Clan Building System: I'm not the Protagonist?!-Chapter 62: Fang Yuan [1]

Boom!

Somewhere within the phoenix soul pavilion, in one of the seclusion caves, it trembled as a muffled explosion echoed through the stone walls, dust scattered, a few pebbles tumbled from the ceilings and then silence.

A moment later, the massive stone door rumbled open.

Fang Yuan emerged, shirtless, smoke curling faintly from his shoulders.

He casually brushed dust off his arms, cracked his neck, and muttered with a tsk.

"Hah... So close. Damn it."

He stretched with a long groan, joints popping, muscles flexing with spiritual energy that hadn’t quite settled.

A flick of his wrist summoned the translucent interface before his eyes.

[ACTIVE QUESTS:]

[Quest: Win the Championship in the Upcoming Coldwind City Tournament]

Reward: 100,000 SP

+ Divine-Grade Cultivation Manual.

He blinked once.

Only one left.

Because the other had already been claimed.

[Quest: Cultivate Two Junior Disciples to Reach Qi Transformation Realm]

Reward: 60,999 SP

Status: CLAIMED ✅

"Heh." A self-satisfied smirk spread across his lips. "Good job, my juniors."

As soon as the notification had rang, he decided to reward himself with ten Nascent Soul-grade pills by dumping a cool 50,000 SP.

Once purchased, he pushed all logistics to his poor uncle and vanished into seclusion.

The goal had been the Hollow Spirit Realm.

Did he reach it, though?

Sadly, no.

But, was he close?

Very.

He was now a half-step Hollow Spirit cultivator not quite there, but definitely no longer shackled to the Nascent Soul stage.

And more importantly, if he were to face another peak Nascent Soul expert...

...He could probably fight two of them. Comfortably.

Okay, maybe not comfortably, but with style.

"How long was I out for...?" he muttered, voice echoing faintly down the tunnel.

There was no reply, only the rustle of residual qi and the creaking of worn stone.

Shrugging, Fang Yuan began walking back through the winding path, hands behind his head, casual as a man returning from a midday nap.

Halfway down the tunnel, he paused. Sniffed.

Sniffed again.

He raised his arm and winced. "Ugh. I smell like an old spirit beast’s armpit."

With a grimace, he picked up his pace. "I probably should take a bath first."

Fang Yuan arrived at the main pavilion of the Fang estate.

It was... quiet.

Almost eerily so.

The courtyard, usually bustling with outer disciples, passing elders, and loud childrens, was now nearly deserted.

The trees rustled lazily in the breeze.

A lone bamboo leaf spiraled through the air like a confused messenger.

Somewhere off to the side, a squirrel chittered, then ran off like it had something more important to do.

Fang Yuan squinted.

"...Did I come back to the wrong dimension?"

Not a soul noticed him. Nor were there any guards to rushed and greet him.

No junior disciples scampered over to report the latest events. There wasn’t even a sound of a single baby crying. freёnovelkiss-com

Just silence and the distant call of a bird.

He strolled forward like a wandering traveler returning to a forgotten hometown.

His footsteps echoed as he passed through the pavilion hall, into the inner courtyard, and finally stopped at the side baths, an open-air spiritual spring carved into the stone, cold mist gently rising from its surface.

Without ceremony, he stripped down, tossed his dusty clothes onto a nearby rack, and stepped into the pool.

Splash.

Cold.

Pure.

Blissful.

He sank to his shoulders, let out a long sigh, and leaned back against the edge.

"Haaaaahhh... that’s the stuff."

The water glimmered faintly with spiritual essence, cool as winter moonlight but refreshing as spring rain.

Dirt and lingering qi-residue lifted off his skin like regret in a purification ritual.

He closed his eyes and relaxed.

As his stink slowly dissolved into the water.

He sank deeper, until only his nose poked above the gently rippling surface.

Eyes open, staring blankly at the pale blue sky.

With a lazy sigh, he spread his divine sense out like a yawn in spiritual form, first through the pavilion, brushing past sleeping chickens and idle guards.

Then outward.

Across the estate.

Into the city.

It was subtle, perfectly masked. The kind of sweep only a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could pull off.

No cultivator below Nascent Soul would even sense the ripple.

Naturally, he would also notice if someone at the Nascent Soul level or higher picked it up.

He felt... no such response.

All seemed normal.

Except—

His brows twitched.

His expression sharpened, gaze sweeping the horizon with sudden intensity.

What is that energy?

It crackled faintly at the edge of his divine sense, foreign, volatile, and utterly unnatural.

It wasn’t loud nor was it radiant.

But it felt more dangerous than anything he had ever sensed before.

A chill ran down his spine.

"Huh...?"

It was coming from a certain necklace.

A certain... necklace that was made from a ring.

Fang Yuan was confused for a second so his divine sense zoomed in.

It hovered over the arena and then locked onto Fang Tian.

Who wore the ring around his neck like a keepsake.

"...Wait a minute."

Fang Yuan narrowed his eyes.

He focused.

No way.

No. Freaking. Way.

He honed in on the core.

And there it was, like a blazing lantern in spiritual darkness.

Golden Core cultivation base.

Solid.

Real.

Unmistakable.

A powerful whoosh of water erupted as he stood up in the bath, eyes bulging with disbelief, water cascading down his bare body like some angry yet aesthetically pleasing waterfall.

He stared into the distance, mouth agape.

A powerful whoosh of water erupted as he stood up in the bath, eyes bulging with disbelief, water cascading down his bare body like some angry yet aesthetically pleasing waterfall.

He stared into the distance, mouth agape.

"How...?" he muttered slowly, voice hoarse.

But what shocked him wasn’t Fang Tian’s cultivation realm.

Oh no.

That was child’s play.

This was far, far more devastating.

His eyes trembled.

His jaw clenched.

His entire soul seemed to let out a silent scream.

"HEAVEN! How can you be so cruel!"

He clenched his fists and turned sharply, glaring at the floating golden screen before him.

The system.

That cursed, shiny, reward-dangling system.

"WHY!" he wailed. "I could’ve picked Task 1 and gotten more system points!"

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