Zhuang Jian's energy shifted dramatically as his expression became serious. Purple qi began coating his sword, spreading across the blade like liquid energy.
The watching disciples immediately reacted to what they were seeing.
"Is that the qi from the clan's sword technique?"
"Do you really need to use that against a six-year-old kid?"
"He really can't take a loss, huh?"
Can't take a loss my ass. If you actually fight him, you'll understand why I need this, Zhuang Jian thought bitterly as he formed a proper stance and prepared to attack.
Ling Feng watched the sword technique being activated, her expression remaining calm.
"The clan's purple sword technique. Although it's beginner level, once mastered it can rival even those in the nascent soul stage. This guy seems desperate to finish it quickly, but it doesn't really matter anyway."
Li Fang Ren simply stared at Zhuang Jian's movements, reading the patterns as they came. When Zhuang Jian lunged forward with his sword raised high, Li Fang Ren moved with precise timing and slapped his wrist hard.
The sword flew from Zhuang Jian's grip and soared high into the air. Li Fang Ren jumped up to avoid the panicked swing of the blade.
"You're weaker than I imagined, honestly."
Zhuang Jian stared at his empty hand, completely shocked that his sword had been knocked away so easily.
Li Fang Ren's aura shifted as he channeled his power into his leg.
"Imprisoning qi."
He landed with a kick aimed directly at Zhuang Jian's face. The impact was devastating, like a bomb going off. One of Zhuang Jian's teeth flew out from the force of the blow.
Li Fang Ren walked over to the stunned Zhuang Jian and reached into his storage space, pulling out the gleaming token.
"Got the token. See, I told you it would've been better as a gift."
Ling Feng was tending to Yunling's injuries while the spar concluded. She looked at the injured girl with a slight smirk.
"See? That master of yours was weak. Even his character was absolutely pathetic."
Yunling's face crumpled as tears started flowing down her cheeks.
"Enough... that... you always get the better things... sob."
She stood up and left, cursing under her breath as she walked away from both of them.
Ling Feng stood there watching her leave, her expression unreadable.
Li Fang Ren walked over to his attendant once Yunling was gone.
"Tsk tsk, you don't have proper talking knowledge. Why are you rubbing salt on her wounds like that?"
Ling Feng turned to him with a serious expression.
"I rubbed disinfectant, not salt."
Li Fang Ren sighed.
"See, that's what I'm talking about."
Later, Li Fang Ren discovered that there was still time to visit the treasury and use his token. However, his grandfather advised him strongly to enter seclusion for a few years instead, now that he'd offended a prominent clan figure's disciple.
"The political situation is delicate right now. You should focus on becoming stronger," Li Juntian had said.
On the first day of seclusion, Li Fang Ren sat in his assigned room with his legs folded beneath him. He had absolutely no idea what he was actually supposed to do during seclusion.
Was I just thrown into this room on the edge of the clan's land to sit and think? This is insane, he thought, looking around at the bare stone walls.
Ling Feng was also in seclusion with him. Li Fang Ren had brought several books and novels from outside to read during their time here, because he knew himself well enough to understand that he couldn't survive actual meditation for years.
"God, save me. What am I going to do in this locked house for years?" he muttered to himself.
The door suddenly opened at the scheduled meal time. A man clad in cloth stood there with a box of food, his face completely obscured.
Li Fang Ren's desperate eyes locked onto the figure.
"A god... goddess... fairy?"
The man stepped inside and set the box down.
"Young master, it's me. It's just that I've been told not to reveal my face."
"Butler Yong! It's you!" Li Fang Ren exclaimed with relief flooding through him.
Butler Yong set out the food carefully.
"Thank god you're helping. If grandfather finds out about this, he'll kill me."
Butler Yong sat down for a moment.
"Me too, young master. They're already asking for reports about whether you're actually cultivating here or not."
"Do those old cultivators hate me? I was never even taught what I'm supposed to do in seclusion," Li Fang Ren said, genuinely confused.
"Well, if your father was here, you'd be dead," Butler Yong replied seriously.
"Was he that strict?" Li Fang Ren asked.
"No, quite the opposite. He would shower you with so much stuff that you'd die buried underneath them," Butler Yong said with a slight smile, remembering the Divine Sword's personality.
Butler Yong stood up to leave.
"I'll come back next week. If anyone comes asking, don't tell them about me."
"Okay, see you later," Li Fang Ren said, waving goodbye.
And he left. Well, he's one of my only friends here. Despite his appearance, he's already nineteen years old, Li Fang Ren thought as the butler departed.
