When system cheat becomes rampant!

"Please, come inside." He Yunfang was quite enthusiastic.

He Qing said no more, stepping aside to make way.

——

The Crane Dao Courtyard is a very tranquil place.

Due to the limited breath soil, many places have been fully utilized. The layout here resembles an ethereal paradise, with mountain peaks gracefully contoured, and every now and then, you can spot some Little White Cranes peeking curiously, flying back and forth in the corners of the cliffs.

Not all crane race people in the Crane Dao Courtyard are powerful; there are also many Little Cranes that have not completely transformed into humans. As long as they have not fully mastered the "crane" path of Heavenly Dao and reached the Immortal Realm, they will carry more or less crane-like traits.

He Yunfang is the current Clan Leader of the Crane Dao Courtyard. Their race is relatively weak and usually lives secluded from the world, content in a corner. Xiang Beifei had not seen a third fully transformed crane race master along the way.

"I thought there would be quite a few in the Immortal Realm among your crane race, but it seems I haven't seen many." Xiang Beifei said.

"Haha, actually we're doing okay. We have about ten elders in the clan, it's just that they have all retired for secluded cultivation. Actually, I also want to cultivate in seclusion. We take turns being the Clan Leader here, and it's just my turn for this period." He Yunfang laughed.

"Oh? Clan Leader can be rotated?" Xiang Beifei found it very intriguing.

The position of Clan Leader signifies the dignity of a race, as well as a symbol of power and status. No matter where it is placed, people would struggle fiercely to seize it.

Normally, in a family, there are countless branches, with numerous uncles and cousins, all eyeing the Clan Leader position to secure more cultivation resources for their children.

And yet, it can be rotated?

He Yunfang laughed: "You don't understand. The Clan Leader's position is like a hot potato, constantly busy with running around, trading cultivation resources with others, maintaining when the formation encounters issues. When juniors argue, you have to intervene and mediate. If necessary, you also have to teach juniors or handle family business ventures... For us who have cultivated to the Immortal Realm, our lifespan is infinite. If we keep doing it without stop, we'd get tired eventually."

Xiang Beifei thought carefully and realized it indeed makes sense.

Immortality, too, has its troubles.

Even in the Edge Corner Airspace, not all cultivators can step into the Immortal Realm. Many throughout their lives may not reach the Heavenly Connection, their lifespan naturally limited, requiring guidance from the immortal elders.

To serve continually as Clan Leader, after ten or several decades might be fine, but over hundreds or thousands of years, who wouldn't grow weary? The method of calculating age here is consistent with Jiuzhou.

One cannot help but say, it is truly an eye-opener.

"That's why in the Crane Dao Courtyard, Clan Leaders are rotated, usually serving for five hundred years and then retiring, with successors succeeding and those who need to cultivate focusing on cultivation. Unless something major arises, most remain in secluded cultivation, with only two immortals handling affairs in the family."

Saying this, he paused, then bitterly smiled: "Only three hundred years into my tenure, and I still have two hundred years of imprisonment!"

In his eyes, being the Clan Leader is akin to being imprisoned.

"However, I have been considering retiring early. Xiao Qing's talent is currently the highest in our clan. She just came out not long ago, and I discovered her cultivation has already surpassed mine. Once I manage some affairs properly, I'll pass the Clan Leader position to her."

He Yunfang spoke proudly when discussing his daughter.

An offspring cultivated by oneself, whose skills surpass one's own, achieving greater excellence from the master — how could one not be pleased?

"Father, some things are best left unsaid." He Qing softly said.

"It's alright; when you achieve success, as a father, you have to show off, haven't you? If I can't brag, what's the point of my existence as a father?"

He Yunfang laughed heartily, clearly not treating Xiang Beifei as an outsider, and added: "To be honest with Daoist Xiang, my daughter reached the Immortal Realm in less than two hundred years and reached mid-Immortal Realm after another two hundred years. She's not yet five hundred! She's a bachelorette."

"Father!"

"You frequently enter closed-door cultivation, often for several decades, and don't go out to interact, unsure of human relations. Do you even have twenty years of non-cultivation free time in total? Calling you a bachelorette, is it wrong?" He Yunfang laughed aloud.

