That's a Chicken, Isn't It?

"Drawing a sacred beast..."

The system's voice rang out.

Whoosh.

A light flashed suddenly.

Immediately afterward, a ball of red light appeared on the ground in front of Lu Changzhi.

Lu Changzhi hurriedly looked over.

The next moment, he froze.

That shape, that posture...

"That's a chicken, isn't it..."

Lu Changzhi was somewhat bewildered.

How the hell could a big rooster be a sacred beast?

"Congratulations, host. You have drawn a sacred beast: Chongming Bird ×1."

At the same time, a mass of information poured into Lu Changzhi's mind:

"Chongming Bird: shaped like a chicken, with a cry like a phoenix, and two pupils in each eye. Also known as the Chongjing Bird, its strength reaches the heavens. It can fight and drive off fierce beasts, tigers and wolves, and overawe demons and spirits, preventing monstrous calamities and all manner of evils from causing harm..."

Lu Changzhi patiently read through it and understood.

He had misunderstood the Chongming Bird.

Though it was similar in shape to a chicken, each of its eyes did indeed have two pupils, just as the information said.

And its fiery red feathers were as bright and lustrous as silk.

An ordinary chicken could hardly be so beautiful.

"Too bad it's only a juvenile."

Looking at the knee-high Chongming Bird before him, Lu Changzhi couldn't help shaking his head.

To make it grow, he would have to feed it himself.

Otherwise, his chances of riding it to roam the nine heavens were rather slim.

He couldn't shake the feeling that the system was setting him up.

Putting the thought aside, Lu Changzhi looked at the Chongming Bird and said:

"Let's give you a name."

"Chongming Bird, from now on, I'll call you Xiao Ming."

"Xiao Ming, that's you. Understand?"

"Chirp, chirp, chirp."

Xiao Ming nodded in a remarkably human manner.

"Not bad."

"Sleep outside tonight. Tomorrow I'll have my disciple build you a place to live."

After Xiao Ming left, Lu Changzhi opened the system and looked through it.

[Name]: Lu Changzhi

[Realm]: Dao Platform Realm Ninth Level

[Experience points]: 550

[Aptitude]: High-Grade Spirit Rank (1/3)

[Physique]: Mortal body

[Talents]: Master Not Inferior to Disciple, Conceal Essence and Return Breath

[System trait]: Cracked Version of the Sign-In System

[Shop level]: Not unlocked

[Pet]: Chongming Bird

Lu Changzhi read through the list.

At last, his gaze settled on [Shop].

If he remembered correctly, the experience points awarded by the system could be used to buy things in the shop.

"System, open the shop."

"Failed to open. Unlocking requires 1,000 experience points. Host's current experience points: 550."

"That's a rip-off!"

Lu Changzhi frowned.

The newbie gift pack had only given him 500 experience points.

It wasn't even enough to unlock the shop?

"System, that's not very decent of you."

Lu Changzhi spoke up.

"Master may unlock the shop immediately, but will lose the chance to make a flash-sale purchase at 90% off after the shop is first unlocked."

"Unlock it immediately?"

"Forget it." Lu Changzhi shook his head at once.

He wasn't lacking anything at the moment; he was just curious.

"I hope this so-called 90%-off flash sale won't disappoint me."

A little while later, Lu Changzhi closed the system screen.

For now, he still needed to save up some experience points.

As for upgrading his system trait, aptitude, and realm, he didn't need to consider those yet.

The night quietly passed.

Early the next morning, Gu Chen came over.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he stopped in surprise.

"Master, when did you start raising this chicken? How come I didn't see it yesterday?"

The words had barely left his mouth.

A chirp rang out.

Xiao Ming flapped his wings and turned into a streak of red light, charging at Gu Chen.

Bang!

When the two collided, a solid, muffled thud rang out.

Gu Chen stumbled back two steps.

"What?!"

Surprise immediately appeared on Gu Chen's face. He looked at Lu Changzhi and said:

"Master, your chicken is really strong."

The corner of Lu Changzhi's mouth twitched.

Why did that sound wrong?

"Chirp, chirp."

Xiao Ming attacked again.

Muffled thuds rang out one after another.

Lu Changzhi was somewhat surprised too.

The little fellow didn't look big, but he really was strong.

Seeing that it had gone on long enough, Lu Changzhi said:

"All right, Xiao Ming, stop bullying him."

Xiao Ming stopped clawing at Gu Chen, and Lu Changzhi looked at him.

"Gu Chen, he's a Chongming Bird named Xiao Ming. Don't call him a chicken, or you'll anger him."

"From now on, you must also cultivate diligently. You can't focus only on your realm; you need to pay attention to your physical body too."

"I understand, Master." Gu Chen nodded, his face full of grief.

How embarrassing.

I was bullied by a chicken today.

I really need to work harder.

Otherwise, if one day I can't even beat Master's chicken, that would be too humiliating.

At that moment, Gu Chen felt immensely motivated.

Time passed at a leisurely pace.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Changzhi had been here for half a month.

He had also learned some basic techniques, such as flying.

And thanks to Gu Chen's efforts,

he had now learned several martial techniques for no apparent reason.

Besides that, by checking whether Gu Chen was cultivating diligently,

Lu Changzhi had also learned some of the information he wanted to know about the sect.

Life was quite peaceful.

"But it's been so long. Why hasn't there been any activity from Gu Chen's system?"

One day, Lu Changzhi lay in his chair and asked inwardly:

"System, did you go too hard when you invaded last time and break my eldest disciple's system?"

Otherwise, how could it have gone nearly half a month without issuing a single task?

"Master, there's no need to worry," the system replied.

"As a system, I've always exercised restraint when going in and out."

As soon as it finished speaking, Gu Chen came to see him.

"Master, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Oh?" Lu Changzhi sat up and asked:

"What is it?"

"I still have some matters to attend to in the outside world. I plan to go out and take care of them."

Something stirred in Lu Changzhi's mind, and he asked inwardly:

"System, does he have a task?"

"Yes, Master. The sign-in location has refreshed: Pingyang City. Sign-in reward: random."

No wonder, Lu Changzhi thought. Keeping his expression unchanged, he said:

"In that case, go ahead. Be careful on the road."

"But..." Gu Chen hesitated.

"The sect master and the others..."

Hearing this, Lu Changzhi understood.

Given Gu Chen's current status, going out really was rather inconvenient.

As he was thinking, the system suddenly spoke:

"Disciple Gu Chen is preparing to go out and complete a sign-in. There may be an unexpected gain. You intend to:"

"One: let him go alone. [Reward: High-Grade Heaven Rank Speed Talisman ×1; experience points ×200.]"

"Two: accompany disciple Gu Chen. [Reward: High-Grade Heaven Rank Protection Formation Plate ×1; experience points ×300.]"

"An unexpected gain?"

Something stirred in Lu Changzhi's mind.

It was worth going to take a look.

He stood up and said:

"I'll accompany you."