, and slash down at Yang Chengzhi.

He intended to kill Yang Chengzhi!

The crowd gasped.

Yang Chengzhi looked at the descending hand and a hint of relief appeared on his face. He slowly closed his eyes, not intending to resist, nor able to.

Whoosh~

A gentle breeze brushed past Yang Chengzhi's ear. He, with his eyes tightly shut, realized he was still alive.

"War Emperor, what are you doing?"

Spirit Emperor Zhou Wuji appeared out of thin air before Yang Chengzhi, blocking the attack.

The one who intended to kill Yang Chengzhi was Xiaoyaozi's father, the patriarch of the War Emperor Clan, War Emperor Xiaoyao Zizai, a mighty Spirit Emperor!

"The blood debt of my son will be repaid with blood," War Emperor Xiaoyao Zizai, a burly man with a voice like a booming bell, declared.

Yang Chengzhi, already unsteady, was shaken by Xiaoyao Zizai's voice and lost his balance. Fortunately, Zhou Wuji caught him and gestured for the instructors below to take Yang Chengzhi away.

"They signed a life and death agreement. Their fate is their own," Zhou Wuji said calmly, watching Yang Chengzhi being helped away.

Xiaoyao Zizai's eyes widened, staring at Zhou Wuji, his face filled with rage.

Zhou Wuji seemed not to notice. He glanced at Xiaoyaozi, lying in a pool of blood, and sighed softly, saying, "My condolences."

Xiaoyaozi, the foremost figure of the younger generation, had blazed through like a comet, ending his short life.

The ranking battles continued, but for everyone, this Dragon Ranking tournament had effectively come to an end.

The battle between Xiaoyaozi and Yang Chengzhi became a topic of discussion for everyone, along with the Mysterious Bookstore in Dubian Town that Yang Chengzhi had mentioned.

The topic fermented, spread, and spread until it reached the entire Azure Dragon Continent.

Ma Feifei rode Yun Qingyang back to Dubian Town.

On the way, he completed the final part of Yang Chengzhi's revenge story. Once the book was finished, it transformed into golden light and flew back to the bookstore ahead of him. Ma Feifei couldn't see the book's quality, but the system had already notified him of the completed side quest the moment it was finished.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission and obtaining the Thousand Gold Formulas."

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully triggering the next side quest - Cultural Propagation."

Mission Details: Sell "My Fair Princess Part One" through sales.

Requirements: Sell no less than ten thousand copies within three months, with a unit price of 10 Spirit Crystals.

Note: Ten thousand copies of "My Fair Princess" have been stored in the backyard.

Mission Reward: "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" (novel), "The Swordsman of Mount Shu" (novel), "Pokémon" (manga).

"Huh, a manga popped out!" Ma Feifei's curiosity was instantly piqued when he saw "Pokémon" among the mission rewards. Could reading manga also increase cultivation?

That's unlikely!

"Even if reading manga could increase cultivation, it shouldn't be 'Pokémon'! Wouldn't something like 'Dragon Ball' be more appropriate?"

However, since the system gave him "Pokémon," Ma Feifei couldn't complain. Moreover, he had already gained some basic understanding of the books the system provided.

All the books issued by the system contained vastly different benefits. Some books contained cultivation, some contained cultivation techniques and martial arts, and some even contained treatments for patients' illnesses.

So, by this logic, could there be even more diverse benefits?

"Could the benefit of 'Pokémon' be the Pokémon within it?" Ma Feifei's imagination suddenly ran wild. But he quickly dismissed the thought, deeming it too unrealistic.

For now, Ma Feifei felt he should prioritize returning to the bookstore to check on the Thousand Gold Formulas and the ten thousand copies of My Fair Princess. The appearance of new books and a new mission filled Ma Feifei with energy.

Yun Qingyang, in her dragon form, flew at a considerable speed. It only took them a day to reach Dubian Town. Perhaps because they flew so high, Ma Feifei encountered no other "flying friends" on the way, leaving him with no chance to show off.

By the time they returned to Dubian Town, it was already late. After bidding farewell to Zhou Zhuling and her brother, Ma Feifei took Yun Qingyang back to the backyard.

Inside a storeroom for medicinal herbs in the backyard, rows of neatly arranged copies of My Fair Princess were stored.

"Tsk, you can print ten thousand books at once, yet you made me copy them myself. What's the point?" Ma Feifei grumbled at the system, looking at the piles of books.

Unfortunately, the system offered no response.

Yun Qingyang, standing behind him, looked at everything with curiosity. She couldn't understand why so many books had suddenly appeared in the backyard storeroom upon their return.

"Ten thousand copies. Can they be sold in three months?" Ma Feifei shook his head, feeling uncertain.

Ten Spirit Crystals per book was an exorbitant price in this era. More importantly, Ma Feifei still hadn't figured out the actual benefit of My Fair Princess. After reading it, Zhou Zhuling and her brother showed no unusual physical changes, except for a slight increase in Zhou Guanyu's cultivation.

Alright, if they had to be strict, they didn't meet the book's benefit criteria and didn't gain anything from it. But now the system was practically giving away ten thousand copies and demanding they be sold. Would books sold outside the bookstore still have peculiar effects?

What if they were just like ordinary books? Even if the story was good, if it didn't grant cultivation, who would buy it for ten Spirit Crystals? Did they have too much Spirit Crystal to spend?

"This is rough," Ma Feifei sighed.