Is It Wrong to Bully the Novice Village for System Rewards?

The following day.

Qi Yuan emerged from his night of cultivation. His eyes snapped open, glowing with a reddish-gold light that surged like molten sunfire. A faint, archaic aura—profound and mysterious—drifted off his body.

“The Jade Record of Supreme Mystery truly lives up to its reputation as the Saint Sect’s highest inheritance. I spent a full three thousand Counterattack Points just to barely push it to the fourth layer.”

“But only a cultivation method of this caliber can allow my Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul to reach its maximum potential.”

“At this rate, I should be able to break through to the Grand Perfection of the Nascent Soul realm within two months. From there, stepping into the Soul Formation realm will be as natural as water flowing into a canal.”

“Of course, the prerequisite for all this is obtaining another wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi as soon as possible…”

A flood of new insights washed over his mind, and the corners of Qi Yuan’s mouth curled into a satisfied smile.

Parsing the Jade Record of Supreme Mystery to the fourth layer meant his understanding of the Dao now surpassed the vast majority of Soul Formation cultivators. The only thing he lacked was the raw Spiritual Power to back it up.

In other words, until his Spiritual Power caught up with his Dao comprehension, his leveling speed would be effectively uncapped—no bottlenecks, no walls.

With a thought, he habitually pulled up the system interface.

A notification flashed. A Main Mission had refreshed.

Scanning the new lines of text in the mission log, Qi Yuan’s eyes lit up.

[New Main Mission Unlocked]

[Background]:

The Model Miner: You toiled in the demonic sect’s mines, solving efficiency issues and boosting production. This earned you the appreciation of Elder Situ Yun, freeing you from slavery.

The Infiltrator: With Situ Yun’s recommendation, you successfully infiltrated the Nether Fiend Sect, becoming an Outer Sect Disciple on Blood Refining Peak.

The Survivor: realizing the peak was a den of wolves, you feigned allegiance to the local tyrant, Wu Renjie, while secretly cultivating and waiting for your chance to strike.

The Intel: You have learned that to celebrate the 80,000th birthday of the Great Ascension Demon Venerable Ji Qingcang, Sect Leader Shen Honglian will open the Moluo God-Slaughtering Tower.

[Mission Objective]: Break through to the late Foundation Building stage within one month. Participate in the Moluo Trial. Ascend past the 90th floor to win a promotion to Legacy Disciple of the Nether Fiend Sect.

[Additional Challenge]: After clearing the 90th floor, the Host may continue climbing for bonus rewards.

[Difficulty]: ★★★★ (Difficult)

[Rewards]:

3,000 Counterattack Points.

3x Purple Heart Nirvana Pills (Supreme Healing Grade).

1x Extra Teleportation Anchor Point.

Skill: Sword Dao Expert (Primary).

[Bonus Rewards]:

+200 Counterattack Points for every floor cleared after the 90th.

[Note]: This is a Main Mission. It cannot be abandoned.

Qi Yuan stared at the glowing screen, his mood complicated.

God damn it. A Nether Fiend Sect Legacy Disciple?

It seemed this broken system was dead set on dragging him down the demonic path at full speed—with the throttle welded down.

It was terrified he might turn back to the shore of righteousness, so it helpfully laid out a crystal-clear corporate promotion ladder for him. No turns, no exits. Just a straight shot to becoming a demon lord.

Sinister. Absolutely unhinged.

Damn it, I am a prodigy of the Righteous Path! I’ve been forcibly molded into this abstract, cartoonishly evil villain. Dog System, where is your conscience?

If the truth ever came out—that he, a spy, had become a Legacy Disciple of the very sect he was infiltrating—the fallout would be unimaginable.

After a long, brooding silence, Qi Yuan gritted his teeth.

Screw it. I’ll do it.

He was already an Outer Sect Disciple of the Demon Sect. As the saying goes: When you have too many debts, you stop worrying; when you have too many lice, you stop itching.

Things had already reached this point. He could only take it one step at a time.

Having finished his mental gymnastics, Qi Yuan dismissed the complaints and focused on the intel regarding the Moluo God-Slaughtering Tower.

The Supreme Mystery Sanctuary didn’t have many records on this artifact. He only knew it was the primary method the Nether Fiend Sect used to test its disciples. Each floor was a checkpoint; the higher you went, the deadlier it became.

Rumor had it the tower was a top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure with a total of nine hundred and ninety-nine floors. Since the founding of the Nether Fiend Sect, not a single soul had ever reached the summit.

That was the extent of his knowledge. He would need to hit the streets to find out the specific mechanics.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Qi Yuan stood up, brushed off his robes, and strode out the door.

Not long after.

The Nether Fiend Sect, Outer Sect District.

A group of men and women in Outer Sect robes were huddled together in a dark corner, whispering feverishly.

“Did you hear? Just the day before yesterday, Blood Refining Peak was wiped out. Slaughtered by a single rookie disciple.”

“I heard the scene was gruesome. Hundreds of corpses piled into a mountain. The entire peak was dyed red…”

A dark-skinned youth glanced around nervously. After confirming no strangers were nearby, he lowered his voice further.

His words sent a shockwave through the group.

“What?! Someone dared to massacre Blood Refining Peak? A rookie?”

“Wait, weren’t Senior Brother Chi and Senior Brother Wu stationed there? Did the killer get them too?”

At that moment, a disciple who clearly prided himself on his intel network sighed and shook his head.

“Heh, you guys are too naive. My brother works in the Enforcement Hall. He went with the Senior Brothers to investigate the scene.”

“Let me tell you… the reality was ten times more evil than you can imagine.”

“There was no river of blood. Why? Because the victims were drained dry! Every drop of blood sucked out, their souls ripped away into soul-refining banners!”

The gossip’s face paled as he spoke, terror creeping into his eyes.

“And get this—after the slaughter, that disciple, ‘Big Qi’, was declared innocent on the spot by the Deputy Hall Master. The victims died for nothing!”

“But the scariest part isn’t his strength. It’s his pettiness. This Big Qi is a man who seeks revenge for the slightest grievance.”

“Steward Jiao of the Internal Affairs Hall? Publicly beheaded. Why? Because he didn’t arrange a nice enough room for Big Qi. And he didn’t stop there. He slaughtered Jiao’s entire family, friends, and even stewed the dogs in his yard!”

The surrounding disciples sucked in a cold breath, their faces masks of horror.

“To think such a vicious monster has appeared in our Outer Sect… it chills the blood.”

“Exactly! This Big Qi massacred a peak and wiped out a clan days after joining. We absolutely cannot offend him. If we do, we won’t even know how we died.”

Just then, a gentle, amiable voice drifted over from a few paces away.

“Fellow disciples, surely there must be a misunderstanding. This ‘Big Qi’ is definitely not someone who kills indiscriminately.”

“Huh?”

Hearing the voice, the group subconsciously turned around. They saw a handsome young male cultivator walking toward them with a relaxed stride.

One of the disciples in the crowd frowned and snapped back.

“Who are you? Why are you defending that murderer?”

Qi Yuan smiled faintly. He cupped his hands with perfect politeness.

“I am Big Qi. I’m new here, so please, give me your guidance.”

Silence.

Absolute, suffocating silence.

The blood drained from every face in the circle. They froze, stiff as statues, looking at Qi Yuan as if they were staring into the gaping maw of a prehistoric beast.

Thud!

The disciple who had just snapped at him went boneless, collapsing to the ground in a heap of terror.

His companions reacted with light-speed reflexes, instantly scrambling backward to put distance between themselves and the fallen man, their expressions screaming, ‘I don’t know him! We aren’t friends!’