Chapter 56

Note 2: You can consume lifespan to check lifespan and unlock tasks.

Li Yang stared intently at the lifespan column, stunned by the astonishing amount of lifespan yet to be unlocked.

900,000 years!

Li Yang asked, "Tongzi, what's this 'unlocked lifespan' thing?"

System: [Would you like to consume ten years of your lifespan for this query?]

Li Yang had a vague idea that this was related to the Spirit Pact she and Lianxin had signed, but she wanted to know more details.

"OK!"

System: [The host has entered into Spirit Pact with a higher-dimensional being, triggering life sharing.]

Li Yang: "???"

That's it?

Ten years of life for this one correct but meaningless statement?

You're the Tongzi!

Li Yang rolled her eyes and asked again, "Is there any potential danger to me?"

[Should I use ten years to perform the query?]

Li Yang gritted her teeth. "Yes!"

[No.]

Li Yang: "..."

At that moment, only one sentence echoed in her mind, "Others talk for money, but you're really asking for trouble!"

Li Yang quickly calmed herself down and asked, "I want to check how much lifespan is required to unlock the quest?"

"The current task is simple; it only requires ten years to unlock."

Li Yang said, "Unlock!"

System: [Collect Star Ash Soil.]

Chapter 56

These ten years weren't a bad loss, though.

Does the Lianxin also need Star Ash Soil?

It seems she'll need to plan her trip to the Star Ash Mystic Realm carefully and bring back plenty of "soil".

Looking at his lifespan limit, Li Yang asked, "Tongzi, I only have a lifespan limit of 1500. What if I unlock more than that?"

System: [Would you like to consume ten years of your lifespan to perform this query?]

Li Yang: "Yes, yes, yes."

[Lifespan unlocking is a series of tasks. Each completed task will unlock a corresponding amount of lifespan based on its difficulty. If the lifespan limit is exceeded, it will be temporarily stored. If it cannot be retrieved after 12 hours, it will be locked again.]

Li Yang nodded and said, "That's reasonable."

The tasks she can currently perform are of low difficulty, and the unlocked lifespan is likely short. Moreover, there's a 12-hour temporary state, which she's confident she can use up.

Li Yang then recalled the lifespan increase she had recently received from Lianxin and asked, "What about that?"

System: [Would you like to consume ten years of your lifespan for this query?]

Li Yang couldn't take it anymore and said, "Can't you make it cheaper? How about a year?"

System:"..."

Li Yang really wanted to figure it out. If she could figure out the pattern, she would be able to increase her lifespan from Lianxin in a more scientific and reasonable way.

The first time was in a dream. Lianxin only said two words, and her lifespan increased by twenty years.

Next came the watering. A bucket of water would go down and the plant's lifespan would begin to increase rapidly. Then she would praise him.

As for patterns...

It's really hard to figure out.

Lianxin spoke a lot afterward, but her lifespan did not increase.

Overwatering is obviously not good either.

As for praising... I wonder if praising too much will stop the price from increasing.

Okay, how can you expect a return without investing?

Li Yang said with a heavy heart, "It will cost ten years!"

System: [Related to favorability.]

Although Tongzi's explanation was simple, the key words he provided were very accurate, allowing Li Yang to understand immediately.

So it was about favorability?

Praise is definitely useful, but you can't just praise all the time. You also need to do some practical things, like watering the plants, sprinkling some soil, or ventilating the area.

Li Yang felt more confident.

Although this Little Lianxin is a creature from the Astral Realm, after a brief encounter, Li Yang has already acknowledged his character... well, it should be called his lotus-like character.

She wouldn't mind being nicer to him, especially since it would extend her lifespan.

Li Yang then asked the system, "Are the unlocked lifespan and the free... cough, I mean the lifespan rewarded by favorability two separate systems?"

System: [Whether to consume ten years of lifespan, please check.]

Li Yang was numb, and said, "Yes!"

[Lifespan is locked and shared with the Spirit Pact; once the Spirit Pact is broken, any remaining lifespan will be automatically lost; lifespan awarded based on affinity applies to all higher-dimensional life forms.]

Li Yang: "!"

These past ten years have been worthwhile; I found some very crucial information.

First, there's a time limit to the lifespan lock, so she needs to complete as many unlocking tasks as possible before Lianxin returns home.

Li Yang wouldn't delay the Spirit Pact just to lock her lifespan; it wasn't just Lianxin to go home, she also wanted Lian Zi.

Li Yang knew very well that the teacher longed for a promotion.

Secondly, the favorability reward is not unique, but rather applicable to all higher-dimensional life forms.

Of course, right now Li Yang only knows Lianxin, this one high-dimensional life form. As for the future... well, high-dimensional life forms are very rare, and it's hard to say whether he'll encounter a second one.

A flicker of curiosity arose in Li Yang's heart, and she asked, "Tongzi, why does harvesting plants increase lifespan? What does this have to do with the favorability rating of higher-dimensional beings?"

If I had to categorize them, both would be "plants".

