Seized by the System

“Yes, I entered from that direction… I don’t understand why though, because the coordinates that I had previously set were for a grand river. Those coordinates were given to me by Long Wu, and it would never lie to me. However, when I arrived, I was transported into this deep ocean. I’ve always had a guess, but I’ve been very restricted so I’m unable to verify things myself.”

The comical character, the River God of Sky River was in a giant bubble and it was pointing towards his right-hand side.

Bright light did not permeate through seawater easily, so the direction it was pointing towards was blurry and dark.

In the form of the Great Azure Dragon, Fang Ning swam closer, the light following him as he did so.

However, the place that the River God was pointing at had nothing but murky seawater. The seawater was a faint light blue under the bright light, but otherwise showed nothing else.

Fang Ning observed the seawater for half a day, but he noticed nothing out of the ordinary nor did he see any signs of something appearing suddenly.

“What is over there?” asked Fang Ning at the System.

“There’s nothing there, and it’s not like you’re blind,” deadpanned the System.

“Do you want to increase the efficiency of farming Heavenly Merit Points or not?” Fang Ning’s blood was starting to boil.

“Yes.”

“Then be a bit more honest.”

[The System is evaluating…]

[The System has decided to be slightly more honest.]

Fang Ning was speechless. “You can trigger a System Notification for something like that now too?”

“Of course, anything that is important can trigger a System Notification. That area just now really was empty, and I don’t know anything about traveling through space, so I couldn’t sense anything at all. Invite Bodhisattva Spirit King over, he might be able to help.”

Fang Ning pondered the suggestion for a moment before he shook his head and said, “Forget about it, the Bodhisattva is busy converting an arcane realm, and if it fails we’ll still have to ask him for help a few more times, so I think we shouldn’t owe him too many favors. We can just make use of that River God, he is associated with the Clan leader of the True Dragon Clan so his standing shouldn’t be too bad either.”

The Azure Dragon then turned to speak to the River God, “If I may ask, do you feel anything out of the ordinary around here?”

The River God nodded his head. “Of course, the spatial fluctuation here is extremely strong and unstable. It isn’t normal at all. The naked eye can’t see anything of course, only someone highly accomplished in Spatial Magic will be able to sense the difference.”

“See, you’re still a slacker student, Sir System. You’ve just been subdued by a God. You should no longer be conceited or rash in the future, be humble and cautious instead. Strive to be a System that is both powerful and intelligent, both virtuous and noble,” instructed Fang Ning sincerely.

“Uh, I understand,” answered the System in an unexpectedly honest tone.

Fang Ning ignored the System and turned the Azure Dragon towards the great green insect. “Daqing, which Space did you enter from then?”

The great green insect glanced around before it lifted one of its front legs to point towards a different direction. “That place over there. The distance from there to here is about the same as the length of the Great Azure Dragon.”

If the Azure Dragon did not already have excellent vision, locating the exact direction the great green insect had pointed towards would have been difficult…

With bubbles popping up as he moved, the Azure Dragon swam for a kilometer in the direction the great green insect had pointed towards. Once the Azure Dragon’s head had arrived at the exact location, his tail was located exactly at where they originally were…

As expected of the domineering Azure Dragon.

At the current location, there was nothing more than murky seawater. Otherwise, Fang Ning could not see anything unusual.

He had long known about the existence of this flaw in the System, but since he had no immediate need for it, he had not given it much thought and had just constantly dragged things out instead….

After all, Sir System was a System that aspired to be a martial arts hero, which meant it used Vital Energy, practiced martial arts, depended on various insane ways of growth, but lacked the knowledge and mastery of mysterious magics.

Fortunately, the True Bodhi Tactics, which provided extensive and profound knowledge, had been successfully mastered. It possessed various mysterious aspects, and once it had been cultivated thoroughly, it would definitely provide them with various relevant forms of magic.

However, the System would also need more experience points; at least enough for them to make up for their lack of Spatial Magic.

Otherwise, once they enter the era of legends, Sir System would be left in the dust since it would still have to use its legs while everybody else would be able to teleport as they pleased. Such a sight would make things difficult for them to continue acting cool…

Fang Ning immediately tucked the thought away but reminded himself to bring it up in the future.

“River God, please help me scan our surroundings once more,” requested Fang Ning again.

The River God’s gaze glinted with a hint of suspicion but he still nodded his head and closed his eyes.

