When Han Xuhan returned from his trip to the Realm of Laws, his expression was somber.
The world in his scope of vision was being broadened every single day he survived, every single time he met someone new, and every single damned time he stumbled upon the conflicts of cultivators just beneath the calm surface in his perception.
The situation in the Stardust Sect was more complex than he had thought, by a huge margin, actually.
Under ordinary circumstances, this problem would hardly be his concern. It wasn't his job to go around poking his nose in every little conflict.
However, Feng Jun had made it his business...by offering him an opportunity, an opportunity he had been desperately looking for since the beginning of their exchange.
In the grand scheme of things, poking his nose there and making it his business would be the better choice, and Han Xuhan hadn't shied away from making the choice despite the potential risks involved.
Spending some time absorbed within his plethora of plans, Han Xuhan left the house, heading towards the central plain of the island.
Elder Shen was not inside the treasury, a common phenomenon these days. But the disciples working under him recognized Han Xuhan in a flash.
To them, he was as terrifying as any powerful elder of the sect, and equally infuriating due to his actual strength compared to his standing. All of them were peers of the same generation, and yet, Han Xuhan had managed to acquire such favor from the sect master that he was basically the same as any prodigal son of a powerful clan, spending resources with every breath.
After the disciples begrudgingly accepted his list of ordered products, Xuhan left Zhanxian in charge of carrying the bags back to the hut.
For the second time that day, he visited the area where Luo Yi's tent had been placed. He had no intention to see her, though. He was more interested in the spirit beast that was sitting lazily beside the tent, its body in the transparent mode.
Sticking his face as close as possible to the surface of the beast's hide, Xuhan scanned the floating sigils inside, reading the numeric values attached to them.
The cockroach sect was still at the top, holding a score of 50,233 points. Just two nights ago, it had been around 33 thousand.
"What the fuck are they doing over there?" Han Xuhan couldn't help but curse. It didn't make sense for a sect so unknown to be amassing points so fast.
His eyes tracked down the sigil of Crimson Snow Sect soon.
Score: 2,337 Points.
They had only progressed by two thousand points in the last 48 hours. The disparity was too huge!
Feeling miffed, he was about to turn around and leave...only to suddenly feel his curiosity burning.
What was the score of Abyss Guild? Those guys were part of the organizers, not to mention being one of the most powerful, advanced sects on the planet.
He was familiar with their sigil as well. The Black Lobster turned out to be surprisingly difficult to track down, though. He repeatedly searched the top ranks.
It wasn't there.
Then he searched the middle ranks.
It wasn't there either.
And then with a foreboding feeling, he looked at the very bottom of the body of the beast, where a few dim sigils were flickering weakly.
Abyss Guild. Score: 1,009 points.
His suspicion gathered like clouds in a storm.
He examined the rest of the sigils floating in that area.
One was a black flag that contained a circle filled with the color green within. Even he, a complete rookie cultivator knew that flag. It belonged to the Beasthaven Sect.
Score: 997 points.
That was all he needed to see. Despite not recognizing the rest of the few sigils at the bottom, he understood that all of these sects had to be top-grade.
On his first day in the Crimson Snow sect, he recalled being tricked into taking a loan. That day, he had applied for a 1-star tier curriculum, thinking it was of the lowest value.
As it had turned out that day, the 5-star tier was the lowest one.
"I'm a fucking idiot," he muttered to himself before heading back to the hut.
A lot of inconsistent details now finally made sense upon realizing what the scoring system meant.
The numbers below each sect's sigil indicating their points weren't the amassed totals. Rather, the numbers were highly likely to be the indicators of the number of points each sect had lost since arriving in the archipelago.
He recalled the first time Luo Yi had made her appearance as their counselor. She had described at that time a system of negative points based on the poor performance of any sect in each natural disaster trial. Although those rules and the trial system had been modified later on by the organizers, giving rise to this new battle royale event, the scoring system had not changed. They were still being charged with negative points every time they screwed up, every time they suffered a loss, every time a disciple broke a rule.
Now, casting a look at the ranking list once more gave off a whole new feeling. Of course, all the unknown, weak sects were at the top, laying claim to their natural positions with dominance and momentum. The cockroach sect was unrivaled in its glorious ascension!
And at the bottom of the ranks, one would find the real big shots if they were knowledgeable enough to recognize the sigils of foreign sects from distant continents.
The Crimson Snow Sect was at the lower-middle section, which wasn't an awkward sight to behold anymore. They weren't the strongest bunch, but they could still make it to the big league with ease.