But one is harvesting, and the other is...

Etc!

Harvesting doesn't mean killing!

For example, regarding Lianxin, he could send the lotus seeds away.

What does the lotus seed represent?

Aren't they also "fruits" waiting to be harvested?

System: [Current lifespan is extremely low; this issue cannot be queried.]

Li Yang didn't expect it to answer.

However, it's also clear that getting the system to answer such an "ultimate question" would require a very, very long lifespan.

Because Li Yang currently has a lifespan of over seven hundred years, while the system uses the term "extremely low."

The system didn't respond, but Li Yang had a rough idea of what was going on.

She needs to redefine herself.

She's definitely not a plant killer, but rather... a happy little farmer!

Farming is the way to long-term success.

No sooner had the news of Dean Si's emergence from seclusion been released than Fang Chuyun came to find Li Yang.

Fang Chuyun: "Li Yang, what are the requirements for transferring to the Agronomy Department?"

Li Yang smiled broadly and said, "Let nature take its course."

Fang Chuyun: "?"

Li Yang said, "The Agronomy Department is also called the Nature Department. Our core principle of cultivation is—to follow the natural order."

Fang Chuyun said somewhat reservedly, "I... I don't quite understand."

"It's very simple!" Li Yang said, "You want to come, and the teacher wants to accept you, so it's just a matter of letting things happen naturally!"

Fang Chuyun's eyes lit up and she said, "Dean... Dean Si..."

Si Kui's voice Spirit Sea, saying, "Although you are older than Li Yang, you became a disciple later. From now on, you will be ranked sixth."

Fang Chuyun: "!!!"

Li Yang quickly said, "Hurry up and pay your respects to the teacher."

Fang Chuyun felt as if she were in a dream; she never imagined that she would become the disciple of Half-Step Supreme so easily...

Oh my god.

This is a Half-Step Supreme!

Fang Suyun had, of course, heard about the Agronomy Department. When she learned that her younger sister wanted to switch departments, she advised her, "Even if you go to the Agronomy Department, that Half-Step Supreme being won't accept you as a disciple. At most, you'll be a student in name only, which doesn't really make much sense. Besides, your relationship with Li Yang won't be affected just because you're not in the same department..."

Fang Chuyun simply said, "I want to give it a try."

Fang Suyun knew her younger sister's personality well; she was obedient but also stubborn, and once she made up her mind, nothing could change it.

Fang Suyun sighed softly and said, "Go." With her in Central Capital, my little sister will eventually graduate.

Fang Chuyun, still somewhat dazed, performed the apprenticeship ceremony. Although Si Kui did not appear, she raised her hand and pointed at the mountain, creating another courtyard filled with Starlight, saying, "You will live there from now on."

Yu Hongyuan watched with envy, and said pitifully, "Teacher..."

Feng Yiqiao pulled him along and said, "Yuanzi, let's open a few more Star Aperture first!"

Although Fang Chuyun was not from a prestigious family, nor was she even a person with the Limit Physique, she had a high level of comprehension and managed to open three Star Aperture in just one month, which was far beyond what Yu Hongyuan, who had just introduced star energy into his body, could compare to.

The second person to come and become a disciple was Lin Zhaoqin.

Old Qin looked utterly miserable. Her short hair had gone even shorter, almost to a buzz cut, and her face was covered in bruises and swelling. She even walked with a limp.

Li Yang was startled and stepped forward to help her up. "What... what happened?"

Lin Zhaoqin saw her and grinned, saying, "Li Yang, I've risked my life to transfer departments. If Dean Si doesn't accept me, I'll kneel down and die at the entrance of the Nature Department!"

Li Yang asked, "Were all these injuries inflicted by your parents?"

Lin Zhaoqin replied with considerable pride, "That's right!"

Li Yang paused for a moment, then asked, "It's just changing departments, it shouldn't escalate to the point of..." mother and daughter fighting each other, right?

"Don't worry, I've beaten them into submission too."

Li Yang was stunned.

Lin Zhaoqin said, "That's our family rule: when in doubt, we settle things with our fists."

"Of course, my parents are at a higher cultivation level than me, but none of us used Power of Starlight, Star Skill, or Star Weapon; it was all about bare-knuckle punches! I first subdued my dad, then my mom... But I suspect my mom held back, but it doesn't matter! Anyway, I won! I can change my major whenever I want! They can't stop me!"

Li Yang: "..." The world is full of wonders, I never expected there to be such a family of three.

Si Kui chuckled softly and asked, "How is your great-grandfather?"

Lin Zhaoqin jolted awake and quickly straightened up. Her pitiful appearance vanished completely. She bowed respectfully towards the mountainside and said, "Reporting to Dean Si, my great-grandfather has guarded the Astral Realm for a hundred years. A-Qin, am too young to have ever met him."

Si Kui sighed softly again and said, "He used to be a minor in the Department of the Nature Department. You can also be a minor in the Department of the Nature Department. There's no need to switch departments directly."