"All right, I agree!" Upon hearing Ouyang's words, Xiao Feng agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"Huh? Just like that?" Ouyang looked at Xiao Feng in puzzlement.
Xiao Feng gave an easy smile. "If you'd told me sooner that you were an Inner Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, I would have agreed long ago. Since I didn't make the outer sect's top ten, I have no chance of coming into contact with the inner sect at all. If someone has come knocking to take me in, why would I refuse?"
Seeing how readily Xiao Feng understood the situation, Ouyang couldn't help asking, "Aren't you afraid I'm lying to you?"
Xiao Feng laughed heartily. "Senior Brother, where are we? The Azure Cloud Sect's outer sect! Who would dare swindle people here in the Azure Cloud Sect's name?"
Ouyang had forgotten that little detail. He then looked at Xiao Feng and said, "I don't have the authority to take you as a disciple. That decision will have to wait until Master returns. You can stay at Little Mountain Peak for now, and once Master comes back, he can decide whether to take you as his disciple."
Xiao Feng nodded and cupped his fists toward Ouyang. "I hardly deserve such kindness, but I still don't understand. Why are you helping me like this?"
After all, there was no such thing as help without a reason in this world, only exchanges of interests.
Ouyang looked at the bewildered Xiao Feng and said calmly, "Just consider it a whim. I want to see how far you can go."
"In that case, thank you, Senior Brother!" Xiao Feng bowed respectfully to Ouyang.
The moment Xiao Feng finished speaking, a system notification sounded in Ouyang's mind:
"Detected a karmic bond between the host and a Child of Heavenly Fate. Current quest completion: (4/5). Rewards issued: True Qi +10,000,000; idle gains for this session +20,000."
"Oh? So much from this idle session? Twenty thousand from just three or four days?" Ouyang was a little surprised.
If the system hadn't suddenly piped up, he would almost have forgotten he even had one.
This Idle System had far too little presence. Aside from depositing idle gains at irregular intervals, it spent the rest of its time playing dead.
The length of its idle sessions wasn't fixed either. Sometimes it paid out two or three times a day; sometimes there wasn't a single payout for ten days or half a month. The gains differed each time, too.
But with his True Qi already exceeding nine hundred million, Ouyang no longer paid much attention to his idle gains.
What caught his attention was the quest progress in that notification!
Seeing the quest progress suddenly pop up, Ouyang finally let out a long sigh of relief.
After wearing his tongue out, he had finally brought the quest's completion to 4/5.
The system's criteria for a Child of Heavenly Fate were extraordinarily strict. Even Hu Tutu, who possessed the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox bloodline, hadn't advanced the quest.
The rest of his quest progress had come from those three rebellious brats on the mountain.
Ouyang had raised Leng Qingsong from childhood, Chen Changsheng had come knocking on his own, and Bai Feiyu had been coaxed back when Ouyang accompanied his master to a human city.
Come to think of it, that was strange. Were there really so many Children of Destiny in this world?
If Zu Yuan and Chen Changsheng hadn't been mortal enemies, Ouyang would have gone to poach him from Dongxu Zi.
Did being the Devil Race Sacred Son make him such a big shot?
Which of those three rebellious brats on the mountain was easy to deal with?
Once he was in my hands, wouldn't I still have him firmly under my thumb?
Only one slot remained before he could finish his very first quest since activating the system!
Looking at the quest's progress bar, Ouyang couldn't help feeling a little wistful.
Even in the Azure Cloud Sect, one of the Nine Great Sacred Lands, Zu Yuan was the only person he had encountered who qualified as a Child of Heavenly Fate.
After all, those three rebellious brats joining the Azure Cloud Sect had all had something to do with him, to one degree or another.
That showed just how rare Children of Destiny were!
Who knew what year of the monkey and month of the horse it would be before he found someone for that final slot?
Watching Ouyang suddenly drift off into another world, Xiao Feng didn't dare make a sound.
This senior brother was truly strange. He had zoned out right in the middle of their conversation.
Still, his terrifying cultivation filled Xiao Feng with longing.
