“The next one is the second question,” Jiang Ke’er said, raising her voice to continue after making up her mind.
[Go ahead, ask away!] ×2
“How can I gain strength? I’m just too weak right now. In this fantasy world, it’s like I’m struggling at every step. Anyone could crush me with a single slap… Let’s have the Righteous System answer first this time.”
[Dear~ I recommend you become a cauldron~]
“Shut up! Let the Villain System answer instead!”
This time, however, both systems were surprisingly in agreement.
[To increase your strength, you naturally need to find a cultivation technique to practice… In fact, besides the quality of the technique itself, compatibility with the technique is even more important. And you happen to have a peerless manual in your possession that is perfectly compatible with you and of top-notch quality. However, you first need to find a dao companion—it doesn’t matter if they’re male or female, as long as your hearts are in sync,] the Villain System explained.
Jiang Ke’er naturally knew what they were referring to.
Without a doubt, it was that cauldron technique worth ten billion points.
[Actually, being a cauldron isn’t what you think. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that produces a result greater than the sum of its parts… For example, that snake girl willingly became the cauldron of Kuang Yuanwei, the captain of the demon-hunting team. Kuang Yuanwei has decent talent, and after bonding with the snake girl, both of their cultivation speeds increased significantly. The snake girl benefited even more by leveraging Kuang Yuanwei’s talent.]
No wonder that snake girl seemed so wary when she saw me, Jiang Ke’er thought.
“Being a cauldron—doesn’t that just mean becoming a slave?” Jiang Ke’er asked suspiciously.
[Well, it’s probably not as extreme as you’re making it sound. I’m not entirely sure, but it likely depends on the type of technique. It definitely requires some degree of dedication,] the Villain System replied vaguely, as if avoiding a direct answer, perhaps hiding something.
[In short, that technique is very powerful and the most suitable for you,] the Righteous System concluded.
[If you want to quickly improve your strength, it’s the best choice.]
“No way. Are there any other options?” Jiang Ke’er said firmly.
[None. To be blunt, you’re broke and don’t have any techniques. You don’t have many options to choose from… Survival comes first, doesn’t it?] the Villain System added.
“Fine, I’ll figure it out myself,” Jiang Ke’er sighed, feeling that both systems were completely unreliable, always tempting her to become a “velvet ball.”
It was better to avoid this topic in the future.
She decided to focus on earning more points.
With enough points, she could use the system’s lottery function.
Maybe then she’d draw a different technique to practice for the time being.
Or, stealing a technique to practice wasn’t a bad idea either.
No sooner said than done!
At that moment, for the sake of survival, Thief Jiang Ke’er finally embarked on the legendary journey of a master thief!
“Heh, that guy’s dressed pretty nicely.”
Jiang Ke’er pursed her lips, hiding her face under her hood and flashing an innocent smile as she slowly followed her target.
With a flick of her wrist and a gentle grab, she nabbed the contents of the pouch at their waist.
It was a handful of spirit dust.
“So poor, just a bunch of spirit dust fragments, not even worth one spirit stone!”
Looking at the handful of gravel-like spirit dust, Jiang Ke’er curled her lip and stuffed it back into the target’s pouch.
“Forget it, you’re even poorer than me. I won’t steal from you.”
Jiang Ke’er scanned her surroundings, deciding to try her luck in a busier district.
She wandered around and soon found a suitable spot.
The streets here were wide, filled with luxurious carriages and horses, most accompanied by servants.
These were definitely wealthy, high-status people.
“Get out of the way!”
“Clear the path, don’t block the road!”
Just as Jiang Ke’er was scouting for a target, a group of robust, imposing white-robed cultivators approached with an air of authority.
Their behavior was nothing short of arrogant and domineering! If any carriage or horse blocked their path, the vanguard cultivators would unleash sharp sword qi, slicing it apart and tossing it to the roadside.
With powerful figures gathered in this small city and various forces converging here, their audacity to act so brazenly suggested they had strong backing and no fear of retaliation.
Indeed, among the carriages and horses they cut down were those belonging to minor sects and factions, yet none dared to voice their anger.
“Wuji Sect is conducting business. All irrelevant people, clear out immediately!”
Wuji Sect? The Nanyue(Southern) Wuji Sect?
Jiang Ke’er recalled hearing the name Nanyue Wuji Sect in a tavern.
It was one of the three most powerful sects in the Xiao Kingdom.
No wonder they were so arrogant.
But that had nothing to do with her.
Since it was this group… they must be loaded!
Standing by the roadside, Jiang Ke’er feigned a startled expression, lowering her head and quietly waiting for the Wuji Sect group to pass by.
Yet, as each person passed, her hands moved like lightning, rifling through every pocket and pouch on their bodies, cleaning them out completely!
She didn’t even glance at what she took, nor did she have time to check.
She immediately tossed the items into her inventory and moved on to the next target.
The Wuji Sect group was large, and by the end, she was almost numb, mechanically grabbing and tossing.
Throughout the process, the Wuji Sect members remained completely unaware of anything amiss.
For some reason, as they marched forward, they didn’t touch their pouches at all… and though their expressions were arrogant and domineering, their muscles were tense, as if they were extremely nervous and wary of something.
Their haughty demeanor was likely a facade to conceal their true intentions.
Once the entire Wuji Sect group had passed, Jiang Ke’er quickly slipped away, ducking into a small alley to calm her pounding heart.
The aura of that group was terrifying.
She knew full well that if she were exposed, any one of them could easily turn her into mincemeat!
They were all powerhouses, at least as strong as the demon-hunting team captain!
“Alright, time to check the haul.”
Safe in the alley, she felt a bit more at ease and began inspecting her inventory.
“Huh? What’s all this…?”
She discovered she had stolen very little money and no cultivation manuals or secret techniques.
A group from one of the top three sects in the Xiao Kingdom was this poor? Jiang Ke’er found it hard to believe.
Could these stones be something valuable?
She started closely examining the items in her inventory.
The stones varied in size and shape, their material unclear.
They were very light, almost like air.
Most notably, each stone was intricately carved with tiny, dense runes.
When she took out two stones and brought them close together, they sparked with crackling electric arcs, looking quite alarming.
“Turns out they’re just fancy flint stones, at best useful as firecrackers,” Jiang Ke’er muttered, annoyed, tossing the stones back into her inventory.
These stones couldn’t even be stacked, each occupying a separate inventory slot.
If she weren’t still curious about their purpose, she would’ve ditched these space-wasting items already.
After checking the stones, she turned to the meager other items she’d stolen.
Besides the stones, she had nabbed a compass, a map fragment, and…
Uh, two strange, squishy lumps of meat?
What were these things? They looked disgusting, still warm, and reeked with a strong, fishy odor.
They didn’t seem like anything good.
Whatever, she’d feed them to the dogs.
With a casual toss, she threw the meat lumps in front of some stray dogs at the alley’s entrance.
The two dogs happily pawed at them before gobbling them down.