As for earning more positive points to lower their position in that list, Han Xuhan had little idea how to amass those. Winning the current event would likely generate some. Not suffering losses in natural disaster trials might be another source.
"I should inform the rest-no, wait...wouldn't that contribution push me higher to the position of the champion of this sect? That's just inviting trouble."
He was already too far up on that list for his liking. So he decided to save his own hide first.
Silently, he walked back to his own house, his mind filled with difficult choices. The half-destroyed building was a heartbreaking sight under daylight. There wasn't much to salvage here. Walking around to the backyard, he dragged a tool over and sat under the bright sunshine.
By the time Zhanxian returned, carrying on his back several large sacks filled to the brim with precious resources and food, Han Xuhan felt the confusing fog in his mind recede a lot.
He was on the cusp of making a choice.
"Put them down on that formation over there," he directed the minion. Then with his help, they activated the gateway to exchange materials through the Displacement Spell. Soon, a pile of mud, dirt, and stinky garbage appeared inside the formation where the resources and the scroll containing Shen Mi's message had been laid a minute ago.
Han Xuhan broke out of his mediation and ordered Zhanxian to go through the garbage, who didn't sound very happy about it. But it was hardly a risky task, and Zhanxian could tolerate any humiliation so long as his tasks remained risk-free.
"Master, is this the thing you're looking for?" Zhanxian shouted a moment later after digging through the pile. Eyes watering from the stink, Han Xuhan examined the long, metallic shaft being pulled out by his minion.
"Yup, that's the one. Now go look for a scroll."
It took a while, but they eventually found it. He was stopped from going through its contents just like how he hadn't been able to open the scroll Shen Mi had handed him. A magical lock protected both scrolls, the secret to opening which seemed exclusive to the disciples of the Stardust Sect.
Recalling the deal between him and Feng Jun once more, Han Xuhan sighed and summoned Tun Shi Tian.
"Birdie, go give this to that girl I told you to follow in the Stardust Sect. Remember, you can't hand it to anyone else, only her!"
As Tun Shi Tian flew away with the scroll, Xuhan turned to his first minion.
"Let's go inside the tower. You and I need to have a chat."
When Han Xuhan returned from his trip to the Realm of Laws, his expression was somber.
The world in his scope of vision was being broadened every single day he survived, every single time he met someone new, and every single damned time he stumbled upon the conflicts of cultivators just beneath the calm surface in his perception.
The situation in the Stardust Sect was more complex than he had thought, by a huge margin, actually.
Under ordinary circumstances, this problem would hardly be his concern. It wasn't his job to go around poking his nose in every little conflict.
However, Feng Jun had made it his business...by offering him an opportunity, an opportunity he had been desperately looking for since the beginning of their exchange.
In the grand scheme of things, poking his nose there and making it his business would be the better choice, and Han Xuhan hadn't shied away from making the choice despite the potential risks involved.
Spending some time absorbed within his plethora of plans, Han Xuhan left the house, heading towards the central plain of the island.
Elder Shen was not inside the treasury, a common phenomenon these days. But the disciples working under him recognized Han Xuhan in a flash.
To them, he was as terrifying as any powerful elder of the sect, and equally infuriating due to his actual strength compared to his standing. All of them were peers of the same generation, and yet, Han Xuhan had managed to acquire such favor from the sect master that he was basically the same as any prodigal son of a powerful clan, spending resources with every breath.
After the disciples begrudgingly accepted his list of ordered products, Xuhan left Zhanxian in charge of carrying the bags back to the hut.
For the second time that day, he visited the area where Luo Yi's tent had been placed. He had no intention to see her, though. He was more interested in the spirit beast that was sitting lazily beside the tent, its body in the transparent mode.
Sticking his face as close as possible to the surface of the beast's hide, Xuhan scanned the floating sigils inside, reading the numeric values attached to them.
The cockroach sect was still at the top, holding a score of 50,233 points. Just two nights ago, it had been around 33 thousand.
"What the fuck are they doing over there?" Han Xuhan couldn't help but curse. It didn't make sense for a sect so unknown to be amassing points so fast.
His eyes tracked down the sigil of Crimson Snow Sect soon.
Score: 2,337 Points.
They had only progressed by two thousand points in the last 48 hours. The disparity was too huge!
Feeling miffed, he was about to turn around and leave...only to suddenly feel his curiosity burning.
