Seized by the System

In the System Space.

After Fang Ning had had a discussion with the System, both of them realized that no proper measure could be taken. It was almost impossible for a hero to face off against the enemy. There was only so much Sir System could do despite his might.

He could not stop himself from grumbling. “Axiom Daddy won’t even do something about it. This change of Maxim is under its jurisdiction.”

“Hmph, that idiot probably can’t wait for this to happen. Anyway, evil forces are also a source of power to it, such that the resentment created from dead people is also a form of power. It doesn’t discriminate between good and evil, so of course, it won’t care and neither will it take the initiative to cleanse everything,” Sir System emphasized.

Although Sir System usually had a biased opinion of the Heavenly Axiom but this time, Fang Ning had to admit that it had a valid point.

“Ah, this fellow is busy resisting the Upper Realm gods, so he can’t take care of a lot of matters. It used to be quite efficient — with the opening of the Divine Gate, the publishing of the Divine List and the creation of Heavenly Axiom Treasures. Unfortunately in recent times, aside from the past few days, when you got a treasure from Mars, it borrowed the Divine Monument babies and comes out for a while. Yet other times, it is nearly non-existent. The two Upper Realm gods have been chased out by Zhi Nan, so it should take a breather as well and lend its brothers a helping hand,” a troubled Fang Ning replied.

“Hmph, who knows? It’s better if it doesn’t come out, at least it won’t give me trouble. One day it’ll do something to me…” Sir System rambled incessantly.

The two of them were chatting when a green frog hopped towards them and stopped right in front of Fang Ning. It stared at him with large, round eyes.

“Hey, baby frog, is there anything?” Fang Ning was curious.

The green frog’s eyes glittered with excitement. “Axiom Daddy just told me that the Divine Gate can now be opened for the second time…”

Sweat beads formed on Fang Ning’s head. He whispered to the System. “This fellow must have been eavesdropping on us. How else could it do something like this right after I mention it?”

“Really? Let me scold it for verification…” An idea came to Sir System.

“Hold your horses. You’re seriously lacking in your wits, why scold it for no reason? It might not differentiate between good and evil, but at least it won’t harm us as I’m a local and we belong to the same faction. If you scold it, be prepared to lose at least three basic Favorability Points.” Fang Ning rolled his eyes. The System had been having an unstable thinking process.

“Oh, forget it then. But what goodies can we get from this reopening of the Divine Gate?” Sir System asked.

Fang Ning reprimanded the System. “Look at you, all you care about are goodies. Are you even a Hero System? Even Yue Buqun isn’t as vicious as you…” ¹

“Then what should we think about?” Sir System retorted.

“We should think about what to do in order to use this opportunity to achieve a power balance and to defuse dangerous situations. This should be the proper mentality of a Hero,” Fang Ning lectured the System.

“You’re such a phony. You’re the laziest one here and everything is a passing fad to you. If it wasn’t for me who kept tabs on all the promises you made, you would have broken them for the umpteenth time.” Sir System lectured savagely.

Fang Ning said nothing, for he knew what the System said was true.

He changed the subject swiftly and asked the green frog affectionately, “Baby frog, has the time of opening of the Divine Gate been confirmed?”

“Yes, it is. It’ll be opened three days later and the venue are still being decided by the master,” the green frog replied hurriedly.

It looked like it could not wait to leave at once.

Fang Ning understood its feeling. The green frog was cooped up in the System Space every day and there was no place for it to have fun. Naturally, it was more comfortable for it to go out and it could also cause some trouble for those geniuses…

“Alright, since we’ve experienced this once, we shall do it again according to the previous procedure.” Fang Ning was not bothered by this matter.

“What do you mean by ‘do it again’? You’re just going to push the work to me once more. I bet you’ve forgotten what the previous procedure is like?” Sir System protested.

“Quit complaining all the time. As a System, ask not what the world can do for you, but ask what you can do for the world.” Fang Ning gave the System a pep talk.

“You were the one who started this complaint,” Sir System snapped.

“Really? I forgot. Looks like Axiom Daddy still listens to us. A leader who accepts advice from his subordinates is a good leader,” Fang Ning commented.

“I never thought that you would be even more thick-skinned than me now. It’s true, you do get influenced by the people around you.” Sir System mused knowingly.

