“Please follow me to learn about the Omni-Personality Grand System…” The voice sounded again, like a devil’s snare.
Bai Qiandao stood there motionlessly, receiving information and understanding the strangeness of the Omni-Personality Grand System.
He had to complete tasks arranged by the system irregularly. Each task required adherence to a specific trait, akin to various personalities, until the task was completed. Failure to complete a task or inability to comply with the system’s rules would result in a deduction of points. Without points to deduct, the consequence would be a cruel death.
He started with two hundred points, to be used for selecting needed skills and knowledge to complete tasks. The points could not be exchanged for wealth, only for skills and knowledge. Wealth earned from skills and knowledge would be randomly confiscated with a high and merciless probability.
“Lucky Draw Bonanza” was a type of special reward. One could luckily draw peculiar skills and knowledge, which only appeared after accumulating a certain number of points.
It was like having a bizarre dream. When Bai Qiandao woke up, his consciousness clear, he saw Lán Dānyān before him and immediately flinched in shock.
Lán Dānyān’s pupils were ice-blue, emitting layers of shattered, circular light, which looked somewhat terrifying.
“Holy crap, this is the legendary and rarely seen Eye-peering! Lán Dānyān is not only a Spiritual Power user, but also a mysterious Mystic Master.
Spiritual Power users are powerful individuals inherently possessing Spiritual Power. They can cultivate Spiritual Power, known as Spiritual Qi in ancient times, by absorbing the essence of the heavens and earth to become increasingly stronger.
Mystic Masters are a very special kind of person. They are born with Mystic Power, can conjure Eye-peering to see through the true forms of demons and monsters, and usually possess numerous peculiar abilities to expel and exterminate Demons and Monsters.
Spiritual Power users are rare. Any who can cultivate and awaken their Spiritual Power are individuals of great power, capable of looking down upon the world.
Mystic Masters are even rarer, their status more revered, and they are the bane of demons.
Bai Qiandao finally understood why Lán Dānyān said she was the embodiment of dominance. Mystic Masters possessed many privileges, even murder would be lightly punished by law, at least that’s what the legends said.
“You didn’t have a devil’s snare, what happened just now?” Lán Dānyān asked, frowning.
Seeing her eyes return to clarity, Bai Qiandao sighed, “Can you stop being scary? These mutated eyes are beautiful, but the shattering light really makes my little heart unable to take it!”
“Less nonsense, speak, what happened to you?” Lán Dānyān asked sternly.
“I…”
Startled, Bai Qiandao was about to speak when a voice echoed again: “Do not let any living being know of the existence of the ‘Omni-Personality Grand System,’ or you shall ‘die.'”
Bai Qiandao stared blankly at a large character “death” before him, exuding a strong sense of threat. Then, unconvinced, he shouted, “I don’t believe it, how can you kill me?”
Lán Dānyān’s expression changed drastically. Thinking he was provoking her, she was about to punish him when she saw him grab his chest and collapse, his breathing extremely shallow, as if on the verge of death.
Her expression changed again. She rushed forward, and a stream of white gas sprayed from her hand, spreading over Bai Qiandao’s entire body. She was using her Spiritual Power to save him.
Then, she felt her own power being rapidly drained, pouring into Bai Qiandao’s body. Even her soul was being drawn away, causing her great alarm.
She immediately formed a lotus hand seal, chanted incantations, and her body erupted with light, radiating an invisible pressure that forced her soul back into her body. However, her heart felt hollow, sensing she had lost something and feeling very uncomfortable.
She couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of heart blood, which sprayed onto Bai Qiandao’s body, instantly seeping into him and circulating throughout.
Bai Qiandao’s capillary blood vessels expanded, like countless small earthworms, wriggling non-stop. His blood seemed to boil, ready to ignite, making him roar in pain and collapse onto the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
“Bastard…” Lán Dānyān’s eyes widened in fury. Dizzy, she fell straight onto the ground.
Bai Qiandao endured the pain as if his blood vessels were about to burst, roaring and beating the ground with all his might. The crystal floor cracked under his explosive force, spreading in all directions with incessant ‘kaka’ sounds.
He suddenly threw his head back and roared, his hair bristling like a hedgehog. Lotus phantom images appeared in his eyes, floating out and surrounding him, flickering uncertainly.
He stood up, also forming a lotus hand seal. Clouds gathered beneath his feet, wisps of smoke swirling around. The wriggling “earthworms” gradually subsided, transforming into veins as thin as spider silk, emitting a faint jade-white glow, before finally disappearing beneath his skin.
“So this is Mystic Power. Have I also become a Mystic Master?” he murmured in surprise, sensing the surging energy within his body.
Looking again at the unconscious Lán Dānyān, a strange light flashed in his eyes as he said, “A trace of your soul has merged with mine, dark and inexplicable. Why?”
After a moment of thought, he added, “At least I understand that our fates will be intertwined from now on. Is this a blessing or a curse for me?”
Feeling somewhat troubled, he withdrew his Mystic Power and stared blankly at Lán Dānyān, who lay with her hair covering her face. He stepped forward, squatted down, pushed aside her soft, silky hair, and gazed at her breathtakingly beautiful face, sighing, “So beautiful… just a bad temper, cold as ice, domineering and fierce. I can’t afford to offend her, really can’t afford to!”