What was the score of Abyss Guild? Those guys were part of the organizers, not to mention being one of the most powerful, advanced sects on the planet.
He was familiar with their sigil as well. The Black Lobster turned out to be surprisingly difficult to track down, though. He repeatedly searched the top ranks.
It wasn't there.
Then he searched the middle ranks.
It wasn't there either.
And then with a foreboding feeling, he looked at the very bottom of the body of the beast, where a few dim sigils were flickering weakly.
Abyss Guild. Score: 1,009 points.
His suspicion gathered like clouds in a storm.
He examined the rest of the sigils floating in that area.
One was a black flag that contained a circle filled with the color green within. Even he, a complete rookie cultivator knew that flag. It belonged to the Beasthaven Sect.
Score: 997 points.
That was all he needed to see. Despite not recognizing the rest of the few sigils at the bottom, he understood that all of these sects had to be top-grade.
On his first day in the Crimson Snow sect, he recalled being tricked into taking a loan. That day, he had applied for a 1-star tier curriculum, thinking it was of the lowest value.
As it had turned out that day, the 5-star tier was the lowest one.
"I'm a fucking idiot," he muttered to himself before heading back to the hut.
A lot of inconsistent details now finally made sense upon realizing what the scoring system meant.
The numbers below each sect's sigil indicating their points weren't the amassed totals. Rather, the numbers were highly likely to be the indicators of the number of points each sect had lost since arriving in the archipelago.
He recalled the first time Luo Yi had made her appearance as their counselor. She had described at that time a system of negative points based on the poor performance of any sect in each natural disaster trial. Although those rules and the trial system had been modified later on by the organizers, giving rise to this new battle royale event, the scoring system had not changed. They were still being charged with negative points every time they screwed up, every time they suffered a loss, every time a disciple broke a rule.
Now, casting a look at the ranking list once more gave off a whole new feeling. Of course, all the unknown, weak sects were at the top, laying claim to their natural positions with dominance and momentum. The cockroach sect was unrivaled in its glorious ascension!
And at the bottom of the ranks, one would find the real big shots if they were knowledgeable enough to recognize the sigils of foreign sects from distant continents.
The Crimson Snow Sect was at the lower-middle section, which wasn't an awkward sight to behold anymore. They weren't the strongest bunch, but they could still make it to the big league with ease.
As for earning more positive points to lower their position in that list, Han Xuhan had little idea how to amass those. Winning the current event would likely generate some. Not suffering losses in natural disaster trials might be another source.
"I should inform the rest-no, wait...wouldn't that contribution push me higher to the position of the champion of this sect? That's just inviting trouble."
He was already too far up on that list for his liking. So he decided to save his own hide first.
Silently, he walked back to his own house, his mind filled with difficult choices. The half-destroyed building was a heartbreaking sight under daylight. There wasn't much to salvage here. Walking around to the backyard, he dragged a tool over and sat under the bright sunshine.
By the time Zhanxian returned, carrying on his back several large sacks filled to the brim with precious resources and food, Han Xuhan felt the confusing fog in his mind recede a lot.
He was on the cusp of making a choice.
"Put them down on that formation over there," he directed the minion. Then with his help, they activated the gateway to exchange materials through the Displacement Spell. Soon, a pile of mud, dirt, and stinky garbage appeared inside the formation where the resources and the scroll containing Shen Mi's message had been laid a minute ago.
Han Xuhan broke out of his mediation and ordered Zhanxian to go through the garbage, who didn't sound very happy about it. But it was hardly a risky task, and Zhanxian could tolerate any humiliation so long as his tasks remained risk-free.
"Master, is this the thing you're looking for?" Zhanxian shouted a moment later after digging through the pile. Eyes watering from the stink, Han Xuhan examined the long, metallic shaft being pulled out by his minion.
"Yup, that's the one. Now go look for a scroll."
It took a while, but they eventually found it. He was stopped from going through its contents just like how he hadn't been able to open the scroll Shen Mi had handed him. A magical lock protected both scrolls, the secret to opening which seemed exclusive to the disciples of the Stardust Sect.
Recalling the deal between him and Feng Jun once more, Han Xuhan sighed and summoned Tun Shi Tian.
"Birdie, go give this to that girl I told you to follow in the Stardust Sect. Remember, you can't hand it to anyone else, only her!"
As Tun Shi Tian flew away with the scroll, Xuhan turned to his first minion.
"Let's go inside the tower. You and I need to have a chat."
