Seized by the System

After warding the area of descent and stationing an Ally sentinel which would be able to transmit coordinates whenever at the same place, Fang Ning then had the great green insect, the Black Dog, and the River God of the Sky River enter the Draconic Arcane Realm. Together with Twelve Arms in tow, he prepared to leave.

Xie Dong watched the leaving silhouettes of the Azure Dragon and the octopus through the window of his cottage, unshed tears brimming in his eyes.

From this moment onwards, he would be isolated from the world for three world months. If he was lucky, he might be able to see some deep-sea marine creatures occasionally.

“Never forget me, you guys…” exclaimed Xie Dong from the bottom of his heart.

Hearing his shout, Fang Ning thought, ‘Don’t worry, even if everyone else forgets you, that particular person never will…’

A heartbeat later, the Azure Dragon broke through the surface of the ocean.

Fang Ning took a deep breath; the surface of the ocean truly was the best.

The sky and the ocean were one as far as the eye could see, the sun was high in the sky and Fang Ning felt the heaviness lift from his chest. It was truly a good day.

In comparison, staying in that dark deep-sea trench was equivalent to rotting away in a jail cell.

Now that Fang Ning thought about it, that Xie Dong was thrown into quite a dilemma because of him too. It was an act that was against his conscience, so he made a mental note to reward him handsomely after the whole matter.

“Alright, now that we’re done with this place, we only need to sit and wait for our spoils to come in. Let’s go home first.”

Right after Fang Ning’s words fell, he relinquished control of the Azure Dragon. He then returned to the System Space, and fell onto the couch in the Cyber Café. He started a movie, which he watched while he crunched away on snacks and drank a Soul Strengthening Soda.

Yes, the latter object was also custom made by the System using quite a bit of experience points. Even blood brothers had to settle the accounts between each other, otherwise conflict would spark easily.

Compared to the Xie Dong who was currently rotting away at the deep-sea trench, Fang Ning was practically living in heaven…

It was no wonder he felt that the entire thing was against his conscience. Finding someone that would be willing to do something like that is no simple task, especially since only Allies were only to take up the job too…

Fang Ning pondered things for a bit; the demand for Allies might soar in the near future. Thankfully, he had that bunch of stone people as backup, so he should probably start considering things.

He had stood up then, in a bid to speak to the clan leader of the Whitestone people, but he glanced at the movie and his snacks before he decided, ‘Forget it, I’ll just speak to them tomorrow, I can afford to play one more night…’

“Mr. Multi-Millionaire Host, you’re so lazy,” the System had seen through Fang Ning’s thoughts and jibed, “We should be working harder than ever before by going to the next place. Gu Buwei had given us 13 locations and we only went to one, we have 12 left.”

“Talk about it tomorrow,” replied Fang Ning indifferently. He continued watching the movie, stuffing candy into his mouth before washing them down with gulps of soda as he did so.

Who else could act so carefree even as a ghost, no, as a soul without a body? Who dared to claim themselves as second to Fang Ning?

With a buzz and a crack, Fang Ning’s screen went black.

A System Notification that appeared right after read, [Your electricity has disconnected.]

Fang Ning heaved a heavy breath and calmly spoke, “Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve seen that notification. I quite miss it. Alright, Sir System, reconnect the electricity now.”

[The System is evaluating…]

[The System is evaluating…]

[The System decided to reject the Host’s order.]

Finally letting his anger show, Fang Ning miffed, “Do you still want experience points?”

“Experience points are what I’ve always desired, same goes for Heavenly Merit. However, one person cannot have both at the same time, so I cannot earn experience points and Heavenly Merit at the same time,” retorted the System.

“Ugh…” Fang Ning fell back onto the couch. He did not even feel like drinking his Soul Strengthening Soda anymore.

The whole point of him working hard to earn experience points was so that he could use them to pressure the System when he needed to loaf on the job, right?

Now that the System was being so adamant about not wanting the experience points, he was all out of options for countering the System.

