There were clear time intervals between tasks.
Or rather, the degree of "suppression, insult, and looking down" from these people was too low, and the intensity of Youshen's "counterattack" was insufficient. In reality, these tasks belonged to the system's "basic safety net."
It wasn't that a task could only be triggered once every month, but rather that every month guaranteed one basic-allowance task.
After all, compared to protagonists in novels, these "counterattacks" were a bit too petty, never once escalating to life-or-death stakes—needless to say, for nine- or ten-year-old children to be this ruthless was hard to accept, even given the premature maturity of Spirit Masters; they would have long been treated as prospective fallen Spirit Masters.
So Youshen surmised.
However, if truly no one came to provoke Youshen, the system wouldn't fabricate a task out of thin air. There had to be "conflict" at the very least to trigger the basic allowance.
Therefore, peaceful months didn't trigger any tasks at all.
He temporarily classified this "basic allowance" as the system's second rule.
As for the third rule, it was that tasks could be abandoned.
In fact, one could deduce this from the "non-abandonable" nature of the beginner task.
Over the past ten days or so, the tasks issued by the system spanned more than two years. The targets included "classmates and senior students who looked down on him," "teachers who looked down on him and thought he had no future," "girls whom the system insisted were goddesses even though he had no such intentions, but who in reality just said he was ugly"...
Even though Youshen had invited everyone he could possibly deduce, there were still some omissions, or they were simply not in the vicinity of Spirit City.
Some of them even had graves overgrown with grass three feet deep.
With so many tasks, the methods of "counterattack" naturally weren't limited to "fighting and brawling."
For the teachers who looked down on him, it was naturally "displaying his abilities and holding his head high," while for those female Spirit Masters who disdained him... well, nowadays Youshen basically just had to walk past them to complete the task.
And just as Youshen was reaping system tasks, uninvited guests arrived.
The visit of uninvited people was within Youshen's expectation.
After all, the momentum Youshen had stirred up was not small, and during this period, people had been coming and going in an endless stream at his manor villa.
Anyone paying attention to him must have noticed the situation on his end.
However, the choice of visitors was slightly beyond Youshen's expectations.
It was precisely during the banquet on the seventh day.
As Youshen was discussing theories with the teacher who had first taught him about spirits, Grace quietly came to his side.
Amidst the puzzled gazes cast by the middle-aged teacher and some of the guests, she leaned close to Youshen's ear and whispered a few words, causing Youshen to frown slightly.
"Youshen, is there some urgent matter? If you have business to attend to, go ahead. Even without you, our grandmaster of theory, leading the way, we aren't completely clueless about what to do, you know."
The middle-aged teacher gave Youshen a concerned look and teased him playfully.
Over this period, Grace's competence and efficiency had been fully on display, and he knew how dutiful and responsible this maid was.
If she hadn't truly encountered troublesome matters, she surely would never have disturbed her master's banquet.
Thus, he proactively gave Youshen this out.
Unfortunately, this high-EQ response would likely be of no use...
"Youshen, are you up to no good again?!"
A crisp, angry reprimand came from the main entrance of the banquet hall.
A young girl with short golden shoulder-length hair and a gold-threaded white dress walked in with an expression of righteous indignation. Although she still looked very youthful, barely early teens, one could already vaguely discern her future captivating and alluring charm.
Even now, her simple yet elegant dress outlined a slender figure that surpassed her age.
"Wait, Nana, barging in directly like this is completely making the teacher lose face! Why are you so impulsive!"
Following closely behind her were two slightly older boys, two or three years her senior.
One had silvery-white hair, wore a long robe matching his hair color, and had features similar to the blonde girl—exotic and handsome.
The other had fiery red cropped hair, wore a simple short-sleeved shirt and shorts, and had a sturdy build with ordinary, somewhat honest-looking features.
At this moment, worry and helplessness were written across both of their faces, and it was the sturdy, honest red-haired boy who spoke up to dissuade her.
Seeing the uninvited trio, many of the guests present showed expressions of displeasure.
Yet there were also a few who, after frowning and observing for a few seconds, widened their eyes slightly, as if they had realized the identities of the three youths.
Before this fraction of people could issue a warning, someone already spoke up in a reprimanding tone: "Where did these mannerless brutes come from? Don't you know a banquet and social gathering is taking place here? How dare you barge in recklessly against the host's wishes?!"
Seeing that his friend had already delivered the reprimand, a companion standing nearby silently withdrew the hand he had intended to use to hold him back.
"Hmph?"
The blonde girl's eyebrows arched up as she glared fiercely at the guest, her expression full of unyielding arrogance. Sweeping her gaze over the familiar yellow cloth of his attire, she sneered, "A mere Yellow-Cloth Deacon... Are you trying to take the place of my teachers to lecture me?"
Seeing that this Yellow-Cloth Deacon was about to fall into the blonde girl's trap, Youshen finally spoke up.
With a slightly cold expression, he said, "Hu Liena, what do you mean by a 'mere Yellow-Cloth Deacon'? It is precisely because we have this largest group of deacons, who endure hardship to execute numerous vital tasks, that Spirit Hall is Spirit Hall! Do you think that relying on His Holiness the Pope's favor gives you the right to look down on the grassroots personnel of our Spirit Hall?"
Hu Liena, the Pope...
At the mention of these two keywords, the trio's background became self-evident.
They were none of them the future Golden Generation trio of Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, the Yellow-Cloth Deacon who had originally intended to continue reprimanding and refuting Hu Liena widened his eyes at these words. Only then did he realize what he had just done; while drawing a sharp breath, he quietly cast a grateful look at Youshen, who had stepped into the conversation.
As for Youshen, he certainly wasn't performing for the favor of this Yellow-Cloth Deacon or the others present.
He was merely preventing these people from fearing Hu Liena or Bibi Dong behind her, tucking tail and running away, which would affect his task. Therefore, he proactively took the blame to attract hostility.
"Don't use things I don't understand to pressure me!"
Hu Liena wrinkled her nose, desperately wanting to say something to refute Youshen, but...
After all, she hadn't received compulsory education and couldn't think of how to retort, so she simply chose to throw a tantrum.
Many people present looked at Hu Liena's demeanor, a trace of contempt flashing subtly in their eyes.
*So this is the Pope's personal disciple? She doesn't look all that smart.*
Many people muttered inwardly. While they wouldn't dare say it out loud, complaints naturally filled their hearts.
"Ahem."
The sturdy Yan coughed, hurriedly stepping forward past Hu Liena, and bowed to Youshen with a look of shame: "Teacher, it was my fault for failing to stop Nana, letting her barge in and even knocking out a few servants..."