The System's Hidden Mission

Ding...

"Friendly reminder from the system: please don't forget about taking first place on the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet, host."

After two years, the system sounded once again.

"Huh? System buddy, I thought you'd gone missing! So you were still here!"

"Host, this system buddy... pfft, no, this system isn't a dog. How could I go missing? I was just reminding you in case you'd forgotten your mission.

"There's also something I was going to tell you after you completed your first mission, but I can tell you now instead.

"This system has a hidden mission. Interested, host? If you're willing, you can complete both missions together. There are plenty of rewards."

"What is it? Let's hear it."

"No, no, no! The host must accept the mission before this system will reveal the details. But you can choose to refuse."

"System buddy, will I lose anything if I refuse?" Yuan Zhexian asked.

"You won't lose anything," the system said.

"Another hidden mission, and I won't lose anything if I refuse. Is this dog system trying to screw me over?" Yuan Zhexian thought for a moment before speaking.

"This dog system... ah, pfft, no. This system might screw over heaven and earth, but I'd never screw over my host. You're my sugar daddy. How could I possibly screw you over?"

"Then call me daddy. Let me hear it."

"I *******" The system felt ten thousand mud horses stampeding through its heart.

"See? You said I was your sugar daddy and you wouldn't screw me over, but when I ask you to call me daddy just once, you won't do it? Then I'm not doing any of the missions you give me from now on. That's it."

"I've got missions, but I won't do them. Hey, I'm just playing around."

"How about that? How about that?"

"Hit me, then, idiot," Yuan Zhexian said happily.

"Counting down ten seconds until the system self-destructs..."

"Stop... stop... stop! I was just joking. Did you have to go and self-destruct? Now you're really getting worked up. Honestly. I'll accept it, all right?" Yuan Zhexian was speechless. This dog system was a real sly one.

"The host was asking for it. You wouldn't compromise until I pulled out my ultimate move."

Yuan Zhexian now looked as though he'd eaten a mouthful of shit. "I..."

Ding... hidden mission activated. The host must unlock the Heavenly Dao Ancient Tablet's Eternal Rankings and take first place.

"Eternal Rankings? Take first place? Wasn't the previous mission already to take first place? What's this first place, then?"

"Are you freaking messing with me?"

"The first mission was to take first place after all nine rankings of the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet merged into one. This hidden mission is for the Heavenly Dao Ancient Tablet's Eternal Rankings."

"Only a taboo prodigy unmatched throughout eternity can unlock the Heavenly Dao Ancient Tablet's Eternal Rankings. The conditions for unlocking it are extremely demanding. The rankings list the strongest taboo prodigies recorded by the Heavenly Dao Ancient Tablet from ancient times to the present."

"Everyone on the rankings was an invincible existence unmatched throughout eternity. Even the lowest-ranked had the cultivation of a Great Emperor, while those at the very top have already become immortals."

"Immortals?"

"Breaking the records of these people who became immortals should be pretty good," Yuan Zhexian said with a smile.

"Now that's interesting. It's a challenge. If I can't even defeat them, how am I supposed to sweep aside all opposition throughout eternity and become one without equal in all ages?"

The Hundred Thousand Great Mountains!

Huang Shaoyu looked at Yuan Zhexian in the distance and said to the Huang Family, "That's the divine son of the taboo Yuan Clan? He's obviously just a little brat who hasn't even grown all his hair yet, copying others by coming here for the trial."

A Huang Family elder glanced at Huang Shaoyu and said, "Holy son, you mustn't underestimate the Yuan Clan's divine son. Every one of the Yuan Clan's ten sequences is a heaven-defying prodigy."

"This generation's first sequence, Yuan Ruochu, is an unparalleled prodigy with a Samsara Physique. Even a prodigy like him didn't become the Yuan Clan's divine son. You can imagine how terrifying Yuan Zhexian's talent must be."

"You mustn't be careless, holy son."

Hearing the elder say this, Huang Shaoyu curled his lip in disdain.

The people from the Jade Pool Holy Land were also looking at Yuan Zhexian, and Bai Lingxi's eyes were especially full of curiosity.

When she had set out, her master, the Jade Pool Holy Lord, had repeatedly urged her not to come into conflict with Yuan Zhexian and to get closer to him if possible.

Bai Lingxi had asked the Jade Pool Holy Lord in puzzlement why. The Jade Pool Holy Lord had said with a sorrowful expression, "Because he is his son. Back then, his divine might was unrivaled, and he was dashing and heroic. He was invincible among his peers and suppressed countless unparalleled prodigies. As his son, I imagine he certainly won't be any worse."

Thinking of the complicated expression on her master's face when she spoke of Yuan Changsheng and Yuan Zhexian, Bai Lingxi was suddenly filled with boundless curiosity about Yuan Zhexian.

The people of the Phoenix Clan also fell silent after watching the Yuan Clan's entrance. One after another, they looked at their phoenix maiden.

The phoenix maiden's expression was cold. She glanced indifferently at the Yuan Clan without saying a word.

