Chapter 2: First, focus on improving your cultivation and saving your life!
Shen Zhaozhao clutched her chest, and before she could react, a scornful voice exploded in her head without warning.
Oops, sorry, I overslept!
[Uh, host, you actually escaped from Gu Xuanchen, that chosen one?!]
[Host, you're a real genius!]
The voice, still excited, continued, "[Since you're so capable, I'll give you a perk. Tell me, what are you best at? Slapping faces? Crushing scum? Pretending to be weak while actually being strong? This system can tailor-make rewards for you, guaranteed to be incredibly useful~]"
Shen Zhaozhao: "..."
ah.
no.
Are systems this easy to deal with these days?
Is it the post-2000 generation who are cleaning up the system circle?
What is she good at?
Shen Zhaozhao blinked, her eyes clear and honest: "I... am good at being immoral."
system:【……】
The obnoxious voice in my head seemed to have been choked by someone, and it fell completely silent.
A deathly silence.
After a full three breaths, the voice finally reappeared with a sluggish, stuttering quality, like a CPU that had overheated: 【…Are you…are you really that awful?】
Shen Zhaozhao replied very sincerely, "We really need it."
system:【……】
Another long silence followed.
The system's voice was filled with unprecedented bewilderment: "This system has been doing this for thousands of years, and such a refreshingly unconventional, back-to-basics characteristic is truly... the first time I've ever seen anything like it."
Shen Zhaozhao: "Then you have very little experience."
[...]
The system fell silent again, then, with a tragic, resigned air, announced: [Ding! Host core characteristic detected: 'Shamelessness'.]
[Activating exclusive system... Activation successful! Congratulations, host, on binding the 'Shameless System'!]
"Well," the system's voice suddenly sounded a little guilty, "this system is of a rather high level; it was originally set to be bound to an entire sect."
[It's the kind of situation where the entire sect works together to slap someone else in the face, and you, the host, can just lie back and collect 'face-slapping points' happily. But if the sect itself accidentally gets slapped in the face, then your earnings will be deducted...]
Shen Zhaozhao suddenly had a bad feeling: "So?"
The system chuckled twice. "[So, host, you'd better find a sect that's not too ethical. Otherwise, if you're immoral here, they'll give you merit points there, which is basically like working for free.]"
As the system spoke, a semi-transparent light screen, visible only to Shen Zhaozhao, unfolded before her eyes with a "whoosh."
The interface is extremely simple and straightforward, with the top line displaying the message: "Bad Morality Value Balance: 0".
Below is the redemption area, and the only currently lit option is straightforward and simple.
[Cultivation Advancement (Foundation Establishment Stage)]: 1000 Morality Points = 1 Minor Realm.
There is also a line of small print next to it: Current Realm: Foundation Establishment Level 1.
The Foundation Establishment stage has nine levels. Once all nine levels are completed, one can attempt to break through to the Golden Core stage.
Shen Zhaozhao said with great disdain, "Your online store is too rudimentary. Thumbs down."
[...]
The system said earnestly, "[Who was I doing that for? With your fragile little body right now, barely at the Foundation Establishment stage, if that bastard Gu Xuanchen really catches up, you won't even need to draw your sword; you'll be dead on the spot. This system doesn't want to receive an unemployment gift right after starting its job!]"
[Put away your cultivation first, just to save your life!]
Shen Zhaozhao was speechless for a moment.
This damn system may be foul-mouthed, but what it says isn't entirely unreasonable.
She only managed to escape from Gu Xuanchen's clutches by sheer shamelessness and surprise tactics honed in her past life.
Are we really going to face off against that "chosen one" who's got the protagonist's halo?
With her small frame, her chances of survival were practically zero.
With a sigh, Shen Zhaozhao walked towards the nearby Canglan City while sorting out the current situation.
First of all, the original owner was a sword cultivator.
As we all know, what is the most distinctive feature of sword cultivators?
Is it cool?
Is he handsome?
no.
It's because we're poor.
What a heart-wrenching poverty!
The meager possessions in the original owner's storage bag were probably only enough to buy a few whetstones.
Shen Zhaozhao's vision went black. In her previous life, she had been a shrewd businessman with so many zeros in her account that she was too lazy to count them. Now, she was so poor that she wanted to cry over a pittance.
The sense of disparity is more intense than being struck by lightning.
Upon arriving at Canglan City, Shen Zhaozhao went straight to the busiest "Sifang Tongqu Bang" in the city center without saying a word.
This place is a melting pot of all sorts of people, with disciples from various sects and independent cultivators crammed together, all vying for those diverse sect recruitment notices, secret realm bounties, and private commissions.
