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Chapter 256: Unwrapping the New Year's Gift
🕑 Added 2024-09-28 06:53:50 +0000 UTCLin Xiao carefully took out the two beautifully wrapped New Year's gifts from his private storage and placed them in front of him. One package was large, about the size of Xiao Luan, while the other was much smaller, only about the size of his palm.
The larger package was intended for Lin Xiao as the host, while the smaller one was designated for Lingxian Sect. Without hesitation, Lin Xiao decided to open his own large gift first.
As he unwrapped the outer packaging, a pile of various-sized pieces of meat spilled out, forming a small mountain of meat in front of him.
Lin Xiao was momentarily stunned by the sight. Compared to the large gift package, the size of this meat pile was overwhelming. How had so much meat fit into a package that was only as big as Xiao Luan? No wonder the meat burst out as soon as he opened it, like it had been liberated.
He picked up one piece and put it into his private storage, using the identification function to analyze it. It turned out to be the meat of a low-level spiritual beast.
[Meat of the Chi Huang Beast, known for its firm texture and rich flavor. The spiritual energy within it is long-lasting, making it an excellent culinary ingredient.]
His gaze shifted to the various other pieces of meat, differing in color and texture. He picked up two more pieces that looked particularly distinct and placed them in his storage for identification.
The results were similar to the first.
[Meat of the Kong Fei Bird, known for its tender texture and delicate flavor. The spiritual energy within it is long-lasting, making it an excellent culinary ingredient.]
[Meat of the Qu Crab, known for its soft texture and rich flavor. The spiritual energy within it is long-lasting, making it an excellent culinary ingredient.]
The types of spiritual beasts varied, but the identification function consistently concluded with the same statement:
[An excellent culinary ingredient.]
Lin Xiao couldn't help but wonder if this New Year's gift was really meant for him or if it was intended for Fuzi, the sect's cook, or even the entire sect. But this large gift was supposedly for him.
A small sense of disappointment welled up in him. As expected of a sect system, it even managed to sneak in its preferences into a gift supposedly for its host.
His eyes then drifted to the remaining small gift package, which was meant for the sect. If his own gift was so clearly influenced by the system’s bias, what could the sect’s gift contain? Would it be even more overt?
Crossing his arms and frowning, Lin Xiao stared at the small package for a few seconds, feeling a bit reluctant to open it.
Five seconds later, feeling his anger dissipate, he picked up the small package and unwrapped it.
This time, instead of an explosion of items, the package contained only a single blue orb, about the size of a baby’s fist.
Lin Xiao held up the orb, examining it closely. It was smooth and lustrous, but beyond that, he couldn’t discern anything special about it. So, he did what he always did—he tossed it into his private storage and used the identification function.
[Yaoguang Orb: A precious pearl connected to the Yaoguang Floating Island. When linked with the island, it grants access to a small world.]
Lin Xiao reread the description multiple times, not believing his eyes at first. But it was true. The system had indeed given the sect a small world as a gift. Meanwhile, his gift was just a pile of meat that would be gone after a few meals.
The system’s favoritism was painfully obvious. It had given the sect a small world while Lin Xiao, its host, was left with a gift that would be consumed in no time. And the system knew full well that he wouldn’t hoard the meat for himself but would share it with everyone by having Fuzi cook it.
In his mind, Lin Xiao loudly questioned, "Is this system even worth keeping?"
There was no reply.
Sighing, Lin Xiao thought, well, at least the system had the decency to give him something, even if it was far less valuable. He reluctantly decided to be content with it since there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn’t just reset the system or hack it.
Rising to his feet, Lin Xiao began storing the meat back into his private storage, planning to place it in the sect’s storeroom later so Fuzi could cook it for everyone.
As for the Yaoguang Orb… well, he would need to find the remaining pieces of the Yaoguang Floating Island first. What good was a small world if it wasn't complete?
Though he was slightly bitter, his mind couldn’t help but drift to thoughts of the future—specifically, the grand estate he could build within that small world. He’d already started imagining how to decorate it.
The next morning, Liu Yunian, as usual, went to the sect’s storeroom to retrieve the day’s ingredients for Fuzi. Unfortunately, regular storage bags couldn’t keep food fresh for long. Despite it being winter, storing food in storage bags for too long still affected its freshness.
So, most of the sect's food was stored in the storeroom, which had a large area with a preservation function, making it perfect for storing ingredients.
However, when Liu Yunian entered the storeroom, he was surprised to find that the preservation area was now filled with a large quantity of meat!
Currently, only Lin Xiao, Jiang He, and Liu Yunian himself had keys to the storeroom. Jiang He had only returned a few days ago, and if he had brought back so much meat, he wouldn’t have waited until last night to store it all.
So, it had to be Lin Xiao.
As Liu Yunian approached the meat, he noticed the strong spiritual energy emanating from it. He was even more convinced that it had to be Lin Xiao who had stored it here. But where had Lin Xiao obtained so much spiritually infused meat in just one night?
His eyes fell on a broken wooden sign on the ground. On it were the words, [Edible, for Fuzi to cook].
Yep, definitely Lin Xiao’s handwriting.
Relieved, Liu Yunian selected a few large pieces and left the storeroom, intending to take them to Fuzi.
—
After reflecting on his conversation with his father on the first day of the new year, Lin Xiao spent some time considering the future of the sect. In the end, he decided against going into seclusion.
It wasn’t that he was being stubborn; he simply believed that, as he had discussed with General Mo, given the current pace of their development, the outside world wouldn’t discover their sect’s cultivation methods for at least a few years.
As long as they were cautious when accepting new disciples and maintained strict moral assessments, it should be fine to delay for a few years.
In the meantime, he and everyone else could focus on cultivation.
Lin Xiao believed that, given the current rate of progress in their sect, a few years of diligent practice could enable them to achieve a level of power that would make them a formidable force in the mortal realm.
It would be a challenge, but a little pressure could be beneficial.
In any case, they would simply keep pushing forward.
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