If he could one day reach Ouyang's level, surely he would already have taken his revenge by then!
Coming out of his daze, Ouyang smiled apologetically at Xiao Feng. "Since you're now a nominal disciple of Little Mountain Peak, I need to explain a few of its rules."
Xiao Feng immediately sat up straight and looked at Ouyang.
Ouyang's expression turned solemn. "Besides you, there are three senior brothers on Little Mountain Peak, and one little senior sister who's younger than you. Remember this: on Little Mountain Peak, my rules are the rules! Most importantly, stay away from those three rebellious brats! Don't copy everything they do!"
"???" Xiao Feng looked at Ouyang, who was practically grinding his teeth. He was utterly lost, but agreed anyway.
After explaining the things Xiao Feng needed to watch out for, Ouyang prepared to take him back to Little Mountain Peak.
Xiao Feng hesitated before speaking. "Senior Brother, could I borrow something from you?"
"?" Ouyang looked at Xiao Feng, who was asking to borrow things before even joining them. What's this supposed to mean? He hasn't even entered our gates, and he's already growing a rebellious bone?
Xiao Feng hurriedly explained, "I made some friends during my years in the outer sect, and they've helped me before. Please lend me some spirit stones so I can give them farewell gifts when I leave."
Only after hearing Xiao Feng's explanation did Ouyang relax.
With Xiao Feng's temperament, he didn't like owing anyone anything. A kindness as small as a drop of water had to be repaid with a gushing spring.
That was why he had asked to borrow some spirit stones first, to repay his fellow disciples for looking after him all these years.
Whew, that gave me a scare. That's all?
Ouyang unfastened the Storage Bag at his waist, rummaged through it, and tipped out a large chest. "There are a hundred high-grade spirit stones in here. Take them and use them!"
Xiao Feng opened the chest and was immediately startled by the spirit stones inside. He had never seen so many high-grade spirit stones in his entire life, and their quality was so good that they could almost rival supreme-grade spirit stones!
"I don't need that many, Senior Brother. Ten will be enough!" Xiao Feng hurriedly waved his hands.
Ouyang, however, said without a care, "What's the big deal? If you run out, I'll just take you to dig some up from the plaza on Azure Cloud Peak!"
"???!" Having spent five years in the outer sect, Xiao Feng naturally knew the Azure Cloud Sect quite well. He swallowed. He seemed to have just heard something rather incredible from this senior brother.
Xiao Feng cupped his fists toward Ouyang, then dragged the chest out of the room.
He would be staying by Ouyang's side from now on anyway, so there would be plenty of opportunities to repay him. Xiao Feng wasn't worried that he couldn't pay back these spirit stones.
"Junior Brother Xiao, are you leaving?" The youth who had told Xiao Feng to register looked at him and asked, sounding a little crestfallen.
"Senior Brother Zhao, thank you for looking after me all these years. The senior brother from Little Mountain Peak has agreed to let me enter the inner sect to cultivate. Please take these spirit stones as a small token of my gratitude." Xiao Feng cupped his fists toward the youth.
The youth felt as though he had been insulted. His eyes immediately misted over, and he said loudly, "I didn't treat you that way because I wanted you to give me things like this!"
Xiao Feng nodded. "Senior Brother Zhao, I know the brotherly bond between us. That's why these are only a small token of my gratitude. I, Xiao Feng, swear that if you ever find yourself in trouble, I'll help you even at the cost of my life!"
The youth angrily waved Xiao Feng away. "Just go. I don't want to see you right now!"
Xiao Feng gave a wry laugh. Naturally, he knew this senior brother's temper. He was usually a little delicate and petulant, like a girl, but he would be fine in a while.
Xiao Feng took a long look at the youth before him and said solemnly, "The green mountains remain unchanged. Senior Brother Zhao, I'm leaving! Take good care of yourself!"
The youth held his head stiffly until Xiao Feng had gone some distance away. As he watched Xiao Feng's figure gradually recede, tears spilled from his eyes.
Looking at the chest before him, the youth's voice became as clear and melodious as an oriole's as he murmured:
"Brother Xiao, you really are a big meanie!"
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