Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Bang Fo’s Mission
[System Interface Activated]
Shen Yuan lay back against his pillow; the scroll from the Senior Servant Staff member was lying right beside him. It was not even closed completely and laid there messily.
The other servants in the room glanced at him with a worried look on their faces, but no one stepped up to talk to him.
Shen Yuan closed his eyes, and he was still able to see the status screen before him.
[Name: Shen Yuan]
Age: 16
[Current Cultivation: Sixth Stage Qi Gathering Realm]
[Qi Strands: 1,847 / 10,000]
[Do You Want to Break Through The Next Major Realm?]
[Techniques Comprehended: Expand>]
The Flowing Mist Step — Yellow Grade, Peak Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
Basics of Formless Sword Art—Yellow Grade, Peak Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
The Widow Maker: Mastery of Wire Arts for Precision Killing — Yellow Grade, Mid Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
Demon Blood Knife Dance — Yellow Grade, High Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
Scarlet Fang Technique—Yellow Grade, Low Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
The Silent Reaper’s Kiss — Yellow Grade, Mid Rank (Mastery: Perfection.)
Basic Elemental Manipulation (Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Wood) — Yellow Grade, Peak rank (Mastery: beginner.)
Body Cultivation: Mid Iron Fiber Realm [+]
[Lifespan: 190 years.]
Shen Yuan had spent the whole month pushing the battle arts and the techniques he had taken from
the library to their peak.
Eight techniques in a month. He almost wanted to laugh. Any outer disciple who heard this would think him a monster or a liar.
But when it came to Elemental Manipulation Techniques, he decided to leave it out since he did not have enough time.
’Yellow rank techniques are barely doing anything for me.’ Shen Yuan furrowed his brows and turned his attention to the other section. ’Maybe I will have to take a mission to boost my cultivation.’
The reason he broke through two small realms was completely because of his own talent since the techniques only gave a little reward.
Now that he had broken through, he finally saw many missions with Qi strands as rewards along with other things to boost the speed of cultivation.
While learning new techniques, Shen Yuan had not forgotten his old battle arts. He would perform them from time to time to not get rusty.
He dismissed the prompt for now. No point rushing into something without understanding what he was rushing into. Better to let the roommates’ attention on his cultivation die down first anyway.
He had made enough of a spectacle for one lifetime already.
His eyes drifted to the body cultivation line. Early Iron Fiber Realm.
The bruises and calluses on his palms from swinging blades and pulling wire for hours every day had apparently amounted to something after all.
But that was not all. Shen Yuan had also started practicing according to the Body Tempering Manual of the Divine Star Cultivation Technique.
The end goal of the technique was to forge a star physique. A divine body that can shatter stars themselves.
190 years.
Shen Yuan almost smiled at that.
In his previous life, people fought and schemed for decades just to add a handful of years to their lifespan. Here, it had been handed to him like a welcome gift.
Shen Yuan closed the screen and opened his eyes before sitting up straight. The other members of the Stray Feathers also straightened up unconsciously.
Shem Yuan had not just been training himself; he guided everyone in their cultivation once a week. In return, he would ask them to collect information on the things happening inside the dormitory and do whatever he told them to do.
"Tell me." Shen Yuan started speaking, and everyone looked at him. "How much have we accomplished in this month?"
Gu Ren cleared his throat and answered instantly, "We have already taken control of two weak dorms on our floor. One of them is from the girl’s side too. They have a lot of gossip to share, as you said. Some of them are valuable, and the other is pure nonsense."
"Gu Ren. Sometimes valuable information presents itself as bullshit." Shen Yuan spoke like a true sage who had years of experience. "So, don’t dismiss anything because you feel it does not have value."
Gu Ren nodded, straightening his back at the reminder before continuing. "Understood. As for materials, we’ve gathered most of what you listed—spirit-conductive thread from the seamstress dorm, three vials of Bone-Knit Salve from the medicine servants, and a stack of low-grade talisman paper that Bei Zhu managed to trade for using nothing but flattery." He gestured vaguely at Bei Zhu, who puffed his chest out with pride. "The only thing we’re still missing is the cold iron shavings. The blacksmith servants are stingy with those, even the scraps."
