Chapter Twenty-Five: Being Monitored Every Day

This is a tradition of the Sword Sect: disciples must hand over 30% of what they obtain in secret realms to the sect, or convert it into contribution points, to show their gratitude for the sect's nurturing and to encourage disciples to actively explore.

The line wasn't long, and it was soon Fang Li's team's turn.

Zhao Tie, Sun Yu, and Xiao Tao stepped forward one by one and took out some of the spiritual herbs and ores they had harvested.

The disciple in charge checked the records and quickly provided the contribution points. All three were overjoyed, especially Xiao Tao, whose eyes crinkled with laughter as she looked at the extra contribution points on her identity token.

When it was Fang Li's turn, she calmly took out the pre-sorted harvest from her storage bag.

There were a considerable amount of star grass, fluorescent mushrooms, black iron ore, a few low-grade spirit stones, and even the tusks and fur of the tusked wild boar.

These harvests were diverse in variety, substantial in quantity, and of good quality, clearly the result of numerous battles and careful searching.

The person in charge of taking inventory was a middle-aged deacon with a serious face. He carefully examined the materials that Fang Li had taken out, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

He couldn't help but glance at Fang Li a few more times before he began to quickly count and calculate the amount.

Finally, he handed Fang Li her identity token: "Total 180 contribution points. Harvest rating: Excellent."

A low gasp of surprise rose from the surrounding area.

One hundred and eighty points! For an outer disciple, this is an absolute fortune!

Many inner disciples might not even reach this number after a single trip.

Ji Qianqiu, standing behind Fang Li, crossed his arms and snorted, seemingly thinking that this gain was insignificant, but he couldn't help but glance at Fang Li's calm profile.

Fang Li accepted the token and bowed slightly: "Thank you, Steward."

She turned to leave, but suddenly felt several intense gazes fall upon her.

The open space at the exit of the secret realm was bustling with activity as disciples shared their experiences and gains over the past three days, some excited and some frustrated.

Amidst the commotion, several unseen gazes pierced through the crowd, focusing on Fang Li, who had just completed her contribution point settlement, each with their own thoughts.

At the edge of the crowd, Xie Chen gently waved his jade fan, chatting and laughing with several familiar inner sect elites with a composed and elegant demeanor, attracting frequent glances from several female disciples around him.

His gentle gaze fell on Fang Li's identity token, which displayed 180 contribution points and was rated as excellent, and then slowly swept over her calm and expressionless face.

"As expected, you always bring an unexpected surprise." Those naturally smiling fox eyes curved even deeper, a glint of almost imperceptible shrewdness flashing in their depths. A playful smile played on her lips. "Seemingly unassuming, yet your gains far exceed those of ordinary outer disciples. Is it luck? Or is there something more to hide?"

This derailed bird seemed to have fuller and more interesting plumage than he had expected.

On the other side, Ji Qianqiu didn't care about the contribution points at all. He was holding onto his muscular arm, his thick eyebrows furrowed, his eyes vacant, as if he was still lost in thought.

But Fang Li's words about hitting the elbow joint kept replaying in his mind.

"To save energy... and avoid tearing my sleeve..." He subconsciously touched his torn cuff, then gestured with his hand as if slapping at an angle. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that seemingly effortless move actually had some trick up its sleeve? It not only solved the problem but also showed a kind of skill.

He shook his head violently, trying to shake off this idea that was out of character for him, but his gaze couldn't help but drift back to Fang Li.

This junior sister looks thin and weak, but she's quite shrewd in a fight and knows a lot, unlike those women who only scream or run away.

An unprecedented sense of awkwardness made him find Fang Li much more pleasing to the eye.

At least, he's much more to my liking than those women who only blush when they see him.

At a slightly further distance, Shen Yunzhou, one of the disciples patrolling the secret realm, stood upright like a pine tree, but his expression was colder than usual.

His icy gaze swept across the crowd, clearly seeing that Fang Li and Ji Qianqiu emerged from the secret realm almost one after the other. Although they did not speak, Ji Qianqiu surprisingly did not immediately seek out a fight. Instead, he would occasionally stare at Fang Li with a focused gaze!

What happened between them?

The thought popped up uncontrollably, causing a familiar sense of unease to well up in Shen Yunzhou's heart, stronger than ever before.

The feeling that something that belonged to him was slipping out of his control, and even being coveted by others, made the chill emanating from him almost freeze the surrounding air.

He forced himself to look away, his jawline taut.

He's just a troublesome pest; who he's with is none of his business.

But that nameless fire burned away his composure, making his breathing somewhat sluggish.

High above the clouds, a gentle breeze seemed to be blowing.

Ye Wuyang's indifferent divine sense, like invisible ripples, silently spread across the entire gathering place, finally pausing slightly on the seemingly ordinary storage bag at Fang Li's waist.

The pure spiritual energy contained in the carefully stored Spirit Tempering Grass in the bag caused a rare, almost imperceptible ripple to appear in his vacant eyes.

A faint, unheard exclamation seemed to escape into the fierce winds of the heavens.

This variable seems to be hiding some little secrets that even he couldn't see through at a glance.

However... it is more worthy of observation than expected.

Just as everyone's thoughts were wavering.

Without warning, a chaotic, electrical, mechanical sound rang in Fang Li's mind!

Fang Li: "!!!" Here we go again?! This damn system never seems to pick a time to act up!

[Detected... multiple streams of... high-quality... emotional energy...]

The system's voice was intermittent, accompanied by a piercing electrical buzzing: [Target 1... Energy fluctuations... Strong... Analysis... Chaotic...]

[Target Two... hissing... Emotional Type... Fighting Spirit... Exploration... hissing... Unable to analyze...]

[Target Three... Energy Characteristics... Negative... High Concentration... Sizzling... Jealousy... Irritability... Danger! ...]

[Target 4...buzzing...unknown...high-level...severe interference...unable to...lock...error! ...]

Fang Li was so shocked by the sudden intracranial noise that her temples throbbed, her legs swayed slightly, and her face paled instantly.

What's wrong with this damn system now?!

Multiple high-quality emotional energies? Targets one, two, and three? Who are they? What do they want to do?

A strong sense of unease instantly gripped her.

This thing is definitely more than just issuing silly tasks!

She subconsciously tightened her fingers, her nails digging into her palms, causing a slight stinging pain. She forced herself to maintain a calm demeanor, but inside, a storm was raging.

What kind of monster is this damn system?! What does it want from her, and from the people around her?!