Slowly, Tang San began to wonder whether his prejudice against Jinx was justified.
This was no longer the Bashu Tang Sect of his previous life, but an entirely new Douluo Continent.
The people here had no idea what a jinx was, much less any notion that one brought bad luck.
The battle between his own convictions and reason left Tang San feeling restless.
Even though the Soul Power he had gained through cultivation had stopped disappearing, Tang San still found it difficult to focus, and his cultivation progress remained slow.
At last, while carrying out one of the work-study students' cleaning duties,
Tang San once again picked up that magical Broom.
"Senior, I'm willing to accept your inheritance."
"..."
When Jinx did not respond for a long while, Tang San thought the Soul Power he had supplied earlier was no longer enough to sustain the remnant's ability to communicate with him.
He hurriedly began channeling Soul Power into the Broom.
"No need. My consciousness is still here."
"That's wonderful, Senior. I was thinking..."
"I understand, but you can't inherit a Godhood just because you want to. You must pass Jinx's trials before you can finally take my place and become the new Jinx."
"If you fail, you may face endless backlash. Are you still willing?"
Listening to Jinx's explanation, Tang San grew exceptionally serious.
In his mind, the value of a god rose once again.
"There's no such thing as a free lunch. I know that very well."
"Senior, I'm willing to accept the trials."
Seeing that Tang San was mentally prepared, Jinx's voice seemed to turn more reassuring.
"Very well. From this moment on, you will truly undergo trials set by a god."
As soon as the words fell, before Tang San could react, the Broom in his hand transformed into a streak of silver light and vanished into his brow.
The next second, a black, broom-shaped divine mark slowly appeared between his brows.
"The 99 Trials of the Broom Star, First Trial: Spotless!"
"As the god who loves cleanliness most, clean the area within one kilometer of Notting Academy until not a speck of dust remains."
"Time limit: one week."
"..."
Upon receiving the first trial of the Godhood Inheritance, Tang San stood there in a daze.
After a long moment, the corners of his mouth began to twitch.
What an absurd trial!
Was there still time to cancel the inheritance?
Why did he still have to clean up after becoming a god?
In the upperclassmen's dormitory, Lu Xian watched Tang San reluctantly summon the Broom again and head toward the academy's Back Mountain. He could barely hold back his laughter.
But soon he stopped laughing, because a mechanical voice rang out in his mind as well.
"Ding..."
"Wish Power System binding to host."
"Whoa, there really is a system."
"System, introduce yourself."
"..."
After waiting a long while without a response, Lu Xian had no choice but to explore on his own.
Fortunately, the system wasn't complicated. As its name suggested, the Wish Power System was related to wishes. The trials he assigned to those bound to his Soul Skill could be considered a kind of wish.
Once the wish was fulfilled, both he and the person carrying it out would receive benefits.
Of course, as the one in charge, he got to decide what benefits the person carrying it out would receive.
"Damn, looks like I can't give Tang San tasks he can't complete from now on. If he fails and drags things out, he'll slow down my progress, too."
At first, he'd assigned the first task just to test the waters. Once Tang San completed it, Lu Xian would use the Broom as a medium to pass along the Soul Power he'd gained from several months of cultivation as a reward.
Feed the horse some grass, and it'll run hard afterward.
For the second task, he'd planned to give Tang San something so difficult it would take years to complete. That way, he could accept the Soul Power Tang San gained through cultivation without a second thought.
Now that he had a system, the rewards would be issued automatically. He no longer had to rack his brains over them.
"This works out even better. Tang San, my tool, will work even harder now."
"Couldn't be sweeter!"
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and Tang San carried out his cleaning duties at Notting Academy to the letter.
There was no denying it: Tang San was a more than capable cleaner.
The entire academy, including the toilets and cafeteria, was left spotless.
The academy staff gave the work-study student Tang San their highest praise. He was practically guaranteed to win the annual Environmental Pioneer certificate.
And once Tang San had finished cleaning the back garden, Lu Xian's first trial was successfully completed.
The Wish Power System immediately issued Lu Xian his reward.
[Wish level: F. Executor completion rate: 100%.] [Reward: 20 days of cultivation; Soul Ring age increased by 10 years.]
"Twenty days of cultivation?"
After taking a closer look, Lu Xian discovered that the twenty days of cultivation had been calculated based on Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power.
After all, the cultivation gained from twenty days was worlds apart for someone with Innate Full Soul Power and someone with Innate Soul Power at level one.
After collecting his reward, Lu Xian didn't forget about his tool, either.
As the saying went, if you wanted the horse to run, you had to feed it well.
Tang San, who had finished cleaning, wiped the sweat from his brow. The area within one kilometer of Nuoding City was no small place. Spending a whole week cleaning every corner by himself had been exhausting.
But the trace of gloom in Tang San's heart soon vanished without a trace, because Jinx had issued the reward for the first trial.
"Congratulations, trial-taker. You have completed the First Trial of the 99 Trials of the Broom Star."
"Reward: five days of cultivation; Soul Ring age increased by two years."
As a warm current flowed through his limbs and bones, Tang San could clearly feel his Soul Power growing stronger.
What delighted him even more was that completing a trial could also increase the age of his Soul Ring.
His First Soul Ring was around 420 years old. In other words, after completing a few more trials, it would be close to 500 years old.
Grandmaster's lessons had taught him that when the same Soul Beast produced a Soul Skill, the older the Soul Ring, the more powerful the skill.
After receiving the reward, Tang San suddenly felt that working as a cleaner wasn't so bad after all.
A god of cleaning was still a god, and that eternal life after completing every trial was no joke.
Even a Titled Douluo lived only a little over a century.
With his heart pounding in excitement, Tang San immediately reached out to the Broom with his consciousness.
"Senior, when will I get my Second Trial? Do I need to clean Nuoding City this time?"
"Just say the word, and I'll make sure the whole place is spotless."
Sensing Tang San's thoughts, Lu Xian nearly burst out laughing. Had the kid gotten addicted to sweeping the streets?
"Looks like I'll have to turn up the heat on our Divine King Tang. Otherwise, he'll really think I'm some kind god."
With an excited heart and trembling hands, Tang San waited expectantly until Jinx finally responded.
"The Broom Star's Second Trial: Lonely God of Labor."
"Laborers who stand out from the crowd are never understood."
"At noon, go to the cafeteria, knock over 200 people's bowls of food, then clean up the mess."
"Time limit: three days."
After receiving the Second Trial, Tang San froze once again, his eyes full of disbelief.
A huge question mark might as well have appeared above his head.
If the first trial could be explained by saying Jinx loved cleanliness, how was he supposed to explain this one?
Jinx was definitely the same kind of god as the one in his memories of his previous life.
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