"Ding! Do you wish to accept the quest: 'Defeat the arrogant Divine Forging Sect disciple, Ma Liangpeng'? Quest Reward: 5,000 Experience Value, 500 Forging Skill Mastery, 500 taels of Gold."
Just as the Divine Forging Sect's carriage disappeared from view, a voice suddenly rang in his mind.
"Accept!"
Yi Tianyun accepted it subconsciously. The moment he did, he was stunned. 'I didn't know I could do this!'
He still hadn't completely figured out the Crazy Upgrade System. Apparently, he could now accept random quests. It was entirely up to him whether he wanted to complete them or not.
The overall rewards were decent, but there weren't any heaven-defying Treasures. These kinds of quests rarely gave out anything that incredible. Only one thing ever dropped heaven-defying items: killing monsters...
'If I pair this with my Luck Aura when I'm killing monsters, will I get even more amazing drops?'
A thought flashed through Yi Tianyun's mind, and he immediately came up with a perfect combination.
He remembered back when he used to play games. What was the deciding factor for monster drops? Your karma, of course—in other words, your luck. Now that he had a Luck Aura, wouldn't the rewards be incredible?
Just as he was lost in thought, An Ling's voice reached his ears.
"We're here. Let's go."
Yi Tianyun snapped back to reality, nodded, and followed her out. Before them stood a towering, elegant building, lavishly decorated. Its exposed corners were plated with a layer of Gold, and the surrounding frames were coated in silver. It was the very picture of opulence.
This was their destination: the Celestial Phoenix Tower.
Here, they could buy what they needed and sell their own goods to get more Gold for their shopping.
'What a lavish place…' Yi Tianyun's eyes lit up. Compared to the surrounding buildings, the Celestial Phoenix Tower was far more conspicuous.
As they were about to enter, the sound of an argument broke out nearby.
Their attention was drawn to the scene. They saw an ordinary-looking young girl, the kind one might see anywhere, with no particularly striking features. She was gripping a man's arm tightly, her clear eyes filled with rage.
"Liu Li! You promised me eight taels! There's no way the price of a Jade Spirit Grass is that low! I've already asked around. This Jade Spirit Grass is worth at least ten taels, but you're only giving me three!"
The girl's eyes blazed with anger. Her clothes were tattered, and it was clear from a single glance that she was not well-off.
Liu Li tried to violently shake off the grimy little hand gripping him, but the girl's hold was simply too firm. If she kept pulling, his clothes would tear.
"The Celestial Phoenix Tower is buying Jade Spirit Grass for four taels now. I only took one tael as my fee, not a single bit more! If you keep pulling, don't blame me if I get rough! If you didn't ask for my help so often, I would've slapped you already. Now you're about to rip my clothes... Dammit, so filthy. What bad luck!"
Liu Li's face was flushed with anger. He wasn't a Cultivator, just an ordinary man.
"Impossible! That was the price yesterday! How could it drop so low all of a sudden? You must have pocketed the rest!"
The girl kept her tight grip on his clothes, demanding angrily, "Give it back now!"
Watching from the sidelines, Yi Tianyun and his companions exchanged glances, unsure if they should intervene.
"Let's not watch. We should go inside," Qin Xue said, shaking her head. She had no intention of getting involved.
In her eyes, they were just commoners. 'It's not our place to get involved in such matters.'
An Ling, on the other hand, wanted to step in. It was obvious that Liu Li had pocketed the money, and she felt sorry for the poor girl.
It wasn't just An Ling. Yi Tianyun couldn't stand by and watch, either. He wouldn't call himself a saint, but what he was seeing was a clear-cut case of the strong bullying the weak!
"Ding! Quest accepted: 'Help the kind-hearted girl, Jiu Lingyun.' Reward: 1,000 Experience Value, +100 Jiu Lingyun Favorability, +5 Karma."
Yi Tianyun didn't even pay attention to the rewards; he was already walking over. For him, the reward didn't matter anymore.
Just then, with a final tug from Jiu Lingyun—RRRIP!—the man's sleeve tore.
"You ripped my clothes, you damn brat! Get lost!"
Furious, Liu Li raised his hand to slap her. Faced with the incoming blow, the girl didn't even try to dodge. She held on tight, her eyes wide with defiance, utterly fearless.
SMACK!
But the slap never landed on the girl's face. Yi Tianyun had caught the man's wrist in a vise-like grip.