"Keep working on it," Shen Yuan said. "No, scratch that. I will get it myself. I know someone who will be able to help us with it."
Gu Ren opened his mouth to continue his report—
"Enough of this!"
Lin Feng shot up from his bed, his voice cracking through the quiet dormitory like a whip. Bei Zhu flinched. Even Chen Bo, half-buried in his suitcases of novels, poked his head up in alarm.
"Materials. Dorms. Information gathering." Lin Feng’s hands curled into fists at his sides, his whole body trembling—not with fear, but with something closer to fury. "Have any of you actually read that scroll? Fifty servants before him. Fifty! And not one of them came back!"
The room went dead silent.
Lin Feng rounded on Shen Yuan, jabbing a finger toward him like an accusation.
"You’re leaving the day after tomorrow to babysit some mad senior brother who kills his own servants for sport."
"And you’re sitting here asking about gossip and cold iron shavings? Have you lost your mind? Do you not understand what’s happening to you?"
Gu Ren reached out, a hand on Lin Feng’s shoulder. "Lin Feng—"
"No!" Lin Feng shrugged him off, chest heaving.
"Everyone in this room is dancing around it like it’s nothing! Like he’s just going on some errand!"
His eyes were red-rimmed now, and his voice cracked.
"You broke through three stages in a month. You’re strong, fine, I get it; we all get it. But that strength means nothing in front of an inner disciple like Bang Fo. He can decide to gut you the first night for looking at him wrong!"
"Do you know what the minimum requirement is to become an inner disciple? If you do not have the favor of an Elder, it is to reach the Core Formation Realm."
"And Bang Fo has both."
He was breathing hard by the time he finished, fists still clenched, refusing to look away from Shen Yuan’s face—as if searching for some crack in that calm mask, some proof that his friend actually understood the weight of what was coming.
The other servants stayed frozen, unsure whether to intervene or let it play out.
Shen Yuan studied Lin Feng for a long moment.
There was no anger in his gaze—only a quiet sort of consideration, the way one might look at a puzzle that had just revealed an unexpected piece.
He’s not angry at me, Shen Yuan thought. He’s scared for me.
It was such a foreign feeling to receive that it took him a second longer than usual to respond.
"Lin Feng." Shen Yuan’s voice was even, unhurried—the same tone he used when correcting Gu Ren, except softer at the edges. "Sit down."
"I don’t want to sit down; I want—"
"Sit. Down."
There was no threat in the words. No pressure of qi, no killing intent. And yet Lin Feng’s legs folded beneath him regardless, dropping him back onto the edge of his bed.
Shen Yuan let the silence stretch for a moment before he spoke again.
"Do you think I want to take this mission? That I am not scared? You are wrong." Shen Yuan spoke once he saw Lin Fang was actually listening to him. "But is there anything I can do to change it?"
Lin Feng opened his mouth to retort, but no words came out.
There was no way for Shen Yuan to back out.
He did not have the power to change the decision of the sect or to defend himself from the sect if they decided to brand him a traitor.
Even if Shen Yuan ran away, there was nowhere for him to go.
"And why do you keep assuming that I would end up like the rest? As long as I am alive, I can find a way to stay that way. I have done so until now."
He let that settle before adding, quieter now, "If you want to help me survive, then help me prepare. That is worth more than your anger."
Lin Feng’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. His hands, still curled into fists on his knees, slowly loosened. "...You could’ve just said you were scared too," he muttered, voice thick. "Instead of acting like none of this matters to you."
Something flickered behind Shen Yuan’s silver eyes—briefly and unreadably.
"Would it have changed anything?" he asked simply.
Lin Feng didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
Shen Yuan turned to Gu Ren and said, "I will have the final material by the afternoon. Then I will tell you what you will do in the next month until we meet again."
His eyes drifted to the open letter where he could see the details of the missions faintly.
He had not told them the truth. Shen Yuan had not just pulled the short straw in missions; he had the shortest one.
[Mission objective: Help Inner Disciple Bang Fo in scribing documents of the sect. The details of the missions will be briefed by the inner disciple himself. Bring the necessary materials mentioned below.]
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