Isn't This What You Have?

Li Muyang led Little Wild Grass along the empty mountain path, but once they reached the trail, he bypassed the main road and instead led her into the rugged, difficult forest.

Little Wild Grass was completely bewildered.

"Big Brother, where are we going? Aren't we supposed to go to the Blood Chamber to find Steward Wu?"

From her perspective, Big Brother had just promised Granny Gu he would kill Steward Wu, yet the moment they left the stronghold, he headed straight for the woods... Was he trying to run away?

Li Muyang shook his head. "Follow me for now. We're going to search this forest."

There might be some kind of plot clue hidden in these woods.

Steward Wu's attitude today had been far too strange, his temper far too volatile.

Since he couldn't find any plot clues in the cave or the stronghold, Li Muyang had no choice but to try his luck in the wilderness.

No game walkthrough worked like this; he had to rely on a process of elimination, ruling out the wrong options one by one.

The two of them wove through the rugged, dense mountain forest, moving far away from the path that led to the cavern.

Suddenly, a faint scent of blood drifted through the air.

Little Wild Grass blinked, looking surprised.

"Such a familiar smell... Big Brother, what's up ahead?"

The girl's face was full of curiosity.

Because Big Brother seemed to know something, he had led her straight into the woods the moment they left the stronghold.

But after she asked, Li Muyang didn't answer; he simply kept his head down and continued forward.

Within his field of vision, a system prompt popped up.

[I smell a strange, fishy scent; it feels intimate and familiar... Should I go deeper into the forest to investigate? I really want to know what this blood scent is.]

[A strange, fishy scent seems to be calling to me... But I cannot go; I must go see Steward Wu. If I delay any longer, he will surely fly into a rage.]

Seeing the system options appear before him, Li Muyang felt a surge of excitement.

He had finally found it!

This was exactly what he was looking for—a plot clue!

This scent of blood was definitely a lead.

Without hesitation, Li Muyang chose the first option to continue tracking the scent.

However, even after wandering through the forest with Little Wild Grass for a long time, he could never find the source of the smell.

The strange scent of blood seemed to permeate the entire forest; it was everywhere, yet he could not find its origin.

Li Muyang felt a headache coming on. The scent was clearly a plot clue, but without finding the source, he couldn't trigger the subsequent events.

Just then, the gloomy figure of Steward Wu appeared in the mountain forest.

He looked at Li Muyang and Little Wild Grass with a cold expression and said icily:

"Jiang Xiaoyu, what are you doing here? Why aren't you at the Blood Chamber collecting blood?"

Steward Wu's eyes were frigid, as if he might fly into a murderous rage at any second.

In Li Muyang's field of vision, two options popped up.

[(Apologize to Steward Wu, then obediently leave)]

[(Tell Steward Wu the truth: I was led here by a familiar and intimate scent of blood)]

As the options appeared, Li Muyang saved his game first, then chose the second one.

After hearing Li Muyang's words, Steward Wu's eyes remained cold.

However, he did not fly into a murderous rage. Instead, he said with a malicious glint in his eyes:

"What does the blood scent in these mountains have to do with you? Take the Soul-Lost One back to the Blood Chamber to collect blood at once!"

Steward Wu did not kill Li Muyang; instead, he drove him away.

This was the first time Li Muyang hadn't died instantly upon meeting him.

Li Muyang blinked, obeyed the order, and left with Little Wild Grass.

But he kept the memory of that scent in the forest firmly in mind.

A gamer's intuition told him immediately that this was definitely a crucial clue for the third stage of the plot.

After leaving the forest with Little Wild Grass and returning to the mountain path, Li Muyang safely accompanied her to finish collecting blood at the Blood Chamber before returning to Black Cloud Stronghold.

A night passed, and neither Steward Wu nor Granny Gu came to kill him.

Clearly, he had safely cleared the first day of the plot.

So, what was the origin of that scent in the forest?

Why did Steward Wu's attitude soften so much when he saw him in the woods, to the point where he didn't kill him?

Li Muyang was filled with curiosity and was just about to continue unraveling the mystery.

Just then, the voice of his "cheap" little sister, Li Yuechan, rang in his ears.

"Brother, it's time to eat. Let's have dinner."

The girl's voice rang in his ears, and only then did Li Muyang open his eyes to see the young girl standing prettily by the ridge of the field, carrying a food box.

Today, Li Yuechan was wearing a light cyan dress with small floral patterns, looking delicate and pure, just like the girl next door.

She looked at Li Muyang curiously and asked, "Brother, why do you lie here sleeping every day?"

"Usually, when it's sunny, you can lie here and soak up the sun, but today it's heavily overcast and about to rain, yet you're still lying under this tree... aren't you afraid of getting soaked?"

Li Muyang looked up at the sky; indeed, dark clouds were gathering, and it was about to rain.

He stood up and said.

"No rush, isn't that why you came to call me? If it rains tomorrow, I just won't sleep here."

The old tile-roofed house was enclosed on all sides without glass windows, making the interior dark and cold. Li Muyang disliked staying in such old-fashioned rooms; he always felt stifled and suffocated.

That was why he spent most of his time outdoors playing games.

But upon hearing Li Muyang's words, Li Yuechan shook her head.

"You won't be able to sleep anywhere tomorrow. Brother, you seem to have forgotten that tomorrow is the day of the sect selection. All new outer sect disciples must participate in the selection to have their aptitude assessed."

"We have to go out tomorrow."

Li Yuechan reminded him of this matter.

This was the biggest event in the entire outer sect; only Li Muyang would forget it.

With the sect selection approaching, countless new outer sect disciples were unable to sleep at night, tossing and turning with anxiety.

Even Li Yuechan, with the guidance of that senior, wanted to enter the inner sect.

She didn't lack instruction from experts, but once she entered the inner sect, her status and standing would be completely different, and her uncle and aunt far away in Jiuyuan City would benefit from it.

As the saying goes, when one person attains the Tao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; Li Yuechan hoped her uncle and aunt could live better lives.

But Li Muyang was completely indifferent to the sect selection.

Seeing the nervousness in his "cheap" younger sister's eyes, Li Muyang hesitated for a moment before deciding to give her a heads-up.

"You don't need to worry too much about the sect selection. I've already asked around; the number of new disciples like us who can be promoted directly to the inner sect based on aptitude and talent... is few and far between."

For most outer sect disciples, there was only one path to promotion into the inner sect: reaching the ninth level of the Qi Refining stage within ten years. Only then would they be qualified to become inner sect disciples.

If this time limit exceeded ten years, even if they reached the required cultivation level, the Demon Refining Sect's inner sect would not accept them.

Because anyone who couldn't reach the ninth level of Qi Refining within ten years was essentially considered to have trash aptitude.

The fate of such disciples was either to find a way to stay in the outer sect as a steward or to return to their respective hometowns to serve as minor officials.

Tomorrow's sect selection was basically just a formality to watch the spectacle.

It was mainly for the inner sect disciples of the Demon Refining Sect to show off their strength to this group of outer sect laborers from the countryside, giving them something to look forward to.

It also served as a warning to the newcomers, telling them to be careful and not to cause trouble on the Demon Sect's territory.