A moment later, his face expression shifted greatly. He spoke with a rushed yet angered tone, “Supreme True Dragon, the spatial fluctuation here is extremely severe and there’s something I must address at once.”

“Go right ahead, Brother River God.”

“This area and the area where I entered from both possess traces of some type of spatial guidance magic. Whoever cast it wanted to lure people into this place to die. I didn’t dare confirm anything before, but everything is clear now in contrast. It goes without saying that the person that set this trap possessed ulterior motives and was very vicious in achieving them!”

River God’s tone had taken a furious turn as he spoke.

“I’m skilled in managing all river systems under the sky, so I provide a lot of benefits to this world and was accepted by the Heavenly Axiom here, which meant I didn’t suffer much resistance when I passed through, so I still have a bit of magic left. If it weren’t for the fact that my merit was as splendid as the Sun and Moon itself, I would have ended like just like that lady from the Celestial Clan…”

He had spoken with an expression of fury, but it only served to amplify the comicality of his face…

The great green insect, on the other hand, was slightly suspicious of his words and unhappily said to the Black Dog below it, “Hey, do you think this River God is indirectly saying I’m inferior to him, so I ended up in a worse situation than he did?”

“Lady Daqing, don’t take what he said to heart. Master White Dragon once said good dogs should not dwell on the past and should instead run towards the future without looking back.

Brett continued to curry favor with the great green insect. “This River God might have held a high position in the Upper Realm and obtained a lot of Heavenly Merit, but he’s definitely not as useful as Lady Daqing in this realm.

“You’re an existence that fills the emptiness between Heaven and Earth ¹ and you possess the ability to provide people with lives they’ve only dreamed of, so you’ll definitely be able to achieve enlightenment because of that. Being in control of all marriages beneath the sky and letting people live with no regrets is what you do, so when the time comes I’m sure countless people will lavish praise on you.”

The great green insect giggled at the Black Dog’s words, its bug eyes turning into crescents as it did so. It no longer had any more worries.

The Black Dog’s improved flattering skill was finally being put to good use; it was obvious that it had spent a lot of effort into leaving bachelorhood.

Fang Ning could not help but express worry at this, however, would the previously honest and good-natured Brett be nothing more than a flatterer from now on?

Having one person that only knew how to lick boots was more than enough, so having an honest dog would be better.

However, Fang Ning no longer had the heart to continue thinking about the Black Dog’s behavioral problem. He had more important things to worry about currently.

Fang Ning then asked the System, “Sir System, did the River God tell the truth?”

“I have no idea. I can’t sense any traces of whatever magic he was talking about, so I can only assume he was speaking the truth,” answered the System honestly.

“Ugh,” Fang Ning felt a headache coming on. “He made things sound so serious, so we have no choice but to believe him.”

He was no longer the White Dragon. Besides, what crimes have the people in the Draconic Penitentiary not committed?

He had met more than enough people that said one thing but meant the other; all of them overestimated themselves and thought nobody could see through their ruse.

However, they had no idea that if they did not want people to know about their lies, they should not have lied at all. This was especially true in a legendary age where the sky had its own set of eyes.

People commit acts while the sky watched, so who would the sky want to spare?

This River God before him may seem like a character that was good and honest, but ever since he tried his best to fit into the culture of Earth by acting as a River God from Earth, it was more than obvious that he had a quick mind.

Fang Ning would have to be alert and would naturally not trust him completely.

“I agree, Mr. Rich Boss. Although the System Map shows him as a kind person with a half-yellow and half-white indicator, there’s still the possibility that he’s merely faking it. That Claus that you say seems to be a great problem is a good example, no?” continued the System earnestly.

“Yeah, you’re right. I think…” Fang Ning retraced his thoughts and immediately retorted, “After beating around the bush for so long, aren’t you just trying to increase my potential? Just be straightforward about it, all this dancing around doesn’t suit you at all.”

“I wasn’t dancing around anything, I was only speaking the truth,” mumbled the System.

Fang Ning did not have the energy to care about the idiot System anymore. He had his own plans, and they should farm for Heavenly Merit Points first before anything else.

The Azure Dragon then said to the River God once more, “Mr. River God, who do you think cast the guidance spell?”

“It must’ve been casted by the first person to enter this place, since doing so would be a surefire way of eliminating all his strongest opponents. After all, anyone with high qualifications, high merit, good fortune, and excellent family background would be persecuted without failure,” said the River God in a steady tone.

