***
After Li woke up and had the situation explained to him, he promptly ordered his disciples to begin construction of the sect walls.
Wufa: "Isn't he just making us do all the work? Why isn't he, the mighty cultivator, helping?"
Xushuo: "Maybe we can scam someone else to build this?"
Wufa: "Who, exactly?"
Jiuzi: "This is to train us, silly!"
Jijia: "Not everything is training."
Jiuzi: "Yes it is. What else is there to do in life?"
Jijia: "Have fun?"
Jiuzi: "Fun is boring."
Jijia: "You're boring."
Jiuzi: "Fair enough."
Jijia: "...and not boring, both in the worst way possible."
Wufa: "That last remark felt forced and awkward."
Li didn't pay much attention to his disciples's chitchat.
***
Meanwhile, in some other sect.
"Sect Master!"
"Sect Master!"
The messenger was hurried for no particular reason, since the news wasn't actually that urgent.
Perhaps he liked being stressed.
The sect master was understandably annoyed at being disturbed while doing absolutely nothing.
"Yes, messenger?"
"Sect Master Ku Xuanji! I have reports of a never-seen-before sect recruiting disciples near here!"
"Yes? Why does it matter? Did they get anyone?"
"They did! Four people!"
The Sect Master was a bit dumbfounded.
"A no-name got 4 recruits???
"What the hell are they called?"
"I... uh... don't know."
"How do you know they are never before seen, then?"
"I couldn't make it out but it sure is not any of the sects we know about."
"Maybe it was just a new sect. They wouldn't be a threat."
"He certainly didn't act like he was a new sect founder!"
"Alright, alright. Just find where they are and send a few rookies to wipe them out."
***
[Systemmaker System
Mission Complete!:
Reward: System Lucky Draw x10]
Finally.
Li decided to use the lucky draws later when he had more disciples to give the systems to.
[Systemmaker System
Since all mighty revered wise host Li has completed the quest, the ACME Co. Qi Location Device 3008, will now be absorbed back into the system]
Poof
The device was gone.
That wasn't disclosed beforehand.
Am gonna sue this system for violating consumer protection laws!!!
Li: "..."
'...anyway, what do cultivation bigshots do, exactly?
'How am I supposed to appear like one to these guys?'
"Alright, disciples, you all are free for the time being."
"What? That quick?"
"Don't we have things to do?"
They indeed did since all they had at the moment was a wooden palisade. Forget a cultivator, some rascal teenagers would be too much for them to handle right now.
'Guide me!!!'
'System, do something for goodness sake.'
***
[Scamming System
Quest Notification:
Name: Earn a million gold coins
Description: What's the point of all of this scamming? Make Money! So go to the nearest town and secure some funding for the new sect!
Reward: ??? Minor Realms (Exact amount determined by money made over a million)
Time Limit: 2 weeks]
Xushuo: "Oh, I am not free after all. A million's too much... can I scam the system instea-"
Xushuo felt an electric shock agonizingly course through his entire body.
***
[Dirt-eating System Deluxe
Quest Notification:
Name: Abandon mortal comforts
Description: Why bother with silly things like food or shelter? Dig yourself a hole and sleep it in for a week straight and subsist of off dirt.
Reward: 10 Minor Realms]
Jiuzi: "I like this! Let's go, let's go!!!"
Although everyone else didn't know what exactly he got, they did not like it.
***
[Sophistry System
Quest Notification:
Name: Start new conspiracy theory
Description: Conspiracy theories are great for budding sophists since they are hard to disprove and easy to manufacture. Just start one about anything, and convince an entire city of it.
Extra Reward: If you make one as a cover-up to an actual conspiracy of one your fellow disciples, get extra 10 Minor Realms!
Reward: 5 Minor Realms]
Jijia: "This is too eas-"
[Too easy? OK, you have to claim eating shit was involved, time penalty 3 weeks, punishment death.]
Jijia: "Fuck my mouth! Death???"
[If you all mighty wise revered host Kong does not repine for this mission, he withholds the right to possess the ability to veto it in exchange for the application of the efficacies of the penalty outlined in the quest notification which was hitherto promptly rendered out to you all mighty wise revered host Kong.]
***
[Big Stick System
Quest Notification:
Name: Big Stick Usage Theory
Description: Postulate a basic theory on the usage of big sticks in the most optimal way possible. Your theory should be mathematically rigorous and include diagrams as well as being supported by hard evidence. The following basic axioms are provided.
[View Attachment]
Reward: ??? Minor Realms (The more profound the theory, the greater the rewards)
Time Limit: 2 weeks]
Wufa: "What? I don't know math!?"
[Too bad. Boohoo. Get to work.]
Wufa: "Hu- huh? Wahh???!!! Evil system!!!"
***
[Systemmaker System
The following quests were given to disciples:
[...]]
Li exhaled a sigh of relief for that he could rest a bit.
***
Xushuo began packing up his bags.
Xushuo: "Hey, sect master, could I have some food for the trip?"
Li: "..."
Li: 'I'm not a food bank! I'm struggling to feed myself here! Oh, I know...'
Li: "Try asking Jiuzi."
Xushuo: *muttering* "...oh, fuck off..."
Li: "What was that?"
Xushuo: "Nothing at all, sect master!"
Well, Xushuo still kinda had to solve the problem.
Then Xushuo realized he was worrying for no reason.
He had a scamming system! Was food ever going to become a problem?
He could just scam a tree out of fruit!
Mwehehe! Such a devious plan which humans definitely didn't think up millenniums before!
Nor that it could be that trees possibly have expressly designed fruit such that humans would do that anyway!
With this renewed confidence he headed out of the toy palisade they had cobbled together somewhat coherently enough to impress a toddler, and into the open prairie.
First of all was the actual tree finding.
...
Fucking hell, this was a prairie, there were originally ten fruit trees, and they chopped all of them down! Who knows where the fruit was now!
There was a forest, but it was fairly far away, the opposite direction of the town, and only had non-fruit trees.
Xushuo realized he had severely miscalculated.
Unfortunately, Minglüe had been quick to immediately slam the gates shut, because he had been scared of the potential vagrant teenagers that I alluded to.
Fortunately, Xushuo noticed this very quickly.
Unfortunately, Xushuo got so frustrated that his yin-yang balance was offset by an overload of yang and he fell immediately into a severe fever.
Fortunately, his fever was somehow hot enough to cook the ground to release a bunch of worms.
Unfortunately, that seemed to be the only sustenance around.
Xushuo: "..."
Xushuo: "What must be done must be done..."
Xushuo carefully picked some of the healthier looking worms out of the ground and onto his hand.
*smack*
After smacking them, they were still alive.
*smack* *smack* *smack*
These were very resilient worms.
Xushuo: "..."
Xushuo: "aw fuck it"
He grabbed a pinch of dirt and and ate it together with the worms.
The forbidden spaghetti.
Xushuo: "..."
Xushuo: "It doesn't taste that b-"
*angry growling sounds*
Xushuo: "My stoma-..."
*angry growling sounds* *angry growling sounds* *angry growling sounds*
Xushuo: [OДO]
Now, with both a fever and an upset stomach, Xushuo began limping across towards the town.
***
Li: "Oh, I forgot that Jijia had gotten some fruit absentmindedly from the trees we chopped down while taking a break building the palisade... ah lemme send it."
***
A cotton bag full of fruits rained down on Xushuo.
Xushuo: "..."
[Scamming System
You have advanced 2 (two) stages in Lianti
Thanks to your body suffering from:
Unfortunately the man in question was not conscious to see the popup.