"Let me read a book now. I've tried not to read for a week, but it's impossible to seclude without some timepass," he said to himself, pulling out one of the novels he'd snuck in.
The day passed with him reading an ecchi novel until nighttime, getting his meals through the window slot in the door. As soon as the sun set and he sat on his chair to rest, the system activated.
[SIGN IN]
Li Fang Ren immediately perked up.
"Yes! I've been waiting forever for this, you know?"
He confirmed the sign-in.
[LAZY SECLUSION TECHNIQUE ACQUIRED]
"That does sound similar to what I want. Should I try it?" Li Fang Ren asked the system mentally.
[LAZY SECLUSION ACTIVATED]
[DETECTED: HOST HAS STAYED LAZY IN SINGLE LOCATION FOR 7 DAYS]
[REWARD: LOW-GRADE INDESTRUCTIBLE BODY TECHNIQUE]
Li Fang Ren's eyes went wide.
"What? Is that really true?"
He was genuinely shocked. The system was rewarding him just for staying in one spot for a long time, whether he slept, walked around, read books, or played games. Anything done in a place for one day or longer counted as seclusion rewards.
A system notification clarified the mechanics.
[WHOLE COURTYARD OF SECLUDED GROUNDS REGISTERED AS BASE LOCATION]
[REWARDS INCREASE WITH TIME - MORE LAZINESS = MORE REWARDS]
[NOTE: REWARDS RESET IF LOCATION CHANGES - NEW LOCATION = NEW REWARD CYCLE]
Is there such a good thing? Don't I get tasks or quests like normal systems? Li Fang Ren thought excitedly.
[THOSE ARE SHIT. THIS IS BETTER. TODAY'S REWARDS GRANTED.]
A physical book suddenly materialized and fell directly onto his head with a soft thud.
Li Fang Ren picked it up and rubbed the spot where it hit.
He went out to the courtyard to check if anyone had placed it there, but found no one.
"Who put this here? Or was this...?"
He read the title on the cover and his eyes widened.
"So that wasn't a dream."
He sat down on the stairs of the seclusion house and began reading the book carefully. The techniques described within were fascinating. The indestructible body technique was apparently one of the top defensive techniques available in the mortal realm.
He learned that the mortal realm had four distinct stages—qi gathering, meridian opening, body refining, and profound level. Since he was already in the divine realm, this knowledge should have been useless to him, but it was still important because no one had ever taught him any actual techniques before.
The Sixteenth Ancestor only taught me prediction and how to sense things. This knowledge might actually be useful even if I'm already past the mortal realm, he realized.
The book explained something crucial that he'd never considered before. It discussed how qi cultivation realms and body cultivation realms were completely different. Just because your qi was at the divine realm level didn't mean your body had developed to match that level.
"So everyone was weaker in their bodies compared to their qi cultivation until now. That makes this technique really important, doesn't it?" he muttered to himself while reading.
He slept heavily that night, completely exhausted from the day's excitement.
The next morning, the system activated again.
[HOST STAYED IN SAME LOCATION FOR 11 HOURS]
[REWARD: QI GATHERING PILLS]
"Oh, that is insane. This truly is a random sign-in system like no other," Li Fang Ren said, accepting the reward which materialized in his hands.
The next few days fell into a pattern. One day he spent reading books, the next day he spent exercising, and the next day he played imaginary games in his head to pass the time.
[HOST STAYED IN SECLUSION FOR 3 CONTINUOUS DAYS]
[REWARD: MOON BONE DAGGER]
"Nice, it's sharp enough for cutting vegetables. I should give this to Feng'er later," he said, examining the dagger's edge.
This day he actually decided to practice the body technique he'd learned from the book. His movements were clumsy at first, but he followed the instructions carefully.
[ANOTHER DAY SPENT IN SECLUSION]
[REWARD: SPIRIT FIST ATTACK]
"So a single attack technique now? Won't I be like those martial artists throwing all those fancy attacks?" he said with a smile, practicing the fist form that materialized in his mind.
After training for about four hours, he felt completely exhausted.
"With an attack technique and a defense technique, I kind of feel more confident now," he said, collapsing onto his bed.
He slept deeply again, his body recovering from the exertion.
Knock knock.
Li Fang Ren woke up suddenly from his sleep, disoriented and groggy.
Knock knock knock.
"Oh no, who is this now? If they found out I'm not cultivating and they see my sleepy face..." he muttered, panicking slightly.
He splashed some water on his face to wake himself up properly.
"Ready now. Let's open it," he said, moving toward the door.