William did his best not to move a muscle as he stood silently beside Elder Yu. After she told him to avoid the third floor, it seemed she had lost all interest in acknowledging his existence.

That was perfectly fine with him. The less the terrifying Head Elder of the Outer Court paid attention to him, the better.

However, the few minutes of silence allowed him to lazily browse through his stat screen, and he was stuck looking at one line in particular.

Select 3 treasures compatible with your cultivation technique or martial skills

This quest would likely fail due to Elder Yu's mood unless picking one treasure would get him partial credit. William knew he should be more thankful that he was stopped before going to the third floor, even if the danger was still unknown, but when would an opportunity like this come along?

Especially at the level William was at. Being the weakest of cultivators, yet being able to pick treasures that should have been out of reach was an opportunity that would gnaw at his heart to miss.

When Sun Jian and Mei Lingxi returned, with Lan Yin following them, William was still frantically thinking of how to grab that gauntlet and one of the jade tokens on the first floor without putting himself in a bind. It had made perfect sense to be selective before, but he wished he had grabbed whatever seemed impressive just to pass the quest.

“Little Yin, what did I say about wandering about in these mortal cities?”

“Forgive me, Elder Yu,” Lan Yin bowed her head till she was facing the floor.

“… You will leave for The Garden tonight,” Elder Yu eventually ordered before turning her attention to the two uneasy cultivators.

“Did you lose Prince Yuan on the way?”

“My Master was displeased with the interruption, Elder Yu,” Mei Lingxi said in a wavering voice, “He returned to his residence.”

There was a brief silence where it seemed to William that everyone was holding their breath, waiting to see if Elder Yu would take offense. Well, that was incorrect.

Lan Yin seemed like she couldn't care less about what would happen.

“I see,” Elder Yu replied mildly, “So, he lures two juniors from my Sect, spits on my face by ignoring me, and expects that his name will protect him?”

The sound of knees hitting the floor echoed as Sun Jian and Mei Lingxi started to plead for forgiveness. The overlapping voices blended together as William began to fidget in agitation, though why he didn’t have a clue. It wasn’t until Lan Yin shot him a stern look that he was able to stop.

“Enough,” Elder Yu ordered, “Since the esteemed Prince Yuan is so lofty, my Jade Healing Sect cannot afford to have any dealings with him. It’s time for Elder Huang to close the Clinic and leave the city!”

William’s eyes widened at the sudden turn of events. With the stunned silence of the two kneeling cultivators, their feelings seemed to be similar.

“Come, Little Yin!” Elder Yu’s robes billowed as she walked away, leaving William to stare after her in distress.

He looked at Mei Lingxi, who smiled slightly when she met his gaze before shaking her head. He had no idea what she was trying to tell him, and when Lan Yin pulled him along to follow Elder Yu, it would likely stay that way.

William silently wished his quest rewards farewell as they entered a room with a familiar array. There were no words exchanged between anyone. Elder Yu immediately activated the array to take them away from the Treasure Pavilion.

A brief moment later, they arrived inside the Jade Healing Clinic, and William observed how Lan Yin’s expression loosened minutely.

“That was the correct thing to do, Little Yin. It would have been better to decline the invitation in the first place, but this was acceptable.”

“Thank you, Elder Yu.”

William knew he was out of the loop as Lan Yin gave Elder Yu a short bow.

“But what I said still stands. You will leave this city tonight. There are too many distracting factors for it to be a good cultivation environment.”

After Lan Yin reluctantly nodded, Elder Yu smiled slightly and said, “Go. I still have some things to say to Wei Liang.”

William stood in place stiffly when the door closed, leaving him alone with Elder Yu.

“I see you have been diligently cultivating,” Elder Yu said with praise, “You must have spent all your time to get to this level. Even then, very impressive.”

William wanted to correct that assumption but wondered if it was too boastful. While Elder Yu didn’t seem the type, wasn’t it common for older cultivators to use people as furnaces? Though he had no real idea what that was.

“Was I incorrect?”

William figured if Mei Lingxi could read him like a book, Elder Yu could definitely do the same. Besides, it wasn’t like Lan Yin wouldn’t tell her if asked.

“I only went to the Qi Refining Rooms to practice my Martial Skills, Elder Yu,” William hoped he was right about her, “I never actually cultivated.”

William’s eyes were on the floor, so when Elder Yu said nothing for nearly a minute, he felt an impending sense of doom. Perhaps it would have been better to shut his mouth and reveal this when witnesses were around.

“You… were hovering between life and death,” Elder Yu said softly, making William look up at her.

For someone who seemed unaffected by nearly everything, it looked like Elder Yu had been shown unbelievable riches. The odd part was how easily William could see that, likely because she was actually that shocked.

“What does Elder Yu mean by that?”

“The Treasure Pavilion is owned by the Tianxia Empire’s Imperial Family. It is well known that the cost of entering the third floor is to have your divination read. A cost that most are glad to pay since it could be the chance to be supported by heaven.”

William shivered when Elder Yu’s eyes focused on him like she was trying to read his soul.

“A talent such as you, one that I suspect is unrivaled under the heavens, will not be missed by them. However, you live or die under the whims of the Emperor.”

That he doubted very much, though he was thrilled Elder Yu thought so highly of him. If anything, they might see him as trash, just like Elder Yu must have when she had to test him before entering the Sect. However, since this seemed like a good thing, William was in no rush to correct Elder Yu’s assumption.

While he might have a trash talent in cultivating, that could be made up by the system he possessed. It was almost like he was a protagonist in a novel, except he was terrified of everything instead of going around killing people in revenge.

“That is a risk I will not stop you from taking, but I must inform you that while the current Emperor jealously collects talents, there are signs that the most outstanding disappear in suspicious circumstances. Do with this information what you will.”

“Yes, Elder Yu,” William clasped his hands and bowed, “I wish to stay in the Sect.”

“Good child!”

William stiffened when he felt a smooth hand gently rub his hair. He was starting to suspect that this really might become a common thing. At the very least, Wang Xiaoling and Li Xinyue had no interest in joining in on the trend.

“When Little Yin told me you were being brought to that place, I rushed here from the Main Sect. It seems that Little Yin’s worry was not placed with someone ungrateful! Do I have your promise that you will not willingly go to the Treasure Pavilion?”

“Yes,” William nodded firmly.

“Good!” Elder Yu smiled brightly, “With this Clinic closing, I want you to finish your preparations for the mission quickly.”

William clasped his hands together and nodded in agreement, ignoring the alerts he had received until Elder Yu was done talking to him. Luckily, that didn’t take long.

“Go,” Elder Yu chuckled, “You don’t want to keep talking to an old woman like me.”

William bowed and left the room, thinking it was wrong to have that face and call oneself an old woman. No matter. He could finally look at the alerts.

[Side Quest Failed | Select 3 treasures compatible with your cultivation technique or martial skills]

Make that an alert. And a disappointing one at that.

And the very least, William got himself some boots that significantly increased his agility at no cost.