Lán Dānyān’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, as if about to wake. Bai Qiandao immediately stood up and fled out the door as if escaping.
Outside was a living room-like space, with a room in each of the four cardinal directions, and four doors at the southeast, northeast, northwest, and southwest.
He blinked. What kind of strange house structure was this? Were all Mystic Masters’ homes like this? Which door should he take?
He opened the northeast door. Outside was a circular, verdant grassland with a large swimming pool in the center, covered by an oval crystal dome.
He opened the northwest door. Outside was a sealed space, with rows of swords, forks, sabers, and halberds arranged in a circle around a thick, gray carpet forming a circular shape in the middle, seemingly a training ground.
He opened the southwest door. The interior was quite empty, with only a Flying Car parked inside. Its shape was peculiar, with a pointed front, brilliant lotus petals extending from its sides, and an overall flat appearance.
It was also covered by an oval crystal dome overhead. It must be controllable to open, otherwise, how would the Flying Car fly out?
He took a second look. Rich people really know how to have fun. This must be a custom-made Flying Car, very valuable!
He then ran to open the southeast door. He saw tall buildings hundreds of meters away. This was the real entrance and exit.
After descending nine steps, he was on the street. He ran a dozen meters, then stopped and looked back.
What met his eyes was a building over ten meters high, entirely constructed of crystal, shimmering brilliantly under the sunlight. It was layered, rising in a lotus shape. In the center above was a hexagonal long plaque, emitting a green light, engraved with three large, calligraphic characters: “Red Dust Pavilion”, exuding ancient grandeur.
This was a special building, located in the heart of the bustling city. It was clearly the mansion of a super-rich tycoon, and undoubtedly extremely expensive.
He looked again at the window from which he had cried for help. He chuckled bitterly. From the inside, one could clearly see outside, but from the outside, one could not see inside. Only faint sounds could presumably be heard.\Passing pedestrians hadn’t seen him and could only glimpse a corner of the plaque. Perhaps out of reverence, they left with surprise and fear.
He continued to run, unsure if he was still in Fragrant Imperial Capital. He only knew he had to get away from the Red Dust Pavilion as soon as possible; it was too dangerous.
Meanwhile, inside the Red Dust Pavilion, in that bedroom, Lán Dānyān lay on the bed looking very weak and with a complex expression.
“I’ve lost a trace of my soul, and I have a peculiar feeling, as if we’ve formed a connection?”
“No, impossible. I am Lán Dānyān. I cannot possibly have a special relationship with a man. Men are all cockroaches, stinky and disgusting.”
Lán Dānyān suddenly sat up, then weakly collapsed back down, saying resentfully, “He also absorbed a lot of my power. How did he do that? Bastard, I hope you explode!”
Bai Qiandao didn’t explode. Unaware that Lán Dānyān’s power was dispersed throughout his body, he only felt himself running faster and faster, as if he had inexhaustible strength and no fatigue.
After running for a long time, he finally felt a bit tired and stopped, looking around blankly.
He felt his pockets. The Thousand-Mile Communicator was still there. Although it was the worst communication device, lacking some advanced functions, it didn’t lag for internet access.
He searched for a map and smiled. Fortunately, he hadn’t left Fragrant Imperial Capital, just the eastern part of the city. His residence was in the western civilian district.
He felt his pockets again. He was a bit tight on cash, with only one hundred and eight yuan in Five Elements Coins left – all his money. Taking a taxi Flying Car back was clearly not an option, so he had to take a Cloud Car.
Cloud Cars operated at altitudes of over a thousand meters, requiring Cloud Ladders to ascend. The Cloud Station had over a hundred Cloud Ladders. Although Fragrant Imperial Capital had a population of over five billion, its vast area meant Cloud Stations were spread throughout the city, and the Cloud Ladders at this station weren’t even half-used.
He took a Cloud Ladder, ascending to the Cloud Station. It was surrounded by three-meter-high iron mesh fences, through which one could look down without fear of falling.
Streams of Cloud Cars arrived and departed rapidly. Each time a train stopped, at least hundreds or thousands of people would rush to board.
Bai Qiandao spent ten yuan in Five Elements Coins and stepped in with the crowd, finding a seat. The Cloud Car silently started and sped away.
Occasionally, they would pass through clouds, as if instantly tearing apart the vapor, turning into streams of flowing clouds left far behind, a beautiful sight.
The Thousand-Mile Communicator rang. Bai Qiandao picked it up, looked at it, and angrily hung up.
It was her calling. For over a year of feelings, he thought they were sincere, until he saw that unbearable scene and realized what she truly wanted. True feelings were false, inferior to the naked temptation of money. He was deeply hurt, entered a bar for the first time, and spent money recklessly to get drunk, nearly losing his life.
The phone rang again. Bai Qiandao tried to calm himself and answered.
“Huáng Rú, what do you want to say?” Bai Qiandao asked coldly.
“Bai Qiandao, take your things. If you think we still have any feelings left, let’s be ordinary friends from now on!” came the unusually calm voice from the other end.