883 No Thank You.

"First off, thank you. What you did for the community is greatly appreciated. On behalf of the Royal Tiger and Snake Battalion, we wish to reward your bravery with -"

"Stop right there. I don't need anything other than what was contracted. Sorry, if it sounds heartless, but I do not want to have any more 'rewards' that might entail further strings attached." Jin stated bluntly, and Hou Fei laughed.

"I guess you are right. For an outsider, we had been too reliant on your powers but understand that you alone have brought a wave of massive relief to our community. Even if those higher-ups don't acknowledge that, I do. That is why I really want you to accept the reward because I know what it feels like to be unappreciated." Hou Fei explained.

"No, I think you misunderstand my intentions. You are right that I should help people because I have the power to do so. Still, I am also a human and have to look out for my own interest. If I intervene as I did during that Monster Horde, people are bound to find out about the System. That is my main concern." Jin emphasised. "I can bluff only so much, and I know if someone is interested in something, they can go extraordinary lengths to achieve it."

"Well… you are definitely not wrong. The System is an omnipotent device." Hou Fei nodded and was immediately interrupted by the System.

"The System is not a device and has the power to reject people from using it."

"But it does not have the power to prevent me from dying if they kill me." Jin thought to himself, yet he kept quiet about it. Even though Hou Fei is a Panda Remnant, the less people knew about that truth, the safer it would be for Jin.

"Then you do not have to worry that much, right? You already have my backing even though it doesn't account for much when compared with Grandma Yuan's. And let's assume that we are not there for you, you still have unparalleled bellators watching over your back. The previous incident has proven sufficiently that you have enough firepower to win against most people." Hou Fei reassured him.

"Admit it, you've been quietly holding your powers back a hell lot despite that show of strength. And when push comes to shove, you technically have an army of minions at your command. Honestly, if I were to put you in the middle of a Triad Gang War right now, you would dominate each and every one of them. Heck, you probably can win against a Royal Zodiac Clan Turf War if you play your cards right."

"Perhaps… but not without putting the System in the limelight." Jin said even though he knew what Hou Fei implying was the worst-case scenario.

"Actually, you might be wrong about it. I have put in some time to research how to make a cover for you in case shit hits the fan and apparently, you already have everything to play the role." Hou Fei held his phone and showed Jin a picture of an ancient manuscript.

"In ancient China, there was this Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard who travelled alongside the infamous Lu Guan Yu, the one who changed the laws of nature and made the world into what it is right now. According to these old scripts, he had the power to create monsters out of nothing and protected Guan Yu from his enemies."

"Hmm? I don't remember Guan Yu having such a comrade alongside him." Jin said as he asked the System if it was true especially since the super-entity should have lived through that particular era.

"System does not have the full story. During that period of time System's Users had gone into hiding. However, there should be some truth to Hou Fei's story. In fact, some might call this Grandmaster as the one who invented the job of Dungeon Supplier." The System stated.

"Then why is this the first time I am hearing about him?" Jin asked, and Hou Fei can only deduce the reason.

"Because he literally aided Guan Yu to reach Grade 20. By letting him fight monsters that he could never imagine before, hence allowing him to reach the pinnacle and unfathomable Grade 20." Hou Fei theorised. "At least that should be the case according to that diary of one of Guan Yu's companions."

"Panda Remnant Hou Fei might not be wrong. It would make sense for that Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard to not want other cultivators hounding him day and night if they managed to learn of Guan Yu's method of reaching Grade 20. System recalls hearing hearsays about a Grandmaster who remained unbeatable at that period of time. Without such convenient external help, it would also explain why there was never another reported Grade 20 Cultivator." The System explained.

"Oh really? Here it says that Guan Yu eventually had to hunt his friend for 'betraying' him. Those monsters that were used to safeguard mankind turned against them. Some at first thought it was a temporary loss of control, but the writer of that diary indicated that the Grandmaster Summoner of the Old Guard might have been gone senile with mental disease. Thus, the loss of control of the Guardian Monsters." Hou Fei shared what he had learned.

"And by summoning despicable monsters known to mankind, it ultimately boiled down to Guan Yu having a fight against his old friend. However, instead of gathering an army to defeat him, Guan Yu went to fight against him alone as repayment for his friend's help. The diary doesn't go in-depth, but after a week he had returned and asked his companions to forget about the Grand Summoner." Hou Fei added that the diary still wished to honour the memory of that person.

"System does find some plausibility in that ancient manuscript's content. Rumours and gossip from that era coincide with Guan Yu 'losing' a friend. Maybe that was the way Guan Yu had chosen to keep his friend's powers anonymous." The System remarked.

"Heh, and can you guess the name of that Grand Summoner?" Hou Fei smiled when he asked Jin.

"How would I know? As I said, this was literally the first time I heard about him." Jin did not exactly understand why Hou Fei was smiling.

"Mo Lo Jin."