“The scholars of the past were right, one can be austere if one has no selfish desires… Sir System, you’ve learned a lot,” replied Fang Ning after a period of silence.

“Then are you going or not…”

“No, let’s talk about it tomorrow,” Fang Ning’s procrastination was acting up again, and he insisted on leaving everything until tomorrow.

“Huh, I don’t understand. What’s the point of only loafing around for a few hours? Wouldn’t it be better if you played to your heart’s content after you’re done with work? I think you need treatment,” said the System affirmatively.

“I don’t need any treatment. Alright, I’ll go do some other preparations first, since we need quite a number of backup Allies,” said Fang Ning as he lifted himself off the couch.

If the System pressured him into another mental breakdown, things would be disastrous.

“Oh, then go ahead. I think you’re normal now,” quipped the System.

Fang Ning had no other choice but to enter the Draconic Arcane Realm again.

At the same time, the great green insect, the River God, and the Black Dog were also in the Draconic Arcane Realm.

The River God was pacing about in the herb garden, praises falling from his mouth occasionally.

However, he quickly discovered a core problem—the water source for the garden could be better, otherwise it would greatly limit the quality of the herbs after they have matured.

Shi Gan followed the River God as he paced, diligently listening to the suggestions provided by the god from the Upper Realm.

The River God of the Sky River was no ordinary character, he was not someone that a river god from a small river or a small ditch could compare to.

It was similar to the Chairmen of this world—could the Chairman of The Football Association compare to those holding supreme positions?

This River God actually presided over the Sky River, the source of all rivers in the Upper Realm.

He was as honorable as the True Dragon Clan itself, so he had to be treated as their equals. Somebody of an inferior devil race like them could only seek for guidance or help from him, nothing else.

Although a fallen phoenix was nothing more than a common chicken, Shi Gan could not help but sigh inwardly at the fact that the River God was still leagues stronger compared to him despite the fact that the River God had practically exhausted his magic.

However, with the potential and the professional skill that he possessed, once he took control of yet another great river, he would be able to regain his strength.

While the River God was busy working, the same could not be said for the other two.

The great green insect was currently lying on one of Grandfather Shen’s leaves. It clung to the leaf unwaveringly, its saliva streaming towards its branches.

“Old ginseng, let me taste a few of your ginseng roots. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten a ginseng so full of vitality. Besides, you’ll be able to grow them back and I’m very good friends with your master, the Great Azure Dragon, so don’t be so stingy.”

The old ginseng shook its leaves vigorously, its refusal as clear as day.

However, due to the fact that it could not speak, the great green insect acted as if it had no idea what was going on and stayed put in its spot, even going as far as to tighten its hold on the leaf.

The last time this had happened, the great green insect was speaking to the Dragon Carp instead… The only difference was the Dragon Carp knew how to speak, and it had a shrewd tongue to boot, so it had retorted relentlessly.

The Black Dog, on the other hand, felt sad as it listened to the conversation, ‘Lady Daqing is so pitiful. It used to be a noblewoman from the Celestial Clan of the Upper Realm, yet now it can even eat some ginseng…’

‘Ah, descending into this place together with the Yellow Dog despite the risks truly was worth it.’

‘If we had wasted any more time, I might’ve been captured and turned into dog meat stew…’

The Upper Realm must be in a truly disastrous state, since even the River God of the Sky River descended into this realm. Devil Lord Zhi Nan also descended into this realm, so I’m afraid the other powerhouses aren’t too far behind.’

‘Will this Earth be able to withstand all kind of evil spirits dancing atop it in riotous revelry? Will it be able to handle endless struggle and strife?’

After all, the Black Dog was a bachelor that has been alive for more than 200 years, so it had seen aplenty.

In order to obtain the various cultivation methods, it has also killed many times on the battlefield. Although it may be nothing more than a pawn of a dog, it has also witnessed numerous measures that have changed the course of winds and rains.

