156 Every Dilemma Has a Solution
The lightning eyes weren't only looking at Cao Mao in the giant hole, but they also glanced at Jia Wenhe and onlookers. One of the eyes sent a lightning bolt to the ground in front of Jia Wenhe, giving him a warning shot.
Seeing the warning, Jia Wenhe bellowed back to the sky, "The person you are testing is under the protection of me, Jia Wenhe, a vessel of the Sun Crow! That death battle just now was fair and square!! If you have a problem with that fight, the Sun Crow will need an explanation from your side!!"
The 14 eyes turned toward Jia Wenhe. They squinted their eyes for a moment before the thunderstorm got stronger. Everyone also heard an archaic voice.
"Son of Jia Gong, the boy has stolen a gift that we had bestowed to our chosen fate bearer. He has to return the Heaven Fate Blessing and repent for his crime with his life! If you interfere, we will-"
Before the mysterious eyes could finish their sentence, the sky cracked and a glowing eye peeked into the hole as if the world was nothing but a small enclosed plane with small people inside.
Jia Wenhe and the 14 Heavenly Eyes heard the mysterious domineering telepathic voice. Also, a few grandmasters could hear it by accident.
THE HELL TRIBULATION JUST NOW WAS FAIR AND SQUARE. AS FOR THE HEAVEN FATE BLESSING, THE BOY EARNS IT. EVERY MORTAL GETS TO KEEP WHAT THEY KILLED, REGARDLESS OF HEAVEN'S INTENTION. THAT'S THE GOLDEN RULES.
NO IMMORTAL CAN HARM A MORTAL OR INTERVENE WITH THEIR FATE IN THIS WORLD, THAT'S ALSO ANOTHER RULE!
IF HE KILLS AND STEALS AGAIN, IT'S YOUR CHOSEN CHILDREN'S FAULT FOR BEING WEAK!
NOW, SCRAM BEFORE I, THE SUN CROW, COME DOWN AND GIVE YOU A SIMILAR TRIBULATION TO YOU FOOLS! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN BULLY A MORTAL BECAUSE THEY KILLED YOUR CHOSEN CHILD, I CAN ALSO DO THE SAME TO YOU NON-ENTITIES! DON'T FORGET THAT THE BRAT IS MY VESSEL'S SON-IN-LAW!! TRY IT AGAIN IF YOU DARE!!
"…"
The lightning eyes looked back at the flame eye beyond the cracked sky. They shrunk in fear and faded. The crack in the sky also disappeared afterward along with the eye of the Sun Crow.
Suddenly, everyone, who eavesdropped on their conversation, had a severe headache.
Several grandmasters stumbled as they felt like something intruded their memories. Within a few seconds, the eavesdroppers from every continent forgot the brief exchange between the 14 strands of Heaven Will and the Sun Crow.
When they came back to their senses, no one or any device managed to record or memorize the event.
Only two persons were unaffected by the mass-brainwashing effect.
Jia Wenhe gazed at the sky in solemn. He knelt and kowtowed three times by slamming his head on the hard ground. He muttered to himself, "Thank you, Great Crow."
"Holy shit. I have plot armor. Was it because of Xie Tian's fate thingy?"
Ding
\u003cThe Great Sun Crow has left you a message through your System Sponsor. The message is as the followings;\u003e
\u003c"Praise me, you heathen, not praise your stupid plot armor or whatever it is! Be grateful that Ju Shoufen begged me to protect you! If you ever treat her granddaughter wrongly, I'll be the one giving you the next Hell Tribulation! Also, you owe Ju Shoufen a favor. Get stronger as soon as possible and get her out of Myriad Cauldron Sect!"\u003e
Ding
\u003cYour System Sponsor has issued a new quest.\u003e
--
Side Quest: Return Ju Shoufen's Favor
Clear Conditions:
1. Eradicate the Yuan Clan and their supporters
2. Kill Yuan Shaoqing
3. Reunite Ju Shoufen with Ju Chen and Jia Wenhe
4. Ju Shoufen, Jia Wenhe, and Ju Chen must survive when everything is over.
Failure Condition: Ju Shoufen, Jia Wenhe, or Ju Chen dies.
Rewards: Unknown
Failure Penalty: The Sun Crow will personally host the next Hell Tribulation for you.
System Sponsor's Note1: This Side Quest's difficulty is higher than campaign quest level 10 since Yuan Shaoqing is Yuan Hua's little brother. Be prepared for Heaven's interference before you take action against the Yuan Clan.
System Sponsor's Note2: Completing this side quest will increase your favor with the Sun Crow. He has prepared a handsome reward for this commission, but he hasn't revealed what it is.
System Sponsor's Note3: It is advised to complete this mission whenever you're ready as Ju Shoufen won't do anything stupid to jeopardize her life any time soon. However, you shouldn't ignore the quest either since changes can happen when a protagonist, a transmigrator, or a reincarnator gets involved with their affairs and altered their fates.
--
"…"
Cao Mao scratched his head, speechless. He didn't know if he should thank the Sun Crow or not for protecting him. The quest itself gave him anxiety, but it gave him a clear guideline of what he should aim for his next goal. After all, solving this quest would also clear the dryad's issues since it related to the Myriad Cauldron Sect.
