Wei Fang walked back with his head held high, befitting his image as the winner; he didn't want to appear weak after winning a battle without fighting.
But when he arrived at his courtyard, he instantly collapsed on the floor while clutching the injury on his stomach.
Beads of sweat roll down his forehead, his teeth clenching hard, preventing any sound from coming out.
Despite the fact that he was living on the deserted part of the mountain, he still stubbornly resisted the urge to scream because of the pain.
It was also this stubbornness that he still could get through his day even though he received constant bullying.
If it were any other person, maybe they would beg for mercy or refuse to leave their home, but not him.
He still dared to come out, even though he knew that he would end up getting beaten up.
Even though his body was in pain, Wei Fang could still think normally, albeit slower than usual.
It's better to endure the pain once than two times.
Wei Fang thought as he opened the system interface.
He looked at the trial that was already in completed status; there was a'retrieve'-like button below the reward, and without hesitation, he chose to retrieve.
The familiar feeling came again, deep from inside his soul, as foreign power permeated it.
Clearing any and every possible thought and feeling from forming in his mind.
All except for pain.
It was as if his entire being was subjected to a higher existence that he could never resist and could only obey.
He didn't know how long the pain lasted, but when he regained his mind, the pain in his stomach didn't feel as intense as before.
Propping himself up, he walked into the living room while still clutching his stomach.
Then he laid on the old mat while facing the ceiling.
The evening sunlight shone on his face because of the hole in the ceiling. Maybe because he was mentally and physically exhausted, he immediately fell asleep, even though his face was basked in light.
***
Wei Fang was woken up by the early chirping bird; their cheerful sound always accompany someone in the morning, giving them a good and refreshing morning.
It was different from the city when one was woken up by the alarm, accompanied by the roar of a machine and the honking of cars that were trapped in a traffic jam.
Of course, not everyone would have a refreshed morning. As soon as Wei Fang woke up, he felt the injury in his stomach aching.
There's no other way. His injury was opened again yesterday, and he didn't treat it again.
Let's mediate a bit. At least in mediation, he could distract his mind, so he could get used to the pain a bit faster.
He closed his eyes, ready to cultivate the Azure Cloud Incantation, but he was suddenly surprised as he found that his comprehension of the Azure Cloud Incantation had skyrocketed.
There was even some part that changed from the Azure Cloud Incantation that he knew. But he could tell that the difference was an improvement made to the original Azure Cloud Incantation.
Then he remembered that it was the rewards from the system.
The system was really incredible. It can even improve something like the main cultivation technique of a huge sect like Azure Cloud Sect.
Without hesitation, he began to cultivate according to the new cultivation technique.
Now he had already fully trusted the system. He knew that even if he didn't trust it, there was nothing he could do because he had already signed the contract.
The contract he signed was like a demon contract, when he surrendered his entire being to the one he contracted for.
At that time, he was feeling so emotional because of the misfortune that befell him, in addition to his savings that were already empty, prompting him to agree to the contract.
He reckoned that he probably would never agree to it if he still had money for a few more days.
He was really impulsive that day to sign up for the system, but he didn't regret it; he even felt that it was fortunate.
As he cultivated with the new cultivation technique, he suddenly entered a strange state, as everything that had stumbled him before became clear.
His cultivation suddenly surged, and the surrounding thin qi was instantly absorbed inside him.
As the qi in the surrounding area was too thin, the qi from farther away was also absorbed, creating a whirlpool of qi around him.
***
"This was the disadvantage of watching something live." Fang Jiuyi closed the screen in front of him that was still showing the same scenes from a few days ago. "We can't skip the scenes."
"Should I accelerate the universe's time flow?"
Fang Jiuyi blurted out his thoughts; he was really tempted to do it.
"Don't!"
He was met with instant rejection from his three wives, and he also knew the reasons his three wives rejected it.
Even though he was already the strongest in the world, he was not the master of the universe.
It was like he was outside of its influence; he could change something in the universe here and there without much consequence.
But if he were to accelerate time for the entire universe, then it would be like interfering with the universe's law and everyone living in it.
The universe would never allow him to do it.
If he really did that, the success rate would be high, but he would likely receive huge backlash from the universe law and the grand dao.
It would likely make him weak for a period of time.
"Then, what should we do in the meantime?"
Fang Jiuyi asked his three wives opinions, as long as he wanted to do something. If it involved one of his three wives, he would always ask their opinion first.
"How about restocking our cooking ingredients? The meat in my spatial equipment was running thin already."
Su Xin Yi suggested. They would likely end up going out to restock in the near future, so why not do it now?
"How about you two? Do you have something in mind?"
Fang Jiuyi looked at his other two wives.
Shen Meng Yao and Han Shuang shook their heads. Even if they had something in mind, they would choose to follow Su Xin Yi.
For Shen Meng Yao, the Su Xin Yi figure was like a gentle and caring big sister. She was always gentle around everyone and would usually concede everything to her and Han Shuang as long as it would not affect them negatively. So she would never contradict her.
As for Han Shuang, Su Xin Yi was like a mother figure to her. She was raised by Su Xin Yi and Fang Jiuyi.
As Fang Jiuyi often went out adventuring, which would take years or even decades, it was almost like Sun Xin Yi raised her alone. So she was respecting her a lot.
"What should we get first?"
Now that they have decided to restock their meat, they must decide what to get first, as every meat is in a different world.
"How about we get Kun's meat? It was the most delicious fish I ever ate; it was already a long time ago the last time I tasted it."
Shen Meng Yao suggested it as she remembered the mouth-watering taste she tasted years ago.
"No, no, no." Han Shuang shook her head. "We should get Kui's meat first. It's meat was the most versatile, and a variety of foods could be cooked from it."
"Kui meat, then?"
Han Shuang was like a child among them, so it was common for them to indulge her; in actual age, she was hundreds of years younger than any of them.
Seeing Shen Meng Yao didn't refute, Fang Jiuyi said, "Then, let us go!"
The cloud manor that was hovering among the clouds disappeared instantly.