William stood within a teleportation formation with Lan Yin and Ren Bo on either side, while Elder Yu observed them a short distance away.

"The Sect will be covering the cost for today's activation, but future uses of the formation will be out of your pocket."

"Yes, Beauty Yu!"

William froze in shock, and he was more than aware that Lan Yin did the same before they slowly turned in horror to Ren Bo. It was bad enough that the kid had been obsessed with Lan Yin, but at least she seemed tolerant of his nonsense. He had been waiting for Ren Bo to move to his next obsession, but he didn't think it would be even more suicidal.

Elder Yu stared at Ren Bo silently for a few seconds before saying, "Wait here for a moment, Wei Liang, Lan Yin."

Before they could react, Elder Yu disappeared with Ren Bo, leaving them alone in the Teleportation Chamber.

"Is Elder Yu going to kill Ren Bo?" William asked with some pity.

"… I don't think so," Lan Yin sounded unsure, though she seemed pleased, "It was inevitable for Ren Bo's actions to land him in trouble. After he became fixated on me, I looked into his actions and saw that it started with a childhood friend that joined the Sect with him. That quickly passed, and he chose more and more outrageous targets to obsess over. I would have taught him a lesson if not for the Elder keeping a close eye on him."

"So Ren Bo grew too confident and decided Elder Yu would do nothing?" The pity William had for Ren Bo disappeared. That kid needed a hard lesson before he got himself killed.

"Elder Yu is fair toward everyone," Lan Yin said proudly, "No matter their background."

William wasn't sure about that, but he wasn't about to speak his doubts to Lan Yin, who obviously looked up to Elder Yu.

"I might as well go over the manuals before Elder Yu returns," Lan Yin commented after some silence, "Are you sure you don't require anything else?"

William shook his head, but even after what he experienced in the Library, he could barely believe a sect could be so… easygoing. In another apparent benefit for disciples on the Sentinel Path, the cost of taking out manuals from the Library was waived. The only requirement enforced was the cultivation level required to enter higher floors.

Just like that, the points William would get for completing missions had one less thing to be used on, which meant it could be saved for use on the items in the catalog.

When Lan Yin explained to him what those points on the mission tablets could be used for, he got rather excited. Those hundred points that would be a reward for solving the mystery of Xiao Yuan Village could be converted into a hundred Qi Stones or one Spirit Stone. However, that also meant that failing the mission would mean he would owe the Sect the same amount. However, instead of paying back the Sect in currency, the only way to clear the deficit would be to complete more missions.

Honestly, it made William wish that he had just picked something easy, like those farming missions that awarded fifty points for each completion without a chance for penalty.

"I already picked the skill manuals I thought fit me, Senior Sister Yin. Didn't you say choosing too many will be a distraction?"

"That is true," Lan Yin nodded with a frown, "But I didn't expect you to only choose three manuals."

William didn't expect to do that either, but for once, the system was of more use than simply acting like a status screen.

"The others didn't feel right, Senior Sister. Isn't that what you said? I should trust my feelings."

Lan Yin gave him an exasperated look before deciding to leave it alone. When she said that, it was for the cultivation technique. That didn't mean he should pick his martial skills based on it too. However, instead of selecting the most impressive fire skill or something flashy, William had picked something low-key. And they were all what Elder Yu told her would fit his cultivation technique best. Lan Yin didn't have to say a word to convince William to choose them since he did that by himself.

"Very well," Lan Yin sighed, "I suggest you gain basic competence of those skills before leaving for Xiao Yuan Village. Unlocking your Qi will not be of much help without that."

"Yes, Senior Sister," William agreed readily since that was his plan anyway. The skill manuals he had picked had exciting descriptions, but their compatibility with his cultivation technique, something the system surprisingly told him, was concerning, though they were the best available in the Library.

Side Quests (7):

. Visit Jade Healing Clinic 2-3 times a week (Repeatable)

. Mission: Investigating Strange Occurrences

. Learn the Martial Skill - Thunderous Palm

. Learn the Martial Skill - Thunderous Kick

. Learn the Martial Skill - Earth-Shaking Stomp

William opened the detailed view of the new side quests and reread the descriptions.

Thunderous Palm - (20% Compatibility)

When performing this technique, the user focuses their Qi into their palm before unleashing it in a sudden burst of explosive force, creating shockwaves that can knock back opponents and cause damage to surrounding structures.

[Learn the Martial Skill - Thunderous Palm]

[Reward: 500 XP | Penalty: -1 Spirit]

Thunderous Kick - (20% Compatibility)

When performing this technique, the user focuses their Qi into a single point on their feet before delivering a powerful kick, unleashing a shockwave that can knock back opponents and cause thunderous booms to echo through the air.

[Learn the Martial Skill - Thunderous Kick]

[Reward: 500 XP | Penalty: -1 Spirit]

Earth-Shaking Stomp - (15% Compatibility)

When performing this technique, the user focuses their Qi into their legs before slamming their foot into the ground, creating a shockwave that can knock opponents off their feet and cause cracks in the earth.

[Learn the Martial Skill - Earth-Shaking Stomp]

[Reward: 500 XP | Penalty: -1 Spirit]

That all sounded very impressive. Kicking, stomping, and punching, or rather, palming hard enough to create shockwaves would have been something William drooled about. However, there were plenty of skill manuals in the Library that far exceeded the ones he picked.

Who wouldn't want to create a wall of fire that could turn people into ash? Or pick the manual that taught you how to control the wind to fly as long as enough spiritual energy was available?

Even though William was aware that those skills were out of consideration for him, he couldn't help but wish for them. Unfortunately, his compatibility with most skill manuals was less than one percent. It was a stroke of luck that he could find three manuals that had a compatibility rate of fifteen percent or higher.

An added benefit was that the penalties for not completing the side quests were almost insignificant. While the loss of a Spirit point would have been disastrous, the likelihood of that happening was practically zero since there was no time constraint for finishing the quest. This effectively meant that William would earn a level up as a reward for learning the martial skills, making it a double advantage for him.

In the absence of any other topics to discuss, Lan Yin's silence allowed William to focus on reviewing his status screen. However, when Lan Yin abruptly straightened her posture and appeared more attentive, he followed suit. As expected, it wasn't long before Elder Yu reappeared with a much more subdued Ren Bo.

"Are you ready?" Elder Yu asked after Ren Bo silently walked back to stand beside them. However, William noticed he didn't try to stand next to Lan Yin this time and used him as a buffer.

"Yes, Elder Yu," William and Ren Bo answered in unison.

"Good," Elder Yu nodded and continued, "Little Yin, let your brother know I want to speak to him. I tried to contact him, but I suspect he has secluded himself for closed-door cultivation."

While Lan Yin assured Elder Yu that she would deliver the message, William found himself preoccupied with trying to recollect the appearance of the man in question. Since he had met Lan Yin's brother not too long ago, William found it strange that he couldn't remember what the man looked like. In fact, he couldn't remember the name either.

Before he could think about it further, Lan Yin activated the formation. Elder Yu gave them a nod as wisps of Qi were drawn from the stones powering the formation before a familiar flash of light filled William's vision.