"You little bastard, say that again—what did he awaken?!"
"M–Midyuan Festival."
"Go. Leave immediately. Head to Tiankui City."
"Huh? Why are we going to Tiankui City?"
"What kind of stupid question is that? Of course we're going to snatch him! Do you have any idea what Zhongyuan Festival represents?"
"That thing is a one-man army! Even if he never awakens another decent festival in the future, as long as he's cultivated properly, he can easily suppress an entire spatial gate on his own. Do you know how much manpower that would save us?"
"Go—straight to the treasury. Pick out anything valuable."
"No matter what, I'm taking that Zhongyuan Festival kid back with us."
"Even if we have to rob him outright—he must be ours!"
Tiangui City.
Tianfu City.
Tianji City.
Tianxian City…
One city after another received the same piece of news.
A Zhongyuan Festival Adept had appeared.
As a result, Night Watcher bases from different cities began moving at full speed toward Tiankui City.
None of this, however, had anything to do with Bai Jue—
because he had no idea it was happening.
At this moment, Bai Jue had already eaten his fill and arrived at the Tiankui City Festival Adept Branch.
The Festival Adept Headquarters consisted of twelve main branches, all located in the twelve primary cities.
Cities like Tiankui—named after the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits—only had sub-branches.
Monthly benefits for Festival Adepts were all processed here.
Stepping into the grand Festival Adept Hall, Bai Jue was immediately greeted by a tall, shapely woman with long black hair. She wore a fitted qipao paired with black stockings, and her smile was sweet as she approached him.
"Hello, sir. This is the Tiankui City Festival Adept Branch. How may I assist you?"
"I'd like to apply for my Festival Adept identification. Which counter should I go to?"
Bai Jue asked.
"A Festival Adept ID?"
Her eyes lit up instantly, her smile growing even warmer.
"Please come with me. I'll take you there."
Bai Jue understood the reason for her enthusiasm.
Becoming a Festival Adept meant power—and money was never far behind. It was only natural that people treated him differently now.
She might even have ulterior thoughts.
Bai Jue chuckled inwardly but didn't care.
Following behind her, he soon arrived at a service counter.
After explaining his purpose, the young woman behind the counter smiled politely and said,
"Sir, please fill out this form with your personal information. Once you're done, you'll need to head to the training room to demonstrate your festival ability and current realm."
"I'll verify the results via monitoring. Once confirmed, we'll issue your identification and allocate benefits based on your realm."
Bai Jue nodded.
After filling out the form, he left the counter and entered the training room next door.
Inside stood a single humanoid training dummy.
"You may begin, sir," the staff member's voice sounded through the speakers.
Bai Jue nodded.
After a brief moment of thought, he raised his right hand.
Black mist surged outward.
Figures appeared one after another behind him.
He did not summon an Underworld Warden.
Instead—
Every entity he summoned was a vengeful spirit.
One by one, grotesque and terrifying ghosts manifested, their appearances horrifying enough to make even the staff watching through the monitors turn pale.
There were many of them.
A total of fifteen.
"Go."
With a simple command, the ghosts nodded and surged forward through the air, black mist trailing behind them as they charged the dummy.
Slash.
Crash.
Boom.
Vengeful spirits were already capable of dealing physical damage—and each one attacked in a different way.
Some swallowed their targets whole.
Some used telekinetic force.
Others manipulated yin energy as elemental attacks.
An ordinary training dummy would have been reduced to fragments long ago.
But this one was clearly specially made.
Under the assault of fifteen vengeful spirits, it suffered no visible damage. Instead, faint light rippled across its surface, absorbing all incoming attacks.
After fifteen minutes of continuous assault—
"Mr. Bai, that will be enough."
"Based on our readings and verification, you are an Apprentice Early-Stage Festival Adept, awakened festival: Zhongyuan Festival."
"You may exit the training room now."
Bai Jue nodded, recalled all the vengeful spirits with a thought, and turned to leave.
But at that very moment—
[Notice: You have trained by using your power against a puppet. Your understanding of Zhongyuan has deepened. Zhongyuan Recognition +1.]
[Notice: You have trained by using your power against a puppet. Your understanding of Zhongyuan has deepened. Zhongyuan Recognition +1.]
[Notice: You have trained by using your power against a puppet. Your understanding of Zhongyuan has deepened. Zhongyuan Recognition +1.]
[Notice: You have trained by using your power against a puppet. Your understanding of Zhongyuan has deepened. Zhongyuan Recognition +7.]
"…Huh?"
Bai Jue froze mid-step, shock flashing through his eyes.
"This works too? Fighting a training dummy gives rewards?"
The system, of course, didn't answer.
But the rewards were real.
And they were shocking.
Zhongyuan Festival recognition.
In an instant—
Images flooded Bai Jue's mind.
A gloomy, ancient city wreathed in yin energy appeared.
Above its gates were three characters:
Ghost Gate Pass.
The gates swung open.
A tide of evil spirits poured forth.
Late at night, at roadside corners, spirit money burned—ghosts passing by stooped to gather it.
In deep mountain graveyards, incense burned amid curling mist. White steamed buns and meat offerings lay on altars.
Ghosts arrived, inhaling incense smoke, stuffing buns and meat into their mouths, faces slick with grease.
"…These are scenes from the arrival of Zhongyuan Festival?"
Bai Jue murmured, realization dawning.
Those images deepened his understanding of Zhongyuan.
And according to legend, when festival recognition increased, corresponding visions would appear in one's mind.
Now he knew—
the rumors were true.
"Not only that…"
"My cultivation speed has increased as well."
Bai Jue tested it silently.
His absorption rate of Qili had nearly doubled.
"And my Underworld Court—the yin energy inside is much denser now. At this rate, it won't be long before all the ghosts I've absorbed grow stronger."
Bai Jue's eyes gleamed with excitement.
He had absorbed over a hundred ghosts already, but their strength was mostly at the base Apprentice level—none had even reached Early Stage.
Now, with Zhongyuan recognition reaching ten percent, the yin density inside the Underworld Court had surged.
Within a week at most—
Every single one of those ghosts would reach Apprentice Early Stage.
"Tsk… the boost from festival recognition is terrifying."
If he ever reached full recognition…
He suspected that cultivating for a single day might be enough to step straight into First Rank.
—
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