26. A New Chapter
Looking at the Gu, Gong Yiling felt a sense of…
The true Rome is in Greenland.
Although the description was written in the tone of a wise elder, it was clear that the Mingjue Sect wasn’t always so notorious.
Initially, they were a powerful force, but not against everyone, only against their enemies.
It was like those stories of matriarchs in remote villages, said to possess witchcraft.
Although these were just discriminatory rumors and a form of self-protection—after all, real-life poisonous insects were probably less potent than the Ganges water…
She suspected that a foolish leader, like some historical figure, had led the Mingjue Sect down the wrong path, transforming it into the most powerful and ruthless sect.
And then they were destroyed.
Was that reasonable? Was that just?
Of course, the reason she mentioned the “true Rome” was because…
She had a strong feeling the system would give her a strange quest.
Like, “Revive the Mingjue Sect.”
Reviving the Cloud Rainbow Sect or the Great One Engineering Sect was fine.
Those were righteous sects, and even now, many longed for the mysterious old sect.
But the Mingjue Sect was different.
Reviving it meant either cooperating with Yin Tianchou and then killing him to reform the sect, or simply re-establishing the sect under its original name.
The former was difficult, and the latter would likely get her hunted down as a demonic cultivator.
Could she tell everyone that the Mingjue Sect was once a good sect, just led astray?
It was the truth, but who would believe her?
And now, watching Lu Xinyao leave to cultivate with the others, Gong Yiling couldn’t help but complain to the unreliable system.
“Thank you, brother, for not killing me.”
“Why would I kill the host?” The system retorted. “The system is an artificial intelligence designed to help the host adapt to this world, not some strange entity.”
“But I think you’re more like an artificial idiot.”
“…Quest issued: The Mingjue Sect’s—”
“Stop, stop, stop!” Hearing these words, Gong Yiling’s temples throbbed.
She was afraid the system would actually give her such a quest. She would be the one to suffer.
“I’m scared of you. Please don’t give me a ‘Revive the Mingjue Sect’ quest.”
System: “There’s no need for the host to react so strongly. All quests have feasible solutions. The system would never give the host an impossible task. That would violate its principles.”
Gong Yiling raised an eyebrow. “Is that so? What about that quest to make Yan Chuyue destroy the Five Demonic Abysses, the Four Kingdoms, and a few of the top sects of the Hundred Paths Mountain? Are you sure that’s playable?”
System: “…It’s not impossible. You have a year. How do you know what will happen in a year, right?”
Gong Yiling frowned with disgust. “It’s easy for you to say. I’ve already been transmigrated into a woman’s body. Now you want to turn me into a little girl? What’s wrong with you?”
“This is based on big data analysis from the host’s original world.” The system said, “According to the system’s investigation, over fifty percent of male players choose female characters in wuxia and ancient-style games, especially loli-type characters.”
“That’s called raising a daughter! You want me to raise myself?”
“…It’s not impossible.”
“Get lost!” Gong Yiling retorted angrily. “I must have been cursed to get a system like you. Just don’t give me the Mingjue Sect quest, and I’ll give you the ‘Best AI of the Year’ award.”
The system replied calmly, “Side quests are optional. The host can choose to do them or not.”
That’s good… wait.
Side quests?
Gong Yiling raised an eyebrow.
This was the first time she had heard this from the system.
Before, her quests were all specific, triggered by her interactions.
Like the quests related to her disciples, the Mingjue Sect, and the fall of the old sect.
These were all triggered after she arrived at a specific location, without any time limits or consequences for not completing them.
As for these side quests…
“System, what are these side quests? I don’t know where to find them.”
Hearing this, the system immediately said, “Does the host wish to unlock access to the side quest list?”
Miss Gong didn’t think much of it and said casually, “Yes, sure.”
And then… “Ding!!!!!!!!!!”
A barrage of notifications flooded her mind, almost making her head explode.
There were so many side quests, even more than the notifications she received after being empowered by Brother Deer.
“System!”
“Under maintenance. Do not disturb.”
The system shut her down. Gong Yiling finally managed to clear her head and examine the new quests.
They ranged from helping an old lady cross the street to saving the country, all ranked by difficulty.
The lower-level quests had normal difficulty ratings, like easy, normal, hard, and extremely hard.
But the higher-level quests had bizarre difficulty ratings.
Like, “I’m not sure if this is difficult or not,” “Betraying Your Master and Ancestors,” “Even the Sword Master Would Have to Do a Five-Lightning Whip,” and “Make a Man Spend 180,000 Taels of Silver on Me with a Single Sentence.”
Just looking at these descriptions made Gong Yiling want to slap a “ridiculous” label on the system’s forehead.
However, a few minutes later, after receiving a message from Gong Muzhi, she looked at the side quests again and accepted one called “Eight Desolations Sword Edge.”
This was the quest with the “Even the Sword Master—” difficulty. As for why she accepted it…
It was because of its description…