Among the people of the Sun Imperial Dynasty, Crown Prince Zhenyang watched the Yuan Clan with a grave expression, especially their divine son, Yuan Zhexian.

He recalled something from the past. When he was seven or eight, he had gone traveling and met Yuan Ruochu, who had also been seven or eight at the time, in a secret realm. He possessed the Great Sun Divine Body and had thought he could suppress everyone of his generation.

Seeing someone from the Yuan Clan, he had thought to intimidate him, only to be defeated by Yuan Ruochu in fewer than ten moves.

After returning to the imperial dynasty, he had worked hard in seclusion for two years, and his cultivation had risen greatly.

When he was ten, he ran into Yuan Ruochu again on another journey. Without a word, he attacked. This time was even more pitiful: he was defeated in eight moves, and Yuan Ruochu left with carefree ease.

From then on, Yuan Ruochu became a shadow Jin Zhenyang could not erase. If he did not defeat him, Yuan Ruochu would sooner or later become his heart demon. In a severe case, it could even prevent his cultivation and strength from improving any further.

Yet someone with such strength was still not the divine son of the Yuan Clan's generation, merely the first sequence. Clearly, Yuan Zhexian's talent was even greater than Yuan Ruochu's.

"Cousin!"

Just then, a voice rang out, and a streak of light landed beside Yuan Zhexian. The light faded, revealing a beautiful figure.

She was fifteen or sixteen, with fine, dark hair draped below her shoulders, giving her a gentle beauty. Her fair skin was smooth as jade.

Her bright eyes made people unable to resist taking a second look. She had a high nose and a pair of dimples on either cheek. With every frown and smile, her expression flowed naturally. Beautiful and captivating, she was like a fairy who had stepped out of a painting.

"Uh...? You're... cousin Muyao?"

Yu Muyao was the current divine daughter of the Yu Clan of Grand Jade Heaven. She possessed the powerful Dream Illusion Body, a physique ranked among the top fifty of the three thousand physiques.

The Dream Illusion Body possessed immense spiritual power, and its secret arts and illusions could leave people unable to tell dreams from reality. She was the daughter of the Yu Clan head.

Yuan Zhexian's mother, Yu Lingqing, was the previous divine daughter of the Yu Clan, and the current Yu Clan head was Yu Lingqing's own elder brother.

The Yu Clan head also had a son, who was Yuan Zhexian's older cousin. The Yu Clan's divine son was already eighteen this year.

The Yu Clan was also an immortal imperial clan, somewhat weaker than the Yuan Clan appeared to be. Even so, it was one of the most powerful lineages in the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands.

"What's wrong, cousin? Don't you recognize me anymore? I even went to the Yuan Clan to see you when you were little."

Remember? How could I forget? When I was little, you nearly flicked my little peepee. If my mother hadn't been quick enough to scoop me up, I'd have fallen victim to your dirty hands long ago.

Yuan Zhexian grumbled inwardly.

On the surface, though, he smiled faintly and said, "Of course I remember. Cousin, why did you come to Great Origin Heaven? Are you here for the trial too?"

"No, I came to see you. The old man said this trial was an enormous opportunity and that I had to take part. I don't want my name on the rankings for everyone to know."

"Well, when I heard you were coming too,"

"I begged the supreme clan elder to bring me secretly across the heavens."

At that moment, the Yu Clan's supreme clan elder also came over. He looked at Yuan Zhexian, held his right hand upright before his chest, and nodded. "Greetings, divine son."

"My mother was the Yu Clan's previous divine daughter. I have half the Yu Clan's blood in me too, so I'm half a member of the Yu Clan. There's no need for such courtesy, elder."

"Oh? You old thing, what made you willing to come out this time? Weren't you waiting to pass away in the Yu Clan?" Yuan Jiuzhong said, looking at the Yu Clan's supreme clan elder.

"What, you old immortal can come, but I can't? Besides, you haven't passed away yet, so how could I bear to?"

"I came to bring our divine daughter to see the divine son. I was also curious about the Yuan Clan's divine son and came to take a look, and to renew our ties while I was at it."

"What? Others might not know about this child, but we do."

"With this child's terrifying talent, aptitude, and physique, he could even become our clan's imperial son."

"Don't forget, his mother was our clan's previous divine daughter, and our clan head is his own maternal uncle."

"What? Imperial son? Hold both titles? Bullshit! Zhexian is clearly our clan's divine son, all right? You shameless old thing," Yuan Jiuzhong said angrily.

"What? Got a problem with that? Want to have a fight?" the Yu Clan's supreme clan elder shot back, unwilling to back down.

Both had been prodigies who towered over their generation in their youth, invincible among their peers. They had fought each other since they were young, each winning and losing, evenly matched.

But the two had also become acquainted through fighting. From their initial rivalry, they had gradually become the close friends they were now. These days, they simply liked to bicker when they met and get it out of their systems.

Just as the two were bristling and glaring at each other, the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet suddenly radiated light in all directions.

What was this? The trial had begun.

Everyone then gathered their respective prodigies and flew toward the Heaven-Suppressing Ancient Tablet, ready to take part in the trial.