He Qing pursed her lips, seemingly unwilling to retort due to Xiang Beifei's presence.

Xiang Beifei rubbed his forehead.

A five-hundred-year-old bachelorette!

How lonely that must be.

But normally, in their Edge Corner Airspace, five hundred years is indeed not that old. Because space is limited, roaming aimlessly in the void is pointless, so most of the time is spent in closed-door cultivation.

The time spent outside is less than twenty years, which can actually be considered her true age.

"Speaking of which, I'm not too familiar with the Human Race, unsure about your cultivation talent. May I ask, Daoist Xiang, how old are you this year?" He Yunfang probed, but soon added: "Of course, if it's inconvenient to say, it's alright."

Xiang Beifei hesitated, then said: "Not… yet a hundred years old?"

"What? You're so young!"

He Yunfang was stunned, very surprised!

Under a hundred years old and already stepping into the Immortal Realm?

He Qing also paused, looking at Xiang Beifei with a bit of skepticism.

"You're under a hundred years old?" He Qing asked.

Xiang Beifei calculated his age and nodded, saying, "Yes, I'm still under a hundred years old this year."

"Hiss!"

He Yunfang looked at Xiang Beifei in disbelief, gasping in astonishment.

He could naturally see that Xiang Beifei appeared very young, but appearance doesn't mean anything; once someone achieves immortality, they can make themselves look as young as they want.

But who could have imagined that Xiang Beifei was actually under a hundred years old!

"Is the Human Race's talent really that strong? Achieving the Immortal Realm before turning a hundred?" He Qing still held doubts.

"Not exactly; our human talent varies. I was just lucky," Xiang Beifei said.

"Lucky? That's talent! You must have extraordinary talent! Achieving the Immortal Realm at ninety-something years old, that's unheard of!" He Yunfang was utterly shocked.

"Ninety-something? I'm not that old."

"You're not ninety-something?"

He Yunfang assumed that when Xiang Beifei said "under a hundred," it implied he was in his nineties.

Xiang Beifei shook his head.

"Are you perhaps in your eighties?"

He Yunfang was startled again!

An immortal human in their eighties!

That's unprecedented!

Xiang Beifei smiled and shook his head.

"Not that either? Could it be... are you... in your seventies?"

He Yunfang grew increasingly shocked!

Is there such a terrifying talent among humans?

"Why do you think I'm that old?" Xiang Beifei said helplessly.

"Not in your seventies either! How old are you then? Don't tell me you're not even fifty!"

He Yunfang raised his voice.

Reaching the Immortal Realm in less than fifty years?

Who would believe that!

At this point, He Qing, who was beside them, became somewhat impatient, and a white light appeared in her hand, with a black and white feather glistening out.

"May I verify it?" He Qing asked.

"Verify what?"

"Our Crane Race belongs to a long-lived clan, naturally able to determine the true age of others, though it's a somewhat trivial talent. You claim to be under a hundred, but just words alone, regardless of what age you say, I won't easily believe it. I only trust the facts, sparing my father from being so startled and seeing whether you're actually toying with us."

He Qing swung the feather in her hand indifferently.

"Alright."

It's just an age verification, nothing too significant.

He Qing hummed softly, and the feather in her hand turned into a beam of light, wrapping around her wrist, and then she held Xiang Beifei's hand. A peculiar light immediately penetrated Xiang Beifei's body.

"Huh?"

Xiang Beifei raised an eyebrow.

A five-hundred-year-old unmarried lady holding his hand!

He Qing didn't care what Xiang Beifei was thinking; she still didn't believe what Xiang Beifei said about his age, her expression remaining indifferent.

He Yunfang also kept his eyes fixed on the feather, truly curious and wanting to know if this human in front of him was indeed under a hundred.

Gradually, He Qing suddenly froze, her initially indifferent expression turning into astonishment, followed by utter shock!

"You're only twenty-three years old!"

Usually composed, He Qing could no longer maintain her elegant demeanor and couldn't help but gasp!

"What! Twenty-three! An Immortal Realm at twenty-three?"

He Yunfang stood completely still, utterly dumbfounded.