Once it thought of this, it suddenly realized that maybe looking for a wife was no longer a good idea. If it did indeed find a wife, what if it could not protect its wife?

It immediately swept its gaze across the Draconic Arcane Realm and its gaze landed on the rows of townhouses in the distance. It immediately realized the truth and felt moved beyond compare.

As it turned out, its masters had longed provided the solutions to his fears…

Ah, this person really was different from the rest. Master White Dragon and Master Dragon God really were benevolent dragons.

It had multiple masters whilst in the Upper Realm, and although they have never abused it, they have never particularly treated it well either.

It knew that if the day where its masters had to escape arrived, nobody would willingly bring a dog with them.

Once Brett’s train of thought arrived at this, he felt ashamed beyond words.

A few days back, after it was done by looking for the materials for its master’s oil lamp, it had been secretly dealing with the big matter in its dog life. It no longer paid any attention to its work, which was wrong of it.

It immediately told Daqing, “Lady Daqing, I’ll no longer be following you anymore. I have to help my master with a lot of things still. We’re in the midst of a very dangerous situation right now, so I’ll stop thinking about my own problem for now.”

“Oh, then go deal with your own matters then. I don’t have any use for you as of now since I need to keep my eye on this old ginseng until its fully matured. It’s not like my clinic is booming with business anyways.”

While the great green insect spoke, it made itself at home atop one of the old ginseng’s bigger leaves by comfortably leaning back against it.

The old ginseng was shaking no longer, seemingly tired of all that action.

“Uh, alright then,” answered the Black Dog helplessly. Ginsengs have always attracted bugs easily, and if matured ginsengs were left untaken care of, bugs would eat them hollow in an instant.

The Whitestone people were taking care of it diligently, so there was no need to worry about bugs.

However, now that the great green insect had arrived, nobody could do anything about it…

At that moment, Fang Ning walked over, but he did not see the great green insect at all. He instead walked directly toward the clan leader of the Whitestone people.

“Hello there, clan leader. I would like to borrow two of your people from you.” Fang Ning knew they were straightforward people, so there was no point in beating around the bush.

“What would you like them to do?”

Fang Ning immediately relayed the whole situation.

“Oh, that’s what we should be doing. The True Dragon Lord really has the world in his thoughts, how admirable. Ah, we really mustn’t let good people die in vain while transmigrating through space. Not everyone is as powerful and lucky as the River God of the Sky River,” answered the clan leader of the Whitestone people at once.

Hearing the statement, the River God merely smiled in agreement. The praises of honest folk were the most trustworthy, after all.

Without much effort on his part, Fang Ning had easily settled the whole Ally problem in the blink of an eye.

Once he thought of this, Fang Ning once again felt wronged towards Xie Dong.

He immediately sent a message to the System through spiritual telepathy, “Hey you, why did you have to mention Xie Dong previously? We have hundreds of Allies here, yet you never mentioned them at all?”

“You’re spouting nonsense. These hundreds of Allies are here to help me plant herbs so that I can earn money, so I would of course call for a useless Ally first…” replied the System confidently.

“Ugh…” Fang Ning was rendered speechless instantly. He had no words that could be used to retort.

This System…

Fang Ning was stifled by the System, so he turned to speak to the Whitestone clan leader once more.

“Clan leader, since this task of being stationed there will be quite a laborious one, do you perhaps want to come up with a rotation system?”

“There’s no need for that. We Whitestone people can turn into stone statues, where we can maintain a semi-dormant state. We only awake at an external movement, so going dormant for ten plus years or so would not be a problem. It would feel like sleeping to us, so it won’t be laborious at all.”

‘Haha, I knew that you lot were the most suitable candidates for being stationed there to keep watch, Sir System really is working Xie Dong too hard…’

Fang Ning decided to have a Whitestone person exchange with Xie Dong in two or three months since he should not work Xie Dong too hard.

After all, Fang Ning knew that a human’s patience could not even begin to compare to a Whitestone person’s patience.

It was decided by the limits of each race after all.