“That was a one-time use of power,” Jiang Ke’er finally managed to find an excuse to brush it off.
Veritas Technique was something that could never be revealed.
No matter how close someone was to her, she could not let them know its principles.
It wasn’t just because it was shocking; there might be even greater dangers involved.
After all, it was a technique that tampered with the rules of the Heavenly Dao.
Who could say what might happen in the future?
“And I suffered severe internal injuries as well,” Jiang Ke’er smiled bitterly.
“For the next battles, I’m afraid I can only play support with you all.”
“How long do you think it will take to recover?” Si Lian clenched her fist, sighing lightly as she asked.
“I can’t say for sure.”
Jiang Ke’er glanced at the System interface.
In reality, she wasn’t badly injured at all.
Although she’d been grazed by the Seven Luminaries Expert’s force, it hadn’t hurt her vital organs.
The reason she said all this, first, was to cover up the truth, but more importantly… because the System had suddenly popped up with a new Mission.
These two Systems could be said to be quite laid-back.
Ever since their arrival, they had never proactively interfered with Jiang Ke’er’s actions through Missions.
System Missions had only appeared once, which was the Newbie Task upon receiving the Systems—giving her the Universal Unlocking Technique and the Unopenable Lock… but she’d never had a chance to use them.
But this time, it was as if the Systems had finally remembered they possessed a Task System.
Suddenly, two Missions popped up in front of Jiang Ke’er at the same time.
[You copied me again!] The Villain System was furious.
[No one ever said you’re the only one who can issue Missions, right?] The Protagonist System replied lazily.
[I issue a Mission, you issue a Mission. Whatever I do, you do too… Even your source code is copied from mine! Have you no shame?]
[None at all.]
[…Between us, who’s really the villain here?] The Villain System’s voice was thoroughly exhausted.
Jiang Ke’er ignored the two Missions for now, setting them aside and looking apologetically at Si Lian.
“You’ve worked hard. If it weren’t for you, we probably wouldn’t have survived,” Si Lian, despite her worries, still patted Jiang Ke’er’s head in relief.
“For now, get a good rest… Come, let’s go to the Hotel. Your identities are all registered.”
Si Lian led the group of Little Demons to the Hotel.
The Hotel was quite shabby and simple—it seemed Si Lian’s funds were extremely tight.
Fortunately, nobody cared. They each headed to their own rooms, agreeing to gather the next morning.
Once inside her room at the Hotel, the two Systems were still quarreling endlessly. Jiang Ke’er’s head was nearly splitting from all the noise.
She looked at the Missions.
First, the Protagonist System’s Mission.
[Mission: Road to the Stars – Acceptable, can be abandoned.]
[Upon accepting, you will receive a Seal Bracelet. Your cultivation speed and strength will be suppressed to one-tenth. You will also receive the “Trial Fox Domain.”]
[Mission Objective: Enter the semifinals of the Shenzhou Cup Grand Tournament in a fully sealed state.]
[Reward for completion: Permanent Fox Domain.]
[Fox Domain: When you perform an ultimate dodge within 1cm of an attack, you enter Fox Time, accelerating your own time by tenfold for 0.1 seconds (real time).]
Fox Time? Bullet Time?
Shocking.
This was obviously another terrifying ability at the level of hacking the Heavenly Dao.
A tenfold time acceleration meant her operational and reaction speed would be ten times faster—not only giving her much more time to defend, but also ten times the opportunity to counterattack.
Though the activation condition was harsh, it would provide her with tremendous combat assistance!
Such a reward was truly tempting.
But to suppress her power to one-tenth of the original was harsh indeed. If she rashly accepted, she might die on the way to completing the Mission.
Jiang Ke’er held down her excitement and moved on to check the Villain System’s Mission.
[Mission: Road to the Ancient Gods – Acceptable, can be abandoned.]
[Upon accepting, you will receive a Seal Bracelet. Your cultivation speed and strength will be suppressed to one-tenth. You will also receive the “Trial Perfect Four Symbols Dao Foundation.”]
[Completion requirement…]
The completion requirement was the same as the “Road to the Stars” Mission: reach the semifinals.
[Reward: Permanent Perfect Four Symbols Dao Foundation.]
Staring at the two Missions in front of her, Jiang Ke’er practically wanted to scratch her head raw in frustration.
One was the legendary Bullet Time—undoubtedly a divine skill.
But the Perfect Four Symbols Dao Foundation was equally important. The difference between a perfect and an imperfect Dao Foundation was nearly tenfold, and it was the bedrock for her future path of cultivation.
Cultivation was like stacking blocks—the better the foundation, the further you could go. If any part was weak, it could become a future hidden danger.
“Villain System, is there any other way to obtain the Perfect Four Symbols Dao Foundation? Isn’t there a Four Symbols Realm Dao Foundation prize pool?”
[The rarity of Perfect Dao Foundation above the Four Symbols Realm increases by countless times. Each stage will be extremely difficult to obtain, and there will no longer be any prize pool.] The Villain System answered, adding,
[That shorty doesn’t have any either, and you can’t cultivate it on your own. Forcing a Perfect Four Symbols Dao Foundation would take about a thousand years. You don’t have that much life span.]
Absolutely no room for negotiation.
Jiang Ke’er really wanted to have both.
But reason told her she had to choose—greed would only lead to death.
Both Missions would suppress her power to one-tenth of the original.
She’d asked both Systems, and they were very clear—the two Seal Bracelets would stack multiplicatively, and having both at once would suppress her to just one percent of her power.
Taking just one percent into the Shenzhou Cup would be like sending herself to the fox’s chopping block.
The intention of this Mission was clear… It was forcing her to choose between the two!
Sigh, so annoying.
Her heart itched.
Still, the safer bet was the Perfect Dao Foundation.
A Dao Foundation upgrade was more stable, and the Fox Domain’s activation condition was really too harsh.
But if the Fox Domain’s effect could be triggered, then it would become her very own “Ke’er Time”—overcoming the strong with the weak would be within reach!
One was stability, the other high risk, high reward.
Better to play it safe and choose the Perfect Dao Foundation. Mm, after all, I’ve always been steady.
This was a sleepless night for all the Little Demons. Not only for Jiang Ke’er, but for Gan Ruǎnruǎn, Jie Shui, and the others as well.
Some were expectant, some afraid—no matter what, today they would step onto that blood-stained arena again, with the most unwelcome status.
There was no way to guess what awaited them. The enemy’s tricks would always exceed their imagination—they could only give it their all.
To make matters worse, it was precisely now that Jiang Ke’er had been seriously injured.
But she had kept the whole team alive under the hands of three Seven Luminaries Experts… Sigh, all because of those despicable bastards!
“Morning.”
Si Lian was already sitting in the Main Hall of the Hotel, waiting.
The anxious Little Demons soon trickled out of their rooms and sat in front of Si Lian.
Jiang Ke’er was the last to arrive.
Her face was deathly pale, her steps unsteady, as if all her energy had been drained—so weak she might be blown over by a gust of wind.
Gan Ruǎnruǎn hurried over to help her, but after taking Jiang Ke’er’s arm, she suddenly froze, exclaiming, “When did you get a new bracelet?”
“Last night.” Jiang Ke’er managed a bitter smile.
Gan Ruǎnruǎn stared curiously at Jiang Ke’er’s wrist. “I’m not really into accessories, but I have to admit… your bracelet is beautiful! It must’ve cost a fortune? And you actually bought two at once!”
“Yeah,” Jiang Ke’er looked devastated, “Bought two at once. Cost me an arm and a leg.”