Half an hour later, Yang Yun carried Zhang Chi, who seemed to have cried himself to exhaustion and fallen asleep, into the house.
After carefully tucking him in, Yang Yun tiptoed out of the room.
After walking quickly out of the courtyard, Yang Yun let out a sigh.
"No, Xiao Chi misses his father too much.
Zhang Su was originally planning to return on the day Xiao Chi awakens his Spirit.
I still can't let Xiao Chi wait that long; I must write a letter urging Zhang Su to come back sooner..."
Not long after Yang Yun left, Zhang Chi, who was "asleep," slowly sat up from the bed, the blanket sliding off his shoulders.
"I lost my composure earlier; I actually cried like that in front of Mom."
Since he didn't know how to explain his sudden surge of emotion, Zhang Chi had no choice but to choose the "pretending to sleep" tactic.
Smiling and shaking his head, Zhang Chi got off the bed.
He walked quickly to the window and looked in the direction of Tang Hao's house, Zhang Chi frowning slightly.
"Tang Hao is a disaster after all. It's not hard to deduce from that future information that Tang Hao likely won't let me leave easily.
If I want to just slip away, I'm afraid there will be problems.
The pills I will research in the future probably can't be brought out easily either.
Aside from joining a major power to seek protection, perhaps the best option right now is to temporarily lurk by Tang San's side as a friend..."
While pondering, Zhang Chi focused his attention once again on the light screen that only he could see.
He remembered again the Heavenly Spirit Pill he needed most, which could change a Spirit Master's aptitude.
"The main ingredient for the Heavenly Spirit Pill is the Heart of Wood from the plant-type Spirit Beast, the Concentric Willow.
And for the Concentric Willow to be used as medicine, it requires a minimum cultivation of around ten thousand years.
This kind of material is still too far out of my reach; I must find other ways to improve my aptitude."
Recalling the pill formulas recorded in his mind, Zhang Chi gradually filtered out the target formula.
"Right now, the pill that is relatively easy to obtain materials for, simple to make, and most helpful to me is probably that pulse-moistening pill."
The pulse-moistening pill can increase the spirit power of Spirit Masters below level twenty.
Its main ingredient is just the shell of a century-level Green Jade Turtle, and the auxiliary ingredients and reagents are even easier to obtain.
This type of pill is a blessing for low-level Spirit Masters.
Recalling the pill formula in his mind, Zhang Chi's eyes flickered slightly.
"With my Spirit Elder father, it shouldn't be hard for me to get a batch of materials for the pulse-moistening pill.
If I can rely on taking pulse-moistening pills before level ten, increasing my spirit power by a few levels shouldn't be difficult.
Even accounting for the time needed to refine and absorb the pills, I am confident I can reach level ten spirit power within one to two years.
By then, I'll use Body Tempering Pills and Whale Glue to improve my physical fitness, and then find a suitable spirit ring to absorb.
Taking the opportunity of absorbing a spirit ring, my innate aptitude should see a certain improvement, and practicing then won't be so arduous."
After making a simple plan, Zhang Chi refocused his attention on the light screen in front of him.
"Let's put the matters of Tang Hao and the pills aside for now.
I need to hurry and find a way to deal with that absurd system task.
Although the system didn't give a time limit, if I keep dragging it out without completing it, I won't be able to get any benefits from the system."
While pondering, Zhang Chi reached out and tapped the light screen again.
Looking at the newbie task of sweeping his parents' graves, Zhang Chi's mouth twitched slightly.
"This Late Bloomer System has arrived about thirty years too early.
For me thirty years later, this task is very simple, and it's something I would definitely do.
But right now, my parents are both alive and well, and I have a happy life.
How do you expect me to sweep their graves?"
Faced with Zhang Chi's questioning, the light screen in front of him showed no reaction.
After testing it again and confirming the system had no intelligence, Zhang Chi withdrew his thoughts and reconsidered how to solve the problem.
After a long while, Zhang Chi sighed.
"If there are no graves, then I'll just have to build one myself.
However, after completing the task, I must get rid of the grave I built as quickly as possible; I can't let Mom and Dad see it."
Having made his decision, Zhang Chi immediately took action...
One week later.
A place with an open view behind Saint Spirit Village.
Zhang Chi, carrying a large bag of things, arrived here with great effort.
Here was a square area about two or three square meters, built up with stones.
In the very center of this area, there was a mound specifically built with stones.
This was exactly the grave that Zhang Chi had spent nearly a week building, following the image on the light screen.
Walking up to the grave, Zhang Chi looked left and right briefly.
After confirming there was no one around, Zhang Chi gently put down the tools he had collected over the past few days.
Because he was concerned that Tang Hao might notice him, Zhang Chi didn't dare to speak loudly.
He just silently apologized to his parents in his heart, then began to work...
Meanwhile, on a distant hilltop.
Tang Hao, lying on a large tree, frowned and glanced in the direction where Zhang Chi was...
At the entrance of Saint Spirit Village, Zhang Chi's mother, Yang Yun, was pacing back and forth, as if waiting for someone to return...
Two hours later.
Zhang Chi, panting like an ox, stopped the work at hand.
Looking at the simple grave mound in front of him, Zhang Chi breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"This should meet the system's basic requirements, right?"
While pondering, Zhang Chi silently took out the wooden tablet he had prepared.
He carefully placed it in front of the grave.
Zhang Chi apologized in his heart.
After taking out a few simple offerings and setting them up, Zhang Chi began to clean up carefully.
A moment later, as the last spot was cleaned up, the mechanical voice Zhang Chi had been long awaiting finally sounded.
[Ding!]
[Newbie task complete, rewards obtained as follows]
[Entry Investigation Technique]
[Entry replication opportunity: 1]
[Entry stripping opportunity: 1]
[Upgrade opportunity for purple quality entries and below: 1]
[Entry extraction opportunity: 3]
[Entry gifting opportunity: 5]
[Risk-free Entry Investigation opportunity: 15]
[New task released: Seek out the remnants of Spirit Hall and attempt to establish contact with them]
A series of mechanical sounds rang in Zhang Chi's mind, leaving him a bit dazed.
After regaining his senses, Zhang Chi's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Giving so many rewards at once?
Is there this many rewards for every task, or is this a benefit unique to the newbie task?
What is the difference between the Entry Investigation Technique and the risk-free investigation opportunity?"
Zhang Chi's thoughts flickered, preparing to test the ability first.
As Zhang Chi's thought fell.
A small image similar to a mini-map in a game appeared before Zhang Chi's eyes.
Four near and one far, five red dots appeared one after another on the mini-map.
Seeing this, Zhang Chi's eyes flickered.
"Five red dots!
What do these red dots mean?
Humans within the investigation range?
If the red dot in the very center represents me, then who are the other red dots?
Why are three dots so close to me?"
Before Zhang Chi could finish thinking, a familiar warm sensation came from both sides of his shoulders.
Sensing this, Zhang Chi's body stiffened.
After swallowing, Zhang Chi turned his head to look.
Unbeknownst to him, his mother, Yang Yun, and his long-unseen father, Zhang Su, had already arrived at his side...