The sky had yet to fully brighten, and the sun still remained hidden beneath the horizon. Only the eastern skies had begun turning pale as the darkness slowly faded away, while the cold scent of the night still lingered in the air.

The streets remained mostly empty before hurried footsteps suddenly echoed through them.

The early dawn air carried traces of moisture, yet Any did not feel the slightest chill. Her heart was overflowing with excitement, her face slightly flushed red as she quickly made her way toward the academy.

"I cultivated all night and finally stabilized my realm after spending two Spirit Stones these past two days. I should first inform Master that I have urgent matters to attend to before rushing toward the Pavilion to reserve a room... and hopefully accept a mission before someone else does."

Recalling the scene from yesterday when she informed her elder brother about her breakthrough, Any could not help but feel a surge of pride and happiness.

Although Shen had initially doubted her words, his expression eventually turned into relief and joy after witnessing her cultivation personally.

Still, Any felt that she should first head toward the Pavilion before bringing him there.

She feared that if she took Shen along immediately and a mission happened to appear, he would undoubtedly snatch it for himself without hesitation.

After all, Shen already believed her words completely.

Any had never been known for lying since childhood.

’Should I simply skip the academy and head directly toward the Pavilion instead?’

Thinking about her master repeatedly warning the class about the importance of the upcoming event, Any quickly shook her head.

She feared losing her position to another disciple if she skipped lessons now.

Yet despite that, a strange sense of unease lingered inside her heart, as though someone was secretly plotting against her.

"Just wait, Luke..." Any muttered while clenching her fists. "One day I’ll force your head into the dirt and make you apologize to Father and me for all the humiliation and losses you caused us."

Her determination to surpass him reignited once more.

The more she thought about the Pavilion and its cultivation room, the more excited she became. Her pace unconsciously quickened further.

Soon, she arrived before the academy entrance.

The two guards stationed outside looked at her strangely before one of them finally spoke.

"Umm... Any, why did you come today? Didn’t Shen inform you yesterday that your master canceled today’s classes? We were originally planning to send someone to notify you, but your brother said he’d relay the message personally."

"What? Elder brother came here yesterday?"

Any’s face immediately revealed surprise and confusion.

However, in the next instant, her expression darkened completely.

Without another word, she exploded forward at full speed toward the Pavilion.

’That shameless brother!’

Any gritted her teeth furiously.

’He purposely hid the information from me so he could arrive before me and secure the mission for himself!’

Last night, she had been far too excited to sleep.

Unable to contain herself, she had spent hours talking to Shen about the Pavilion and everything that happened there, including the mission system and the rules regarding access to the cultivation room.

"Idiot Any! Why did you explain everything so carelessly?!"

She inwardly cursed herself repeatedly while sprinting through the streets at full speed.

Unfortunately, the academy was located near the center of the city while the Pavilion stood near the deeper regions of the outer district.

Even at full speed, the journey would still require quite some time.

"Money, oh money, glorious money!"

Darius stepped out of the shower while humming happily to himself, his mind already filled with thoughts of what he could do with the reward from the Demon Suppression Office.

"System, what should I even buy first? Martial arts manuals? Weapons? Something defensive?"

While drying his wet hair, countless ideas flashed through his mind one after another.

If this had been his previous life, deciding how to spend money would have been easy.

However, things were completely different now.

Since the system had already informed him that he could strengthen himself directly, Darius naturally felt that obtaining martial techniques should become one of his top priorities.

Only...

"I have absolutely no idea how much those things cost... or whether they’re even sold openly."

Darius frowned slightly.

Having read countless cultivation novels in his previous life, he understood one universal rule shared by nearly all cultivation worlds.

Powerful martial arts were fiercely guarded by sects, clans, and organizations. Anything sold publicly was usually considered low-grade trash.

At best, valuable techniques occasionally appeared during auctions, but even then, the truly powerful ones were often reserved for special VIP circles.

Returning to his room, Darius slowly changed into fresh clothes before putting on a jacket. Winter had recently begun, and the weather outside remained fairly cold.

He had no intention of catching a cold shortly after arriving in this world.

’Wait... I completely forgot about the members’ share of the mission reward.’

Slapping his forehead, Darius quickly began calculating.

"Thirty percent for me and seventy percent for the members should be reasonable. After all, they’re the ones risking their lives while I’m responsible for obtaining the missions."

Darius nodded repeatedly, feeling fairly satisfied with his decision.

However, at that exact moment, his body suddenly froze as the familiar eerie voice of the system echoed inside his mind once again.

[Please note, Host: You will only receive 5% of the mission reward upon successful completion. The remaining 95% belongs to the Pavilion members.]

Darius’s expression instantly darkened.

"That’s robbery! We’re talking about six thousand gold coins here! Five percent is practically nothing!"

[Additionally, mission rank, reward value, and future mission-posting fees contribute directly toward the Pavilion’s Reputation and Rank Progression.]

[The higher the quality of missions completed and rewards earned by members, the faster the Pavilion advances and unlocks new functions.]

Darius paused for a moment before his expression gradually eased.

"Now that’s more reasonable."

The more both he and the members earned, the faster the Pavilion itself would grow.

Although losing 95% of the reward still made his heart ache slightly, Darius knew that once higher-ranked missions began appearing regularly, the Pavilion’s profits would eventually become terrifying.

Just then, Darius suddenly heard approaching footsteps from the narrow alley outside the Pavilion.

’A customer?’

His eyes immediately lit up.

Outside the entrance stood a young man quietly waiting before the door.