The So-Called "Harbinger of Misfortune"

"Inspect."

Whoosh.

A flash of light appeared.

[Name]: Jin Fugui

[Realm]: Body Tempering Realm Third Level

[Aptitude]: Lower-Grade Yellow-Rank

[Physique]: Mortal body

[Talent]: Blessing Others

"Hm? Only a special talent?"

Lu Changzhi raised an eyebrow.

There was no special physique at all.

His aptitude was the lowest grade, too.

Only the talent field stood out.

[Blessing Others]: A person with this talent can imperceptibly influence the fate of those around them, improving their blessings, luck, and financial fortune, but it offers little help to the possessor.

"What is it?"

Seeing Lu Changzhi suddenly stop, Xu Kun asked.

System, show me where he is.

Lu Changzhi spoke silently in his heart.

The next moment, a light appeared, pointing toward a restaurant up ahead.

The restaurant was built on a grand scale. It was called the Gold and Jade Pavilion and had been opened by the Jin Clan, the greatest power in Golden Cloud City.

"Let's take a rest and get something to eat there."

With that, Lu Changzhi rose and headed over.

From what he had gathered during this time, even people with talents were exceedingly rare.

Since he had come across one, he might as well take a look.

"Didn't we just eat in the last city?" Xu Kun muttered, hurrying after him.

People came and went inside the Gold and Jade Pavilion.

Many attendants walked among them.

"What's your name?"

Lu Changzhi stopped an attendant and asked.

"Jin Fugui."

The attendant answered promptly.

Lu Changzhi nodded lightly and studied him.

He looked to be in his early twenties, with an honest face and a somewhat thin, frail build. He seemed a little reserved.

At first glance, there really was nothing distinctive about him.

"Honored guest, how may I help you?"

Jin Fugui asked.

"Fugui, I see that you have extraordinary bones and well-proportioned features. Would you be willing to come work at my Five Symbols Sect?"

Lu Changzhi asked.

Although Jin Fugui had little cultivation, having him as a mascot on Hidden Origin Peak would be quite good.

"Huh?!"

Jin Fugui stared at Lu Changzhi in disbelief.

But a trace of dejection soon flashed in his eyes:

"I only have Yellow-Rank Aptitude. Why would the Five Symbols Sect want me? Honored guest, please don't joke with me."

"I'm not joking with you." Lu Changzhi shook his head and took out an identity token.

"If you're willing, come work at the Five Symbols Sect with me. If not, just forget I said anything. Think it over."

Though Jin Fugui's talent was good, Lu Changzhi would not force him.

Jin Fugui's gaze jolted when he saw the token.

Although he did not know exactly what status it represented, the man before him was certainly a disciple of the Five Symbols Sect.

Some sect disciples did indeed find attendants to work for them.

For mortals, even working at a cultivator's side was beyond comparison with an ordinary life.

"I'm willing," Jin Fugui said, then paused briefly:

"But I need to tell my father about this."

"Very well. I'll go with you, then." Lu Changzhi stood up.

"I really can't make sense of how Changzhi takes disciples," Xu Kun thought, completely baffled.

First there was Luo Ling'er, and now there was Jin Fugui.

Was there really something he had failed to see?

"I have no objection to this. Since he's willing, let him go."

"If there's nothing important in the future, there's no need to come back."

After leaving the Jin Clan residence, Lu Changzhi still felt surprised.

Jin Fugui's father was actually the head of the Jin Clan?!

It seemed he held Jin Fugui in considerable disdain.

Even after they had walked some distance away, they could still hear him say through their spiritual senses, "I've finally gotten rid of that harbinger of misfortune."

Before Lu Changzhi could ask, Jin Fugui gave him a brief explanation.

As it turned out, his mother had been a cultivator with limited aptitude.

But when he was a few years old, she had suddenly made another breakthrough.

After that, her cultivation path had gone even more smoothly.

Although her cultivation was not particularly high, it was already considerable in the mortal world.

Then his mother put a green hat on the Jin Clan head.

The Jin Clan had been thriving at the time. How could its head tolerate such a thing?

Unfortunately, his mother had strength, and he could not beat her.

Later, his mother simply stopped coming home.

The Jin Clan head had one green hat piled atop another.

It was much like loving the house and its crow.

The Jin Clan head's attitude toward him became extremely poor.

After learning that he had no talent for cultivation, he went so far as to call him a harbinger of misfortune.

"So that's how it is."

After listening, Lu Changzhi spoke with feeling:

"A bird chooses a fine tree to roost in. Moving somewhere else is a good thing too."

Afterward, he also asked about the Jin Clan's development over the years.

As expected, it was during the past dozen or so years that the clan had grown increasingly prosperous.

Taking Jin Fugui with them, they continued traveling from place to place.

They ate and drank as they pleased.

In the blink of an eye, several more days passed.

By Lu Changzhi's reckoning, only three days remained of the one-month deadline.

"It seems completing this task isn't easy."

Looking at the scenery on the horizon, Lu Changzhi sighed inwardly.

A month was still a little too short.

Another day passed.

Another fairly large city appeared ahead.

As always, they walked inside.

As they approached the city's prince's residence, a red light suddenly flashed before Lu Changzhi's eyes:

"❗❗❗"

"System notification: Another host possessing a system has been detected nearby. Please be advised."

At the same time, another system notification immediately followed:

"Target meeting the selection criterion [Upper-Grade Spirit-Rank Aptitude or above] detected. Inspect?"

"Another one with a system?"

Lu Changzhi raised an eyebrow.

Within the small territory of the Five Symbols Sect, crouching tigers and hidden dragons abounded. He had encountered two people with systems in succession.

"Inspect."

Lu Changzhi spoke softly in his heart.

Whoosh.

Information appeared.

[Name]: Mu Fan

[Cultivation]: Dao Platform Realm Sixth Level

[Aptitude]: Upper-Grade Spirit-Rank

[Physique]: Mortal body

[Talent]: Talisman Inscription Mastery

[Special]: Idle Cultivation System

"So it really is the same person?"

Lu Changzhi's gaze settled on [Idle Cultivation System].

The system automatically provided a brief introduction.

[Idle Cultivation System]: Cultivation resources such as cultivation techniques, martial skills, treasures, and pills can be placed inside for automatic cultivation, with no need for the host's attention. Cultivation never stops while the host is alive. Random rewards are obtained after idling for a certain amount of time. Idle speed and capacity increase as the system is upgraded.

A thought suddenly stirred in Lu Changzhi's mind.

He recalled the options the system had given him before he chose his identity.

Both the Sign-In System and the Idle Cultivation System had been among them.

Moreover, even the identities now seemed to roughly match.

Gu Chen had indeed come from a mountain village.

And here, they were near a prince's residence.

"It seems those in the choices back then will all appear."

A light flashed in Lu Changzhi's eyes.

Last time, he had relied on his system to hack Gu Chen's system directly.

This time...

"System?"

The moment the words left his mouth,

the system suddenly displayed a notification:

"Host has encountered another person using a cheat. You intend to:"

"One: Fight poison with poison and use a cheat against a cheat. Hack the other party's system and have him offer to become your disciple. [Reward: Experience points × 200.]"

"Two: Personally find a way to persuade the other party to become your disciple. [Reward: External incarnation × 1.]"

"Three: Pretend not to see him and leave immediately. [Reward: Upper-Grade Spirit-Rank cultivation technique, Bright Pupil Art × 1.]"