The System felt as if one door had opened while another had closed.
The one that opened was called the New World; the one that closed was called Dignity!
It felt its CPU overloading—it had been too shallow, too ignorant!
Knowing its mistake, it decided to reorganize its database according to its host’s logic.
After successfully bamboozling the System, Xiao Zhuang grew restless again. He crawled out of the carriage to pry information from the Husky.
He couldn’t tell if the dog was genuinely simple-minded or just pretending, but it answered every question, even spilling embarrassing childhood stories.
Yet, whenever asked why it was so kind to him, it would suddenly clam up and spout excuses even a ghost wouldn’t believe, as if reciting from a textbook.
Xiao Zhuang didn’t press further, casually attributing it to a childlike gratitude for kindness before swiftly changing the subject.
His guard against Lao Hei’s nephew wasn’t high—mainly because biology dictated it!
How much cunning could a Husky possibly have? Their low intelligence was a universal constant, an unsolvable mystery across all worlds!
As they chatted idly, Young Master Xue was explaining the secrets of his sprinting speed to Xiao Zhuang.
Xiao Zhuang listened with a twitching lip, doubting he could ever reach Schnauzer’s level—primarily because he lacked a “loving mother” chasing him with a spiked club.
Mid-conversation, the carriage jolted to an abrupt halt. Caught off guard, Young Master Xue tumbled headfirst from the front.
The coachman quickly reined in the horses and jumped down to help, while Xiao Zhuang also hopped off to observe.
Young Master Xue lay dazed on the ground, his eyes fixed blankly ahead as if his soul had departed.
Before him sprawled a stunning beauty—one who could “make fish sink and geese fall, outshine the moon and shame flowers.” Her pink robes were disheveled, revealing a delicate shoulder, and her lovely eyes glistened with unshed tears.
Not only was Young Master Xue mesmerized, but even the coachman, who had jumped down to assist, stood frozen, two streams of nose blood slowly trickling down as if eager to drip onto the beauty.
Xiao Zhuang rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Abnormality signals deceit”—a half-dressed beauty appearing in the wilderness was obviously suspicious, even to the dimmest wit.
Schnauzer, being the clan leader’s son, snapped out of his daze after a moment, scrambled up, brushed off his clothes, and bowed deeply.
“Are you alright, miss? Allow me to help you up!”
The beauty glanced at him shyly and timidly, slowly extending her slender jade-like hand.
Hmm, she agreed!
The beauty introduced herself as Bai Xiu’er, from Ten Vistas Autumn. She claimed to have attained enlightenment and was heading to the Cultivation World to participate in disciple selections.
Her family disapproved, wanting her to marry early, so she had fled an arranged marriage.
Ten Vistas Autumn was a gathering place for fox spirits, and this Miss Bai wore fox-fur accessories—clearly, she was a fox spirit!
Young Master Xue nearly drooled, immediately declaring he was also heading to the disciple selections. If the beauty didn’t mind, they could travel together—he’d cover all expenses: food, lodging, and travel.
This Husky, already low on intelligence, now thought only with his lower half when faced with a beauty. Xiao Zhuang sighed inwardly: Could they even reach Soaring Sword Peak with this fool?
The beauty cast a bashful glance at Young Master Xue, feigned modest refusal for a moment, then agreed. She followed him to the carriage.
Upon seeing a child inside, her smile genuinely warmed, and she greeted Xiao Zhuang gently and kindly.
Xiao Zhuang obediently called her “Pretty Sister,” his soft and adorable appearance perfectly masking his rebellious bone.
Schnauzer was clearly love-struck by Bai Xiu’er at first sight, acting so pathetically devoted that Xiao Zhuang couldn’t bear to watch.
Both being canines with similar diets, and both planning to join major Sects after their enlightenment, they actually had plenty of common topics and were chatting quite animatedly.
Xiao Zhuang, having been human in his previous life and now being a bone, had no interest in discussing seasonal coat care. He lay in the corner pretending to sleep while actually communicating with his System.
After receiving guidance from its host, the System had an epiphany. After careful consideration and repeated comparisons, it finally determined the most suitable peerless technique for its host – “Talisman Untearable”!