"Friend, a Jade Spirit Medicine can indeed be sold for ten taels of silver. Isn't this a bit like the strong preying on the weak?" Yi Tianyun said with a frown.
"This is none of your damn business! Piss off!"
Liu Li was furious. He tried to yank his hand free and swung his other fist right at Yi Tianyun's face.
"Watch out!" Jiu Lingyun cried out, moving to shield Yi Tianyun and block the punch herself.
But before the punch could land, a slap cut through the air. SMACK! It wasn't Yi Tianyun or Jiu Lingyun who was hit. It was Liu Li, sent flying by the force of the blow.
Liu Li tumbled several times before coming to a stop. A massive welt was already rising on his cheek, and a few of his teeth had been knocked loose.
"Trash," Yi Tianyun spat. He was, of course, the one who had struck.
"You bastard! Do... do you know who I am?!"
Liu Li staggered back to his feet, his face already badly swollen. He clutched his bloody mouth and glared furiously at Yi Tianyun.
"I don't know who you are, but I advise you to spit out the silver you pocketed. Otherwise, I don't mind giving you a few more slaps!"
Yi Tianyun took a step forward, and his overbearing aura washed over Liu Li like a piercing wave.
How could an ordinary man withstand the aura of a Cultivator? Terrified, his legs instantly gave out from under him.
"A C-Cultivator..."
The shock finally brought Liu Li to his senses. He had been blinded by his rage at Jiu Lingyun, but now, his mind clear, he quickly fumbled inside his robes and pulled out the silver. It was exactly ten taels—no more, no less—just as Jiu Lingyun had said. That was the real price of the Jade Spirit Grass.
After pulling out the money, he began kowtowing in terror. "I'm sorry, my lord! Please spare me, my lord! I'll never dare to cause trouble again..."
He kept kowtowing, terrified by Yi Tianyun's aura. He knew he had picked a fight with the wrong person. How could he dare to hold back even a single coin? He had taken out every last bit.
"Get lost."
Yi Tianyun gave him one last cold glance. He didn't kill him; there were too many scoundrels like this in the world, and he didn't want to dirty his hands.
Once he had permission, Liu Li scrambled away, not daring to even glance back.
"Congratulations to Player 'Yi Tianyun' for completing the quest. Reward: 1,000 Experience, +100 Jiu Lingyun Favorability, +5 Karma."
'One hundred Favorability points,' Yi Tianyun thought. 'That's enough to jump straight to the 'Good Friend' level. It seems my help really meant a lot to her.'
As Liu Li fled, Jiu Lingyun quickly ran over, gathered the scattered silver taels, and tucked them securely into her robes.
In this area, ten taels of silver were enough to feed a family of three for an entire month.
She paused for a moment, then took out five silver taels from her robes and offered them to him. "Benefactor, this is for you, as a reward... I can't give you any more, or my little brothers at home won't have enough to eat."
Yi Tianyun looked at the five silver taels she offered, shook his head, and smiled. "I don't need this. But I was wondering, would you be willing to come with us? To join Merak Palace."
"M-Merak Palace?!"
Her eyes went wide with disbelief before she quickly shook her head. "My... my aptitude is too poor. There's no way I could join Merak Palace."
Many sects held recruitment drives where they would test a candidate's aptitude. Those with poor aptitude were naturally rejected. Jiu Lingyun knew her own aptitude wasn't high enough, which is why she refused.
"Senior Sisters, could she join Merak Palace? Maybe not as an Official Disciple, but perhaps to help with chores around the palace? Would that be possible?" Yi Tianyun asked.
The two ethereal-looking Senior Sisters walked over, leaving Jiu Lingyun staring in a daze.
"That shouldn't be a problem," An Ling said, her eyes twinkling as she looked at Yi Tianyun. "Besides, Junior Brother, you're a big name in Merak Palace now. Bringing someone in with you is hardly an issue." A hint of admiration colored her gaze.
His actions had clearly earned him her approval. Nearby, even Qin Xue, who hadn't wanted to intervene, couldn't help but soften at the sight of Jiu Lingyun.
"So, what do you say? Are you willing to come with us?"
Yi Tianyun smiled. He had no ulterior motives; he just wanted to help. He was struck by how clear and pure the girl's eyes were. More importantly, when Liu Li had thrown that punch, she hadn't hesitated for a second to let go of the man and try to block the blow for him.
For that reason alone, he felt compelled to help her.