Teacher by day, Farmer by passion

"Well then," Ace said, glancing at the two.

"Rei, Mati—why don't you go after her? And while you're at it, could you also let my sister and Aunt Hong know that I'm here? I need to check the system interface for now. It's been a while."

The two gave him a polite nod before quietly stepping out of the house.

Ace let out a breath and opened his system interface.

It had been a while or days... maybe even weeks, since he last looked at it. Still, the familiar screen greeted him as if meeting an old companion.

[System Interface]

Host: Ace

Rank: Peak Dark Gold

Talent: Heavenly Root

[System Interface]

Bond Beast: N/A

Blood Bond: Yuu (Blood General)

Claimed Area: 600 sq. km

Farmed Area: 0.5 sq. km (50 hectares)

Resources Owned:

Spirit Apples: Ninety two thousand (92, 000) units

Spirit Rice: three million four hundred thousand (3, 400, 000) bags

Spirit Mangoes: 7,100 units

Soul Power: 794

Red Immortal Beads: 43 (+2 per week)

Spirit Chickens: 1,600,500 units

Spirit Pigs: 840,025 units

Spirit Cows: 600,190 units

Gold Bubble Tea Fish: 310 units

[System Tab: Building Reports]

Spirit Connection Gate

Status: Available for use

Cooldown: 1 week per use

Ace's gaze paused on the Spirit Connection Gate.

"When was the last time I even used this thing?" he muttered, rubbing his chin in thought.

Suddenly, Ace's eyes stopped on something unfamiliar... an icon he believes he had never noticed before on the system interface.

It was Mail System.

"…Mail system?" he murmured, then tapped it.

A small tab unfolded with a soft chime:

[Unclaimed mails: x2]

Ace blinked in confusion.

"Unclaimed mails, huh?"

He gave a casual shrug.

"Alright then, Claim all."

The moment he spoke, the system responded with a subtle hum.

[Dark Gold Rank Achievement Rewards Received:]

2x Enlightenment Pills

1x Map (Purpose Unknown)

1x Soul Beast Enhancement Stone

Soul Beast: Qiong Qi (Bound)

Level 4 Artifact: Golden Toad

Ace's brows slowly rose as the items listed themselves.

"…What kind of lottery did I just hit?"

Ace stared once more at the line that read:

Soul Beast: Qiong Qi (Bound)

His eyes narrowed.

"Qiong Qi… isn't this one of those beast you can get if you're a heavy pay to win player in those beast taming games?," he muttered, voice low.

Images from ancient tales flashed in his mind, of a creature that devoured rebels, punished the wicked, and feared nothing under the heavens.

A legendary beast feared even among divine beasts.

He scrolled to the detailed description.

[Qiong Qi – Bound Soul Beast]

Race: Qiong Qi

Grade: Mythical Divine Beast

Temperament: Chaotic Justice

Innate Ability: Sin Devour

Rank: Unawakened

Growth Potential: ???

Note: Warning. Handle with caution. Once awakened, Qiong Qi will act on its own judgment of morality.

Ace leaned back slowly.

"…A divine beast with a sense of justice… that doesn't follow mine."

He chuckled dryly.

"Wonderful. Just what I needed, my own personal executioner with a god complex."

As if on cue, a golden wisp shimmered beside him.

It slowly took shape, first fangs, then wings, and finally piercing eyes like molten silver.

The beast was still small, almost cub-like, but the raw presence it gave off was chilling.

Qiong Qi blinked up at him, tilted its head, then spoke directly into his mind:

[You smell… acceptable.]

"…Acceptable?" Ace muttered.

[You have not committed any crimes punishable by me… yet.]

Ace's smile twitched.

"Well, let's try to keep it that way."

From behind the door, Rei's faint voice rang out.

"Master? The little dragon girl just punched one of the spirit apple trees in half…"

Ace glanced at Qiong Qi.

"You eat people who cause trouble, right?"

[Only the irredeemable.]

Ace waved a hand dismissively. "Let her punch the tree. Better the tree than someone else."

Rei hesitated for a moment, then flew off, mumbling something about splinters.

Turning his gaze back to the system, Ace tapped on the last of his newly claimed rewards:

Artifact: Golden Toad

A ripple of golden light shimmered above his hand before a plump, gleaming toad appeared. Its eyes glinted like coins, and it let out a lazy croak as if demanding tribute.

[Artifact: Golden Toad – Grade 4]

Function: Feeding it an item ceates a duplicate version of it for 24 hours.

Returns: Original and Counterfeit items will be given back.

Limitation: only Grade 3 and below are guaranteed success and brings no harm to the artifacts used to feed the frog.

Grade 4 and above: there's a very high chance of extremely damaging the artifact itself. And an extremely low chance of success.

Usable once per day.

Ace raised a brow. "Handy enough, I guess. Perfect for bait or distractions... Or pull off a fraud."

Just then, a low voice echoed in his mind.

Qiong Qi, still lingering in the corner of the room like a shadow stitched to the floor.

[Foolish to use it on anything too valuable. But if you use it right, you can win a fight..]

Ace glanced sideways. "You got advice already?"

Qiong Qi blinked slowly, its silver eyes narrowing.

[A beast of deception should value tools of illusion. That toad may seem harmless, but their species are one of the oldest beings out there… even immortals can be fooled by them.]

Ace smirked. "So, you're saying I could bait a trap with it?"

[I'm saying you could build an empire of lies, if you're bold enough.]

Ace leaned back and looked at the golden toad again, which croaked innocently, puffing its throat like it hadn't just been declared a potential key to toppling kings.

"Bold, huh?" Ace chuckled. "You might just be the worst influence I've picked up yet."

[Talk about being an adult. I was just born.]

"I doubt it. Who would know if you're lying or not." Ace muttered as he stood up from the ground.

The system information had been useful. He just gained his soul bond beast, except.... The two haven't signed the deal to bond yet.

Ace stared at Qiong Qi.

[Human, you're beginning to smell awful already. ]