Chapter 53 - Starry Abyss "Did you hear? Player Yuan is currently at Pang City!" "Where is that?" "It’s only 30 miles away from here. Want to go over there and take a look? There will be many other people who’ll be going there to see for themselves whether Player Yuan is really a little girl or not." "Let’s go!" After news of Player Yuan spread throughout the internet, thousands of Players began making their way towards Pang City in hopes of seeing Player Yuan, who was rumored to be a cute little girl. Of course, Yuan himself was completely unaware of the misunderstanding about him that had spread throughout the internet, and he was silently cultivating in the Lord’s Manor. A few hours have passed since the Mountain Lord’s invasion, and Luo Li took a deep breath before knocking on the door to Yuan’s room. *Knock* *Knock* "Brother Yuan, it’s Luo Li," she said to him from outside. "You can come inside," Yuan responded a moment later. "Were you cultivating? I hope I didn’t interrupt your cultivation..." Luo Li said after seeing the spiritual energy that was gathered around him. "It’s okay. I was about to take a break anyway." Yuan said as he got off the bed, feeling a little bit stiff from sitting in the same position for many hours. "Do you need something from me?" he asked her a moment later. "Quite the opposite, actually. We have finished preparing the reward for your contribution during the Mountain Lord’s invasion, and we would like you to receive it now,’ she said. "Okay." Yuan nodded before following her outside with Xiao Hua by his side. A few minutes later, they entered this massive long room with Lord Luo sitting on a large chair at the end of the room, and he was still wrapped in bandages. Luo Ming and Luo Ling were also in the same room, as were all of the servants in the building and a few guards. Once Luo Li brought Yuan to the front, Lord Luo spoke in a clear voice, "Daoist Yuan, I have said this before, but I will say it again. Neither I— nor this city can thank you enough for what you have done for this place, and one can even say that you are the sole reason why this city and the thousands of citizens that live here are still alive right now." "Although this reward isn’t much, it’s the most precious item our Pang City can afford." Lord Luo suddenly clapped his hands, and two servants approached Yuan with two boxes in their grasp. Once they opened the boxes, Lord Luo continued to speak, "For your contributions, from defending the Pang City from thousands of beasts to defeating the Mountain Lord, my Luo Family shall award you with 1,000,000 gold coins and our Luo Family’s heirloom, the Starry Abyss." Inside one of the boxes was a small storage pouch that contained 1,000,000 gold coins, whilst the other bigger box contained a beautiful dagger with a golden handle and a pitch-black blade that seemed to be made from some kind of jade. "The Starry Abyss has been passed down in my family for over ten generations, but nobody in the family has ever been able to wield it, almost as though it has its own consciousness. Perhaps you, Daoist Yuan, who will be climbing the Stairway to Heaven one day, might be able to wield it." ’A dagger...? But I have only ever practiced with a sword...’ Yuan looked at the flickering black dagger that appeared to contain an entire universe within with a dazed expression, feeling some kind of connection to it. "Brother Yuan, that’s a Soul Weapon..." Xiao Hua suddenly said to him in a low voice, and when Yuan turned to look at her, he could only see a shocked expression on her face. However, since this wasn’t the time or situation to ask her for an explanation, Yuan could only wait until later to ask her. "Thank you very much for your gift. I swear that I will keep it safe no matter what." Yuan humbly bowed to them before he accepted the gift, as he learned that bowing in this world meant a display of respect after seeing it so many times. «Congratulations! You have obtained a Soul Weapon!» Once Yuan accepted the gifts, an announcement appeared in the sky for everyone but Yuan to see. «Congratulations! Player Yuan has become the first Player to obtain a Soul Weapon!» However, the players were puzzled by the announcement, as this is their first time hearing about Soul Weapons. What even is a Soul Weapon, and how does it differ from regular weapons? Once the rewards have been distributed, Lord Luo then said to Yuan, "By the way, we have collected all of the monster cores from Mountain Lord’s invasion. We were able to collect 241 monster cores at the Spirit Apprentice level and the Mountain Lord’s Spirit Warrior realm monster core, and I’d also like to give them all to you, as you were the one who killed most of them, anyway." However, Yuan said, "You can have the Spirit Apprentice level monster cores, I only need the Spirit Warrior monster core." "Are you sure, Daoist Yuan? If you sold them, you could earn some more gold." He nodded and said, "1,000,000 gold coins is more than enough for me right now. If anything, I’d like to donate those monster cores to the guards who also risked their lives defending the city yesterday." When the guards in the room heard Yuan’s words, their faces immediately brightened, and they silently thanked Yuan in their hearts. "I understand. If that’s your request, I will leave the Mountain Lord’s monster core with you and share the rest with the guards." Lord Luo nodded with an approving smile on his face. Good-natured Cultivators like Yuan are hard to come by nowadays, and he cannot be any happier to know that his daughters might be taken care of by someone like him in the future. Sometime later, Lord Luo said to him, "Breakfast is almost done, Daoist Yuan. Are you interested?" 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎 "Of course!" He nodded without hesitation.