"What?"
Qi Yao stood there in a daze, momentarily unable to react.
Not far away, the bearded man, firmly immobilized, swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice, "W-Who exactly are you?"
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Since the appearance of this mysterious man, the air around seemed to freeze, making even the slightest struggle impossible, and speaking was a daunting task.
His two subordinates were even worse off, their bodies stiff as iron, frozen in a comical pose as if they were lunging forward.
At this moment, even if the bearded man was slow-witted, he could sense something was amiss.
The man before him was terrifying!
In a backwater place like Qingyun Town, he had never encountered such a formidable figure.
Qi Yuan withdrew his gaze from the wooden tablet and glanced at the bearded man indifferently.
"Are you Xu Biao, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang?"
Xu Biao's heart skipped a beat, sweat began to form on his forehead, and he replied nervously, "Y-Yes, if you have any instructions, please just say the word, and I will comply."
Having confirmed his target, Qi Yuan couldn't be bothered with further words. With a casual gesture, Xu Biao, who had dominated Qingyun Town for decades, exploded on the spot, turning into a mist of blood with no remains left.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the novice task. The system will now begin repairing your dantian and meridians...]
The prompt sounded in his ear, but Qi Yuan felt no sense of accomplishment, and even found it somewhat amusing.
If he guessed correctly, the unlucky fellow lying in the grave was the original owner, whose name was also Qi Yuan.
For some unknown reason, the Trash-to-Triumph System that should have belonged to the original owner got bound to him instead.
Because the original owner hadn't awakened the system in time or received the novice gift pack, he was easily killed by Xu Biao, and now grass was growing over his grave.
According to the original storyline, the original owner could have used the system to rise against all odds, becoming the protagonist of a typical power fantasy. Instead, he died quietly, which was truly unfortunate.
Thinking of this, Qi Yuan couldn't help but shake his head.
For now, this troublesome system was of no use to him. He could only try completing some tasks to see if it would function properly in the future.
As his thoughts raced, a warm current flowed through his meridians, spreading throughout his body and gradually converging in his dantian.
Qi Yuan was initially stunned, but then he immediately sensed the changes within him.
His meridians seemed much stronger than before, capable of holding more True Essence, and his dantian and Qi Sea had expanded significantly, comparable to those of an Elemental Infant Realm cultivator.
Wow, the system's reward actually worked!
Confirming that these changes had no adverse effects, Qi Yuan couldn't help but show a look of surprise.
Even though he didn't need to cultivate, the system had enhanced his dantian and meridians, indirectly boosting his cultivation potential.
It's worth noting that physique is a type of innate talent, and he was already a top-tier genius. With the system's enhancement, he had reached a new level, which was an unexpected delight.
It seemed this dumb system wasn't entirely useless after all.
Though the process was somewhat dull, the rewards were quite appealing.
Having tasted the benefits, Qi Yuan began to look forward to the rewards of future tasks.
Just then, a timid voice suddenly came from beside him:
"Thank you... thank you, senior, for avenging my brother..."
Qi Yuan turned to look at the tearful young girl before him.
The original owner's sister was about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in simple clothes, with a frail figure and slightly pale skin due to malnutrition. Her brows carried a hint of sorrow, yet she couldn't hide her delicate beauty, clearly a budding young beauty.
Seeing Qi Yuan's gaze, a blush appeared on Qi Yao's fair, youthful face. She lowered her head nervously, not daring to meet his eyes.
Although she had no cultivation herself, coming from a Xuan Clan Aristocratic Family, she had the necessary insight. This mysterious expert had effortlessly killed Xu Biao, the Black Tiger Gang leader at Qi Refining level three, clearly not an ordinary cultivator.
Especially the profound aura emanating from him, which made her feel an urge to worship him.
Qi Yao had a vague premonition that this man was no ordinary person, perhaps even more powerful than the Qi family's Foundation Establishment ancestor...
For ordinary people, the Foundation Establishment realm was akin to immortals, an unattainable existence.
As for higher realms, they were completely unimaginable.
"It was just a small effort, nothing worth mentioning."
Qi Yuan smiled gently and said warmly, "No need to call me senior, just call me Brother Qi."
According to the system's pattern, the original owner's sister was a key character, and there would definitely be system tasks related to her in the future. It was best to start building a relationship now.
Thus, the moment he confirmed the original owner was truly dead, he decided to take Qi Yao back to the Supreme Profound Sacred Land, bringing her completely under his control.
As someone in a position of power, he disliked any uncontrollable variables.
Hearing this, Qi Yao was momentarily stunned, hesitated for a moment, then shyly called out in a voice as soft as a mosquito:
"Brother Qi... thank you..."
Qi Yuan nodded and effortlessly dealt with the two Black Tiger Gang lackeys who had fainted from the Golden Elixir Realm's aura, his actions clean and efficient.
He had risen to the position of Sacred Land Dao Child not by being soft-hearted.
Even when facing weaker enemies, he couldn't afford any carelessness.
Eradicating the root was the only way to prevent future troubles.
At that moment, the system interface appeared before Qi Yuan again, displaying new task information.
[New Task: Path of Escape (Difficulty: Four Stars)]
[Task Description: After a thrilling battle, you defeated the Black Tiger Gang leader Xu Biao at Qi Refining level three as a mere mortal, resuming your path of cultivation. However, your actions will soon provoke the Black Tiger Gang's frenzied retaliation...]
[Task Objective: Escape Qingyun Town with your sister Qi Yao and survive the Black Tiger Gang's pursuit.]
[Additional Reward Condition: Eliminate the Black Tiger Gang leader Li Hu (Qi Refining level five).]
[Task Rewards: 100 Counterattack Points, five top-grade Gathering Qi Pills, 200 low-grade spirit stones, unlock Instant Comprehension Function.]
[Additional Rewards: Appropriately enhance the host's poor spiritual root aptitude, gain the talent [Playing the Pig to Eat the Tiger].]
Huh?
As he listened, Qi Yuan's expression gradually turned peculiar.
This dumb system was as nonsensical as ever.
Clearly, ignoring the nonsensical task description, the key to completing the task lay in achieving the "task objective."
At this moment, he could already imagine himself being chased by a group of weaklings with no cultivation.
Of course, the task itself posed no difficulty. Even just for the reward of enhancing his spiritual root aptitude, he would do it begrudgingly.
But the problem was, how to make the Black Tiger Gang leader at Qi Refining level five have the courage to chase after someone at the peak of the Golden Elixir Realm...
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