“Thank you for your compliment,” Fang Ning replied with an air of indifference.

After that, he instructed the System, “Inform Ren Ruofeng and the rest of our allies about this so that they can prepare three days ahead. The remaining matters are easy. The same place, above the Pacific Ocean — no, have the opening of the Divine Gate take place on the Lunaette this time. It’s more spacious and classier over there…”

“I see. I shall inform them, but I gotta let you know that you must get some goodies for me,” Sir System nagged.

“Relax, there’ll be goodies for you,” Fang Ning muttered.

…

The training ground of China’s Truth Department Headquarters.

A group of elite cadets was training vigorously.

They were using the most traditional ways of strengthening their muscles and boosting their agility. This was the proper cultivation method as proven by scientific research.

It was not just Vitality Respiration that they had to learn, but also the training of their physical bodies. Through this sort of training, they can boost their morale which fulfills the principle of cultivation.

After cultivating abilities and completing the process of Vitality Respiration, they strengthened their bodies through regular exercises which helped with their bodies’ restoration and the deepening of their cultivation bases.

On the contrary, cultivating in isolation might be cooler but it was not scientific as life itself revolved around motion.

Scientific research stated that long-term isolation might result in claustrophobia and could lead to the repeated appearances of inner demons. Deviatory psychosis was often caused by prolonged cultivation in isolation.

Of course, someone with a cultivation base that was equivalent to the ones possessed by gods and devils did not have to be concerned about such a problem. However, to the cadets who were still learning about cultivation, they had to be aware of this aspect.

“The Divine Gate has reopened?” When the cadets heard about this from their trainers, they glanced at each other with surprised expressions before they burst into a happy cheer.

Finally, another opportunity had been reborn!

“I guess it’s here at last. All this while, I knew that shouldn’t be a one-time opportunity. As there’s a Divine List, it surely has to be rearranged after some time,” someone remarked excitedly.

“We’ve been training for more than two years, so I don’t believe we can’t achieve something this time,” another person added with confidence.

“It depends. It might be those same fellows again.” Most people felt apathetic.

Although the cadets were some of the brightest individuals in the country, they were aware of their own limitations. They still had a lot to learn as compared to the ones at the very top.

However, no one wanted to remain an amateur. Whoever could enter the Divine Gate had a much easier time at cultivating when he or she returned, which was sort of like using a cheat code.

One after the other, Qiao Zijiang, Qiao Zishan, and Xu Rui achieved the Lake level. Coincidentally, they had ascended the Divine Gate despite not passing one stage.

One should be aware that Lake-level powerhouses were the greatest champions on Earth right now.

“Whatever it is, we should at least be given a chance. Their cultivation bases are much higher than ours. They can’t always leave us at the back of the line, can they?” some cadets commented disgruntledly.

“True, they should divide the quotas fairly. What’s the point of letting the same old people back in? I rarely see them putting in any real effort. They just reap whatever benefits they can get from the people in front of them,” another person remarked.

The cadets’ comments traveled around fast. Soon, Ren Ruofeng got wind of them.

He shook his head helplessly.

“This has only just begun and the viciousness of the competition for cultivation resources has already reared its ugly head. If, one day, a person really becomes a god, how would the others feel? After all, the organization’s resources are being used to nurture this,” he told the big bosses in front of him.

“Resources must be exchanged in return for dedication. That handful of individuals nearly lost their lives to acquire such an opportunity. No one got it for free,” Qiao Anping replied angrily.

When he risked his life together with his nephew and niece, those young people could train peacefully. Now, they made scornful remarks. He was not the type of person to hold grudges, yet he felt unpleasant after hearing those comments.

“I have no choice. I’ll ask Venerable One whether a few more quotas can be added so that we can placate those people. It’s true, we can’t just focus on training and nurturing experts. Regular folks need proper care, too, and they make up the majority of the organization,” Ren Ruofeng consoled him.

“Do your best, Oldman Ren. For the past two years, the populations of the demon, spirits, and devil clans have reduced a lot. I doubt they’ll be able to get enough candidates to fill the quotas. Ten candidates per clan might be too many for them, so we might be able to get some extra quotas from their sides.” Qiao Anping’s tone began to soften.

“It can only be confirmed after asking Venerable One. I still don’t know whether the quotas can be transferred,” Ren Ruofeng replied.