Chapter 25 – System Update
The afternoon sunlight, like melted gold foil, spilled lazily over Chen Chang'an's rocking chair. Half-closing his eyes, he let the warmth seep into every bone, even his toes curling in comfort.
A mountain breeze drifted past, spinning several phoenix tree leaves through the air. One landed squarely on his nose, only to be blown into a flip and drift down toward the ground.
"Creak—creak—"
The old rattan rocking chair groaned in a slow, lazy rhythm, perfectly matching the distant tinkling of the stream.
"Ding! Welcome to the 'Strongest Across the Myriad Worlds System.'
System Notice: Update complete!"
The sudden voice in his mind made Chen Chang'an jolt so hard he nearly spilled the spirit tea in his hand—and in fact, half of it sloshed out.
As he fumbled to wipe away the tea stains, the meaning sank in. "Wait, system update?"
He hurriedly called up the system panel.
Only now did Chen Chang'an remember—back on the day he officially took Xiao Chen as his disciple, he had received a system notice saying the system was beginning an update… but these past days had been occupied with training his new disciple, and he had simply forgotten.
Ever since transmigrating to this world, the damned thing had barely made its presence felt aside from handing him some cultivation and trinkets during daily sign-ins.
And now a version update? Had he triggered some key milestone?
Could it be that his chance to dominate the world as the chosen son of heaven had come again?
But then the image of that little black snake crossed his mind, and his enthusiasm visibly deflated.
Still, when the panel finally opened, excitement surged and he almost fell out of the rocking chair.
"Detected disciple accepted—unlocking Pet Cultivation Function?!"
What the hell was this?!
How could the very formal words "accepting a disciple" end up connected to "pet cultivation"?
Were they… skirting the line?
Skirting?!
Chen Chang'an raged silently.
Sure enough, the previously empty system interface now had a new icon strikingly similar to the Pet Monsters game from his past life. With a trembling finger, he tapped it—four empty pet slots appeared neatly arranged.
"This… this is making me a trainer?" His gaze instinctively drifted to the courtyard, where Xiao Chen was practicing his sword.
On a whim, he clicked the first slot. A selection bar popped up instantly: Xiao Chen.
"Damn! You can really raise a disciple as a pet?!"
Without hesitation, Chen Chang'an selected Xiao Chen. A detailed panel unfurled at once:
[Status Panel – Bound Pet]
Name: Xiao Chen
Cultivation: Peak Weapon Control Realm
Potential: 98 (Peerless Genius)
Fate: 85 (Child of Destiny)
Loyalty: 100 (Utterly Devoted)
Personality: Steady, Chivalrous
Skills:
Xiao Family Basic Art (Mastery)
Nine Heavens Thunder-Moving Sword (Beginner)
…
[Cultivation Rules]
Binding Conditions:
Fate ≥ 60
Loyalty ≥ 60
Benefit Mechanism:
Formula: Pet cultivation increase per major realm × (Loyalty ÷ 100)
Current Loyalty: 100 → multiplier = 1.0 (full benefit)
Effect: Every time Xiao Chen's cultivation rises by one major realm, Chen Chang'an gains the same amount of cultivation increase.
Slot Limit:
Current unlocked: 1 / 4
"These stats… worthy of a standard rejected-marriage protagonist template!" Chen Chang'an clicked his tongue in admiration and continued scrolling to the system's explanation.
In addition, the system had also unlocked something called the "Achievement System."
The system prompt chimed in his mind:
System Notice: Legendary Achievement detected — I Am the Mandate.
I Am the Mandate:
Collect four Children of Destiny in the pet slots.
Progress: 1 / 4
Reward: Random Immortal Artifact.
Chen Chang'an's eyes widened further and further.
After all these years of signing in, he had never once seen an Immortal Artifact—so this was where it had been hiding all along.
And… he began counting on his fingers. If he took in four disciples like Xiao Chen, and all of them kept growing stronger…
"I'll just ascend on the spot!"
He leapt up from his rocking chair in excitement, the corners of his mouth stretching into a mad grin that startled Chen Xingcai, who had been happily munching on spirit fruit.
"Daddy?" The little girl tilted her head, a smear of juice at the corner of her mouth.
Without a word, Chen Chang'an tried dragging his daughter into the pet slot.
[Binding Failed]
"…"
Sigh… it seemed his daughter's aptitude truly left much to be desired.
Still…
Squatting down, Chen Chang'an ruffled her hair. "Xingcai, what do you think of your Brother Xiao Chen?"
"He's really nice to me, and he tells me stories. I've always wanted a big brother like him."
"Then what if Daddy found you four big brothers just like Xiao Chen?"
"Yes! Yes!" Chen Xingcai clapped her hands. "And they have to be handsome! Best if… they look like Daddy."
Looking at her innocent smile, Chen Chang'an suddenly understood—why bother becoming strong himself when he could just find four incredibly powerful senior brothers for his daughter?
So this was the true way to use the 'Strongest Across the Myriad Worlds System'?!
Indeed, with all the Children of Destiny under his banner, who could say he wasn't the strongest?
He leaned back into his rocking chair again, already savoring the idea.
"One Xiao Chen accounted for… three to go. I've got the rejected-marriage trope covered; maybe I should look for other popular protagonist archetypes next… Speaking of which, have I actually transmigrated into a novel world?"
His gaze slid toward Yao Lao, who was guiding Xiao Chen's sword practice.
If it was a book world, so what? One flower, one world; one leaf, one bodhi. Was Zhuang Zhou dreaming of the butterfly, or the butterfly dreaming of Zhuang Zhou? Who could truly say which was real?
"Heh heh…" Chen Chang'an couldn't stop himself from grinning as he continued to daydream.
"When I have all four Children of Destiny, I can completely lie back. Anyone who dares provoke me—four Children of Destiny swarming forward… just imagining it is terrifying!"
If that was the case, then he couldn't slack off now.
He would only rest once he had gathered all four Children of Destiny!
With that thought, another incarnation of Chen Chang'an appeared out of thin air somewhere far away, slipping quietly out of the valley…
(Author's Note: This story won't constantly send incarnations out adventuring. There are too few characters early on, and I can't have them all meeting in the same valley. Sending the true body out would break the persona. Once the early stage is over, the story will gradually develop into an ensemble cast + behind-the-scenes mastermind format. The protagonist may have top-tier combat power, but his temperament is still that of an ordinary person—somewhat kind, somewhat selfish—and he will grow alongside the plot. Please be patient, dear readers.)
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