Xiao Zhuang was speechless. “Although I was quite good at squandering money in my past life, spending money and earning money are two completely different things! Don’t even mention Forbes – if I had to rely on myself to make money, I couldn’t even become a ten-thousand-yuan household!”
The System immediately realized he had misunderstood and quickly explained, “Not that Forbes! This is ‘Using One’s Body as Talisman Without Paper, Having Shadow Without Substance Even Ghosts Cannot Tear’ – abbreviated as ‘Talisman Untearable’!”
Xiao Zhuang was confused. “Explain it clearly. It sounds like Talisman Cultivation to me? Weren’t there no major practitioners of Talismans among the Five Major Sects in this world?”
“Exactly! Precisely because no one has mastered it should we cultivate this!” The System explained triumphantly. “Skills themselves have no inherent strength difference – it all depends on how far you train them! Talisman cultivators in ancient times were much more powerful than artifact refiners! It’s just that the teaching materials were lost and the inheritance was broken, leaving only some mediocre simple Talismans! There were some powerful spiritual Talisman drawing methods before, but they were lost after no one could understand them! Nowadays, the Talisman path only serves as supplementary to artifact refinement and formation arrays. The less attention it receives, the fewer people practice it – a vicious cycle that makes it even harder to produce talents! But you’re different, Host. Having undergone nine years of compulsory education from our great China, could anything be more difficult than the college entrance exam? If it really gets too hard, there’s still comprehension bonus! You can definitely carry forward the Talisman path!”
Xiao Zhuang’s tone turned somewhat resentful. “No college student wants to relive the miserable days of senior high! You’d better have solid reasons to convince me! Give a man a fish and he’ll be tested on bighead carp, silver carp, scales, fins, and mandarin fish! Even the best comprehension would make one go bald!”
The System coaxed shamelessly, “This ‘Talisman Untearable’ is a premium Talisman compendium I obtained through numerous connections from the greater world! It contains everything you could imagine and more! While it can’t make someone pregnant just by staring at them, there are spiritual Talismans that can make someone pregnant when stuck on them! Once you master all the Talismans inside, you can combine and create many new types of Talismans. You might even gain Heavenly Dao’s recognition and receive great Serendipitous Opportunities! Just think – establishing your own path, founding a Sect, becoming the Talisman Patriarch independent of the Five Major Sects! How awesome is that? One stroke moves heaven and earth, two strokes startle ghosts and gods, three strokes pacify the world, four strokes deliver all living beings! If I hadn’t discovered your extraordinary creativity, I wouldn’t have begged Grandfather and pleaded with Grandmother to find this rare book for you!”
“Is it really that miraculous?” Xiao Zhuang asked suspiciously. “Don’t Talismans all have fixed stroke patterns? Can they be randomly combined?”
The System chuckled slyly. “Someone combined the Harvest Talisman that promotes plant growth with a Demon Cultivator’s armpit hair to create a Hair Growth Talisman! The Buddhist cultivators from his Sect’s rival faction all became curly-haired balls! Another person combined the Invisibility Talisman with the Lightning Attraction Talisman – the houses of his enemies were struck by lightning six times without anyone finding out why!”
Now Xiao Zhuang was interested. He earned points by annoying people – this skill would perfectly complement that!
When it comes to other things, he might not be so sure, but he had full confidence in his own wild imagination!
Suddenly, he realized a problem. “Tong Ge, one textbook costs 150,000 points. Will I have any money left after buying it?”
The System remained calm. “Nope, only about thirty-something left. Oh, wait, it’s increased again—now over fifty! Don’t worry, Host, your points have been steadily rising! I estimate you’ll keep earning for at least two more months. According to the System’s analysis, some young demons who hate studying have already started idolizing you! You’ve got to believe in the power of role models—sooner or later, the school’s restroom will explode again! As the trailblazing culprit, you’ll still have chances to passively earn Wrath Points!”
Alright then, if Wrath Points run out, he could always earn more. As long as he mastered this “Talisman Untearable” textbook, he could become a top-tier expert!
Earning Wrath Points was never the hard part—the real challenge was surviving afterward without getting beaten to death!