Right now, she has just defected from her original sect, the Tianyan Sect, one of the five top sects in Lingzhou.
Those old fogies in the sect, plus that scoundrel Gu Xuanchen, how could they let her off so easily?
If she were to find a sect to affiliate with, at least if Gu Xuanchen or the Tianyan Sect were to attack, there would be a protective formation to hold them off, and a group of unlucky fellow disciples to act as a buffer. This would slightly increase her chances of escaping.
Shen Zhaozhao was squinting as she rummaged through a pile of colorful notices when, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a particularly eye-catching stall next to her.
The stall owner was a young male cultivator, dressed in a simple moon-white robe, his dark hair half-tied up with a simple jade hairpin, his profile clean and sharp, his temperament as gentle as melting snow in early spring.
Among a group of noisy, disheveled cultivators, he was like a bright moon that had accidentally wandered into a muddy pond, his brilliance almost unbelievable.
He just stood there quietly, like a painting.
Shen Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow. "These days, even street vending is all about looks?"
Is he a pill cultivator?
It looks quite convincing, with a "I'm very reliable and I'm very gentle" kind of pure and innocent charm.
Seemingly noticing Shen Zhaozhao's scrutinizing gaze, the male cultivator turned his head, nodded slightly to her, and curved his lips into a perfectly sized smile. His eyes were gentle and calm, giving off a warm and welcoming impression, as if to say, "Hello, fellow Daoist, I am very easy to talk to."
Shen Zhaozhao was intrigued by this "serious" demeanor and leaned closer to see what kind of miraculous medicine this "white moonlight" was selling.
Then……
Shen Zhaozhao looked at the small porcelain bottles neatly arranged on the white cloth. The labels on the bottles all had three big characters: mosquito repellent pills.
Shen Zhaozhao: "???"
She blinked, wondering if she was seeing things.
No, fellow Daoist, isn't your product range a bit too... limited?
Xiao Jingrui seemed to sense the many questions in Shen Zhaozhao's mind, and spoke gently, his voice as clear and melodious as the gentle tapping of a jade chime: "Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but as summer approaches, mosquitoes in the mountain's secret realms are all active. It's better to be prepared."
Shen Zhaozhao pointed to the bottle of mosquito repellent pills, then to a price tag on a nearby stall that read "Spirit Gathering Pills," and said incredulously, "...But what I see here is the same price as their Spirit Gathering Pills?"
"A bottle costs 50 low-grade spirit stones. If someone has that kind of money, they'll definitely prioritize buying the necessities for cultivation, right?"
Xiao Jingrui's smile remained unchanged, and he was just about to open his mouth to explain—
"Fellow Daoist!"
A young talisman cultivator who appeared to have considerable cultivation level rushed over as if he were being chased by a ghost. He slapped Xiao Jingrui's stall with his hand, his eyes fixed on the mosquito repellent pills: "Buy them all! Buy them all for me!"
Shen Zhaozhao: "?!"
Damn it!
You talisman cultivators are all really rich!
Even if you have money, you can't just squander it like this!
You'll buy all the mosquito repellent pills, even if they cost 50 low-grade spirit stones a bottle?!
Does your family own a spirit stone mine?!
Be careful, or you might get your comeuppance!
The talisman cultivator seemed to be provoked by Shen Zhaozhao's "looking at a vengeful seed" gaze. He suddenly turned his head, his eyes unfocused, and began to rant at Shen Zhaozhao: "Luoxia Mountain! Near the entrance to the Luoxia Mountain Secret Realm, suddenly... there are so many mosquitoes! They're everywhere!"
Shen Zhaozhao looked puzzled: "Mosquitoes? Then kill them! Can't you just burn them? Aren't you talisman cultivators the best at setting fires?"
"Don't I know how to fight?!"
Fu Xiu yelled, almost cracking his voice, drawing the attention of everyone around him, "Do you know what kind of mosquitoes those are?! I threw a Flame Burst Talisman at them! Not even a spark flew! If I hadn't run fast, they would have sucked me dry by now!"
He was panting heavily, his face showing lingering fear after surviving the ordeal. Pointing at Xiao Jingrui's mosquito repellent pill, he said decisively, "Later, when I went down the mountain to inquire, everyone said that this fellow Daoist's mosquito repellent pill was the most effective!"
After saying that, he seemed to think that explaining too much to a "poor bastard" like Shen Zhaozhao would be beneath his dignity, so he waved his hand impatiently: "Go away, you sword cultivators probably can't afford this thing anyway, go play with your little iron plate."
Shen Zhaozhao: "???"
Is this world really that hostile towards sword cultivators?!
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