After arranging matters for Dugu Bo and his granddaughter, Bai Shu followed a servant to an elegant guest room.
After driving away Xiao Wu, who had tried to squeeze inside, Bai Shu shut the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness, opening the system panel he had not used in a long time.
He had many ideas that urgently needed testing. They concerned the path he would take in the future.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Shu issued a command to the system in his mind:
"System, set the mission reward as: a two-way portal capable of traveling to other worlds."
[Ding, reward confirmed. Generating mission...]
Bai Shu's breathing unconsciously slowed as he nervously watched the constantly flickering system panel, hoping it would give him a pleasant surprise.
This mission took far longer to generate than the previous two. The light on the panel even carried faint traces of Chaos, as though it were performing some unimaginably complex calculation. Even Bai Shu's sea of awareness trembled slightly because of it.
Finally, after several agonizing minutes, the light on the system panel contracted, and lines of golden text radiating a sacred aura slowly emerged.
[Mission generated successfully] [Reward: One Myriad World Portal (Unique)] [Mission: Please have the host collect five types of god-level source power: Chaos, Space-Time, Five Elements, Life, and Destruction.]
"..."
Silence. Silence was Cambridge tonight...
The good news was that his idea had worked. The system really could provide such an absurd reward.
The bad news was that the difficulty of this mission was equally absurd, practically impossible to complete.
For Life and Destruction, he could think of the Goddess of Life and the God of Destruction in the God Realm.
As for the Five Elements, perhaps he could obtain them from several elemental gods or the Silver Dragon King. Those targets were distant, but at least there were clues to follow.
But Space-Time and Chaos... did the Douluo Continent plane truly possess such heaven-defying laws?
After pondering for a long time, he only thought of the mysterious Dark Demon Evil God Tiger hidden in the Star Dou Forest. It might possess both time and space attributes, but it had merely brushed against them. It was still a hundred thousand miles away from "god-level source power."
"Looks like I still have to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time."
Bai Shu forced himself to calm down and abandoned this unrealistic fantasy.
System missions could roughly be divided into two types. One was extremely difficult but could be completed quickly with sufficient strength, like the mission he had received when summoning a Guardian. The other was relatively easy but required long, painstaking effort, like when he obtained his martial soul.
And this mission clearly belonged to a third type: one that could not be completed no matter what.
"I was too greedy." Bai Shu laughed at himself and temporarily suppressed his unrealistic ambition. "What matters most right now is improving my own strength. A top-tier cultivation technique is the foundation of my standing."
He adjusted his thinking and issued another command to the system.
"System, set the mission reward as: one random technique of Heaven Rank or above."
[Ding, reward confirmed. Generating mission...] [Mission generated successfully] [Reward: One random Heaven Rank or higher technique] [Mission: Kill any one third-level god.]
"Tsk, another absurd mission." Bai Shu rubbed his brow. Sure enough, once something involved the god-level of the Douluo Continent, the mission would most likely be tied to gods. Fortunately, this was only a test.
There was a reason he had set the reward as a Heaven Rank technique.
The Douluo Continent had no concept of technique ranks, so Bai Shu could only refer to the classifications of other worlds.
By his estimation, the most common meditation methods in this world should be Yellow Rank. Meanwhile, after generations of improvement, the meditation methods of long-established powers like the major sects and Spirit Hall could most likely reach Profound Rank.
As for Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill, considering its endless vitality, healing abilities, and many other marvelous uses, as well as its status as a genuine Daoist inner cultivation method, it was certainly no lower than Earth Rank.
That was why Bai Shu had wanted to obtain a Heaven Rank technique. But now, it was clear that he had been overthinking it. This was obviously another difficult goal.
For the next two hours, Bai Shu patiently adjusted the reward description again and again, like the most meticulous craftsman, trying to find the perfect balance between difficulty and value.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning. He had thought of an excellent way to test the system's evaluation logic.
He entered the name of a technique that had been famous in his memories from his previous life.
"System, set the reward as: the technique Burning Technique."
[Reward: Technique: Burning Technique] [Mission: Absorb one fire-element spiritual plant of immortal grade or above.]
Bai Shu's breathing abruptly caught!
Wasn't the Infernal Delicate Apricot in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well a ready-made mission item? To him, this mission was practically free!
But the reason for his wild joy was not the Burning Technique itself. Even if he obtained it, it would be useless without Heavenly Flames. He could not possibly use all his subsequent missions to farm Heavenly Flames.
What thrilled him was that he had discovered another loophole in the system. The Burning Technique could grow all the way to the Dominator Realm. By all rights, its mission should have been difficult beyond measure, yet in reality, this mission was practically free.
Clearly, under the system's evaluation logic, the technique's initial rank had greatly lowered the mission's difficulty.
Though it was indeed extremely difficult for everyone else on the Douluo Continent.
With this astonishing discovery, Bai Shu suppressed the wild joy in his heart and immediately changed the mission reward again. His wording became exceedingly careful and clever.
"System, set the reward as: a technique perfectly suited to my martial soul attributes and possessing extremely high growth potential."
He deliberately emphasized "suited to me" and "growth potential," while avoiding any wording that evaluated its initial rank.
A moment later, Bai Shu fell into deep thought as he looked at the mission given by the system.
How should he put it? Bai Shu somewhat wanted to accept this mission, but he was also worried that he would not be able to complete it.
[Reward: A technique compatible with the host and possessing growth potential.] [Mission: The number of Titled Douluo under your command reaches five (2/5).]
After pondering for a long while, determination flashed through Bai Shu's eyes. Gritting his teeth, he made his decision. Risks and opportunities coexisted. Though this mission was difficult, it was not beyond reach. It was worth a try!
"Accept the current mission."
[Mission accepted. Other missions cannot be edited until this mission is completed.]
The system's cold prompt now sounded like a symphony of fate.
Bai Shu slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air, and the turmoil in his chest gradually subsided. His opportunities to use the system were limited, so every choice he made had to be approached with the utmost caution.
As for the three Titled Douluo whose whereabouts were still unknown, the corners of his lips curled upward.
This world never lacked powerful people whose talents went unrecognized.
Bai Shu, who knew the plot well, was fully aware that there were only a handful of unaffiliated Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent. Aside from Dugu Bo, Tang Hao, whom he had killed, barely counted as half of one.
Therefore, from the very beginning, his attention had been fixed on those massive factions.
And when it came to which faction had the most Titled Douluo, it was undoubtedly Spirit Hall!
A name almost instantly leaped into Bai Shu's mind—Dugu Bo's old enemy, Moonlight, the Chrysanthemum Douluo!
Before you continue