‘How logical.’

‘If I too stood on the side of evil, I would do the same thing. After all, the true enemies of a Transmigrator are other Transmigrators…’

‘When the Western colonizers had first invaded the New World, their biggest opponents were those who had already invaded the Old World. The war that had ensued from them meeting caused countless amounts of bloodshed.’

‘Once two Transmigrators meet, they would most likely try to kill the other so that one of them would be able to monopolize this realm. Of course, the premise is that they must have enough confidence that they’ll be able to rule this Realm based on the fact that they can transmigrate alone.’

‘Those of the Upper Realm, do they have such confidence?’

‘Of course they do.’

Motive established.

Fang Ning immediately thought of a fellow that cackled evilly from the shadows. He was pitch-black from head to toe, and his face could not be clearly seen; there was only a glimpse of a profile and a face shrouded in darkness. It was truly a chilling sight.

“Sir System, the person that did this must harbor evil intentions. Any guesses who?”

“If you’re asking me, I believe that old geezer has the highest motive about this. However, his potential isn’t very high, so I doubt he’ll be able to do something like this,” answered the System reliably.

Fang Ning was not shocked about its guess, however.

The System had immediately thought about Elder Ancestor Bai because Elder Ancestor Bai was the first Big Boss that slipped from its fingers.

It would only be natural for it to be on the System’s mind until now.

Although Elder Ancestor may not seem like much to them now, there’s still the possibility of them being wrong.

After all, the stakes this legendary era brought with it were just too high; a normal person that had picked up a Heavenly Axiom Treasure might even find themselves suddenly possessing the ability to subdue gods and deities.

From the looks of things in the past, this Elder Ancestor Bai might have even possessed some sort of advanced Space Diversion skill.

A long time ago, when the System and Bodhisattva were eliminating the Insect Devil, he had been blocked by them in an underground hall.

Once Bodhisattva Spirit King had sealed the space they were in, he had nowhere to escape so he could only hand over the avatar of the Insect Devil, which left him stuck with one less Gold Finger for rapid development.

Right as Fang Ning thought of this, he controlled the Azure Dragon and pointed one of its claws into a certain direction. The image of Elder Ancestor Bai then started emerging from within the murky seawater.

“Who is that? Doesn’t seem like a regular character,” asked the River God in confusion.

“He’s the clan leader of the Greater Rats Clan from the Upper Realm, nobody even knows what his true name is. We call him Elder Ancestor Bai. He has millions and millions of Greater Rats under him, and is the largest demonic force in China currently. He’s currently working towards ascending as a God apparently…” explained Fang Ning briefly.

The River God furrowed his eyebrows before he hesitantly said, “From the way you put things, it might very well be this person that did everything. I’ve heard of him when I was in the Upper Realm, and he truly was a demon warlord.

“No wonder I stopped hearing about powerhouses from the Upper Realm appearing in the human world these past few years, he must’ve eliminated a lot of them…”

Fang Ning fell deep into thought at these words. Right after, his expression became one of extreme fear and shock.

He said to the System, “I finally know how that old geezer managed to escape you thrice… It was obviously because of something abnormal.”

“What’s the reason?” the System could not help but ask.

“That’s because he possesses Heavenly Merit…”

“What, that disgusting geezer persuaded his subordinates to eat people to gain power. He has committed a sin that will stain his hands forever, so why does he have Heavenly Merit? I don’t understand.”

“That’s because he killed a lot of powerhouses that descended from the Upper Realm…”

“I see. However, would the Heavens above just ignore his crimes?” retorted the System.

“Of course, that’s due to the difference between humans and the Heavenly Axiom. The numerous things that humans would never be able to endure are commonplace in the Heavens above—normal changes that happen in daily life. However, this is also what motivates us humans to work hard in filling this cold and heartless world with love…” explained Fang Ning with a moved expression on his face.

“Oh great and kind Big Billionaire Host, please give me a bit of your love too. You can start by giving me those experience points earned by that precious game book of yours,” prompted the System immediately upon hearing Fang Ning’s explanation.

“Haha, now that’s the Sir System I know… You spent so much time beating around the bush just now that I thought you had become another Black Dog,” sighed Fang Ning in relief.

As long as the System remained honest and frank, there was nothing Fang Ning had to worry about.