What's so great about it?

"What's so great about it?"

Xuanyuan Sheng looked at her and, for some inexplicable reason, thought of the Mimicry Cultivation Ground. He simply couldn't think of anything about her that she hadn't already told him.

Ma Xiaotao rose to her feet with a mysterious smile.

Half an hour later.

Xuanyuan Sheng stared at the Mimicry Cultivation Ground before him, his expression stiff. How had he guessed right? It really was the Mimicry Cultivation Ground.

"What's wrong? Not happy?" Ma Xiaotao put on her veil, folded her arms over her chest, and teased him.

She didn't need to say a word. Xuanyuan Sheng's expression said it all.

All he needed to do was bear the weight of humanity and let it draw upon Humanity's Luck. But the Humanity's Luck of these people was far too weak.

What was he supposed to do with it?

Had he come to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground just to breathe the air?

He might as well wait until Sister Lexuan came back and meditate then.

But Ma Xiaotao and he would both be disciples under Sister Lexuan someday, so he might as well accept her good intentions.

"Then, Sister Xiaotao, which type of cultivation ground should I use? Which element, and what kind?" Xuanyuan Sheng stroked his chin as he thought. If he could actually make use of one, which would suit him best?

It was a good question. There were all sorts of cultivation grounds, whether sorted by element or matched to the appearance of one's Martial Soul.

"Let's see..." Ma Xiaotao knew this was her chance to show what a senior sister could do. She pretended to ponder, then fell silent for a moment.

[Passive quest triggered: A request from your little brother. Choose a suitable Mimicry Cultivation Ground for the neighbor boy you're planning to ditch.]

[Quest reward: One mysterious fire-attribute cultivation technique fragment. (Collect all 10 to assemble the complete technique.)]

[Quest failure: Stand outside the Mimicry Cultivation Ground's main hall and shout, "Zhang Lexuan, your little brother is so juicy!"]

Ma Xiaotao hadn't expected that simply checking on her little brother's cultivation would trigger another quest. The reward for this one seemed even better than the reward for taking care of him.

But whether suppressing Evil Fire or getting the cultivation technique fragment was more valuable depended on what she needed right now.

"System, what is this cultivation technique? I only know about meditation methods. I've never heard of cultivation techniques. Is it something like the Tang Sect's secret manuals?"

She silently spoke with the system, baring her teeth at Xuanyuan Sheng to signal that she needed to make sure of something.

Xuanyuan Sheng was a little taken aback by her reaction.

Come on, sis. I'm just saying what I think. There's no need to think about it so seriously.

He was only wondering which of the many Mimicry Cultivation Grounds would suit him best, assuming he could use one. They could've just chatted about it.

Why was she acting like this was a quest she had to complete?

At that moment, Ma Xiaotao was absorbed in her conversation with the system.

[They are the same in essence, but their upper and lower limits are worlds apart.]

The system's half-cryptic answer made Ma Xiaotao itch with curiosity.

"Don't leave me hanging! Explain it already, you bastard."

[What I mean is, the cultivation technique you collect will determine your limit—that is, what you can achieve in the future.]

Compared with this cultivation technique, Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill could only be considered a method for speeding up cultivation on this continent.

But the technique she collected herself was different.

It was like the key to each level in a fantasy world. Once she obtained it, she could cultivate all the way to the technique's ultimate limit.

[If you get a fire-type cultivation technique that only lets you reach Soul Emperor, then Soul Emperor will be your limit.]

[But if you're incredibly lucky and get a fire-type technique that lets you reach Titled Douluo, then I can only congratulate you in advance.]

[You can cultivate even without obtaining a Soul Ring. It's perfectly fine to cultivate all the way to the Soul Power Level of a Titled Douluo. The technique will store your Soul Power for you. Later, once you add the remaining Soul Rings, I'll be congratulating you on becoming a true Titled Douluo.]

Ma Xiaotao was stunned by the system's explanation.

She'd never imagined that the key to becoming a Titled Douluo could be so close at hand.

At the academy, everyone at Shrek said her talent would one day surpass Zhang Lexuan's, making her an even more impressive Inner Courtyard Senior Sister.

But Ma Xiaotao knew that the path to catching up with Zhang Lexuan wasn't some little ditch she could cross with ease. It was an abyss, something truly impossible to overcome.

Only the living deserved to be called geniuses.

Dragon God Douluo Mu En was a genius. Xuan Zi was a genius. Yan Shaozhe was a genius. Even Zhang Lexuan, who hadn't yet become a Titled Douluo, was a genius.

As for Ma Xiaotao, she was merely an ordinary Soul Master with a bit of talent. If she ran into a high-level Evil Soul Master, she'd have no choice but to wait for death.

Her future might hold more than becoming a Titled Douluo. She might also end up as a little urn of ashes buried in some corner.

But things were different now.

Ma Xiaotao looked at Xuanyuan Sheng, who had been waiting beside her so long that he'd started to zone out.

If there weren't so many people coming and going at the Mimicry Cultivation Ground, she would've torn off her veil right then and planted a hard kiss on his face.

Once she unlocked all ten fragments, nothing that troubled her would be a problem anymore. She'd keep cultivating until she became the Sword God of Shili Slope.

And the punishment for failing?

What was that supposed to matter?

Did the system really think Ma Xiaotao couldn't complete the quest?

She'd deliberately tried to find out what the punishment was like yesterday, and now the system was actually taking it seriously and giving her a failure penalty.

Ma Xiaotao thought smugly that she didn't need to know what the failure penalty was. She simply wouldn't fail.

Nearby, Xuanyuan Sheng sat on a bench with his arms folded.

He'd never been to the Mimicry Cultivation Ground before. He had no idea choosing a suitable environment could be so complicated.

Ma Xiaotao had been standing there for quite a while. With students passing back and forth, Xuanyuan Sheng was starting to doze off.

Suddenly, a pair of long legs appeared in front of him.

"Those legs...?"

They looked a little familiar.

"Those legs are so slender, long, fair, and soft. Want to touch?"

At her shamelessly blunt words, Xuanyuan Sheng lifted his head slightly and saw Ma Xiaotao's enticing face.

She leaned against his shoulder, resting her long legs right across his thighs. Her warm breath brushed his ear. "What, getting impatient? Never gone shopping for clothes with your Sister Lexuan?"

Tsk... What a vicious thing to say. Now that he thought about it, he really hadn't.

Ma Xiaotao's antics didn't draw a crowd. Thanks to the cultivation craze in the Outer Courtyard, everyone in the hall was waiting for a spot at the Mimicry Cultivation Ground.

Even those who saw them didn't stick around.

For now, cultivation was more appealing than senior sisters.

As for senior sisters, the farther away they were, the better.