Still, this quest was a tall call. It demanded a complete annihilation of an aristocrat clan, the Yuan Clan. Moreover, it was a clan under the Dao Goddess of Wet Banana, Yuan Hua.
Ding
\u003cThe Goddess of Wet Banana, Yuan Hua, has left you a message through your System Sponsor. The message is as the followings;\u003e
\u003c"Do not accept the Sun Crow's quest! I promise that I'll tell my brother not to harm your grandmother-in-law. I know that my brother has offended the Ju Clan and it was his fault, but please don't harm my vessels or my clansmen. Please forgive that spoiled brother of mine. I'll give you something to compensate for your trouble."\u003e
Ding
\u003cYour System Sponsor has issued a new quest.\u003e
--
Side Quest: Leave Yuan Shaoqing and His Clan Alone!
Clear Conditions:
1. Do not intervene with the Yuan Clan's affairs until the next Holy Land Tournament
2. Yuan Shaoqing must survive!
Failure Condition: Yuan Shaoqing dies.
Rewards:
1. Yuan Hua will give you the dryad's plane and the control of the plane's laws.
2. If Yuan Shaoqing kills Ju Chen, Ju Shoufen, or Jia Wenhe, Yuan Hua will compensate you with one divine-grade pill, one divine-grade cauldron, and one element crystal of your choice.
3. Every year, Yuan Hua will give you 100 magical wet bananas and random immortal-grade pills as bribes.
Failure Penalty: Yuan Hua will be forever your enemy. She will send protagonists and antagonists to hunt you while you're in the mortal world. If you ascend to the divine realm, she will hunt you down personally.
System Sponsor's Note1: Yuan Hua will do her best to convince Yuan Shaoqing not to touch Ju Shoufen. You can expect a long period of peaceful time within the sect, and
System Sponsor's Note2: Yuan Hua will also bribe you 100 magical wet bananas every year as long as you ignore the Yuan Clan's activities in the Myriad Cauldron Sect.
System Sponsor's Note3: If you have a brain, you know what to do.
--
The system was toying with Cao Mao. Now, it gave him branch side quests.
However, upon a careful study, Cao Mao found loopholes in their quests. He grinned as he had an couple of ideas how he could exploit them. Also, he chose not to do it in a cliche way.
"System, are both quests forced on me at the same time?"
Ding
\u003cYes.\u003e
"Can I negotiate with either the Sun Crow or Yuan Hua?"
Ding
\u003cYes.\u003e
"Good. Well, please tell Goddess Yuan Hua. She should expel Ju Shoufen from the sect and send her to us. Then, tell the Sun Crow to cancel the killing parts. If he is willing to compromise, Yuan Hua has to ensure Ju Shoufen and her family's safety. How's that?"
Ding
\u003cThe messages have been relayed.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow dislikes your idea, but he's willing to compromise as long as Ju Shoufen is unharmed.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua is delighted. She is currently negotiating with the Sun Crow.\u003e
The branch quests sounded complicated at glance, but it could be easily exploited. Why should he choose to complete one when he could negotiate with both Gods and complete both quests?
The purpose of the Sun Crow was to rescue Ju Shoufen. Therefore, killing Yuan Shaoqing was unnecessary. As for Yuan Hua, she was just trying to protect her family. If Cao Mao could cut the killing conditions out, both quests could be resolved peacefully.
It didn't take long for the system to announce the result.
Ding
\u003cYuan Hua has negotiated with the Sun Crow and agreed to change the content of your side quest.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua has canceled her side quest, but she will give you 100 wet bananas as compensation. She has dispatched her vessel to escort Ju Shoufen out of the sect.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow agrees to cancel his side quest. He will give you something as compensation for your advice.\u003e
Cao Mao laughed.
"See? It's so simple. Why should I make things complicated when we can bend the rules with a simple talk?"
Ding
\u003cFor a moment there, Your Sponsor thought that you would have abused the yearly bribe and betrayed Yuan Hua in the future. He is shocked.\u003e
"Are you taking me for a fool? Heck, these quests are waving death flags in the air! Why should I go through one of those cliché plot lines and get myself into trouble when I can end the conflict on the spot with a simple move!? Why do I have to worry about someone else when I have my own issues and my campaign quests!? Screw Ju Shoufen, screw Yuan Shaoqing, and screw you, too, my sponsor! I'm taking shortcuts whenever I want!"
Ding
\u003cYour Sponsor is speechless.\u003e
\u003cThe Sword God Kunwu bursts into laughter.\u003e
\u003cThe Sun Crow shakes his head and sighs.\u003e
\u003cYuan Hua nods in admiration.\u003e
Now that the matter regarding higher entities had been cleared, Cao Mao concentrated on healing his internal injuries from the previous electric shock even though he still had several questions to ask Jia Wenhe and Ju Chen.
'Ju Shoufen is fucking Ju Chen's grandmother or some sort, isn't she? And… What relation is Jia Wenhe to Ju Shoufen?'
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