The ghost of Master Guo could not take the words.
"You have no respect!" He shouted with obvious anger. "Do you think I taught you cultivation out of the goodness of my heart? I am a devil cultivator. I taught you because the original body and soul were too weak, and the righteous cultivation in it made it unsuitable for me."
He flapped back his incorporeal robes. "You might be a useless soul from another realm, but at least, you were capable of learning and moulding this body into the perfect evil vessel for me. Once I possess it, I will step into the God level and rule all the realms."
"I will be the first one to completely break free from the shackles of the laws of nature. Everyone will know the name Guo Jianhong." The ghost became excited. "Surrender to me and give up the body, or I will imprison your soul for all eternity."
Yuan Haoran laughed at the audacity of the spirit. Was there anyone in the world in all the realms who would be willing to give up their body just because a ghost asked? Not to mention, he had never had a healthy body in his previous life because of long-term radiation exposure as a young child.
Why would he give up a chance at living a long and full life in a powerful body?
"Do you think a useless soul would be able to comprehend your nonsensical blathering about broken cultivation techniques and achieve Sainthood in ten years?" Yuan Haoran asked with blatant mockery. "You call yourself a master, but you do not understand the simplest principles of cultivation."
The old ghost was angered and almost steamed with fury. "That's it! Even though the precious body might get some damage once I use my force on it, I will repair it. As for you, I will make sure that your soul experiences endless torture until you beg for me to consume you."
The apparition jumped up to Yuan Haoran, intending to forcefully integrate its soul into the body.
Of course, he knew the useless disciple would resist, but he was confident in winning in willpower.
But as long as he could get one foot in, he would own the body. He did not doubt it.
As soon as the ghost approached, Yuan Haoran raised his hand and used his spiritual energy to trap the old man in a bubble. The transparent orb was like a glass ball, but its walls were strong and impenetrable. The trapped ghost bounced from wall to wall, but he could not escape.
"Release me at once from this contraption, and I might forgive you." The dead Master Guo still did not give up.
"Are you stupid? Do you see that you have no power here?" Yuan Haoran shrank the orb as he questioned the ghost, his red eyes glowing with an evil fire.
Master Guo was used to people obeying him because of his identity, so he was lost for words. He did not know how to respond to this disciple he thought was stupid. It was infuriating to be subverted by someone he could have killed a few years ago, even as a ghost.
"You will be cursed for failing to respect your teacher." He tried a last fighting chance.
"I come from a world where I was already considered a curse-bringer. And if curses exist, I have experienced them all." Yuan Haoran said casually. "Now, what shall I do with you?"
Old Master Guo tensed up as he looked at the wolf he had invited into his home unknowingly. He knew his ending would not be good.
"I have not taught you everything I know. I have secret arts that can bring you to the top of the realm. You should know you will be hunted once you leave this hidden domain. Righteous cultivators are not kind to devils like us. I will teach you how to survive." Master Guo shouted in a desperate attempt to bargain for his life.
If he could follow Yuan Haoran and act as a guide, he would find a chance to possess the body after the young man let his guard down. There was no reason for Yuan Haoran to refuse the offer because he was a soul from another world.
Yuan Haoran waved his other hand and a large book appeared before him, levitating in the air. "Do you mean the secret arts in your Necronomicon of Forbidden Arts? It took a while for me to understand the language, but I think I can figure out the rest."
"How did you find it?" The ghost shouted hysterically, clawing at the sides of orbs.
Yuan Haoran did not respond. He knew about everything in the necropolis. While he was considered a vile villain in his past life, he was also a man of science. He used the principles of cultivation he learned from the ghost and used his modern knowledge to refine them.
When the ghost was not yammering in his ear, Haoran used his time to gain knowledge about the necropolis and find all of Master Guo's treasures. The book before him flipped at a fast speed until it stopped, revealing the spell that Yuan Haoran wanted.
"What do you plan to do?" The ghost asked fearfully.
"Of course, I plan to absorb your residue cultivation to strengthen my foundation." Yuan Haoran's voice was like a demon's, stretching out from hell with a cold touch. "If the God level is real, I will step into it on your behalf."
With that, Yuan Haoran used the orb to crash the old ghost and absorb his residual energy using the spell in the Necronomicon. He did not hesitate or show regret. The energy from the ghost was surprisingly rich.
Consuming his power was quite refreshing.
When he finished, a light ping sounded in his head. His expression changed from one of satisfaction at vanquishing an enemy to mild irritation. He opened the panel of the system in his mind and looked at the information on the display.
[Mission: Eliminate the leader of the evil Black Thunder Sect.]
[Status: Complete]
[Reward: Flora Encyclopedia]
'I am not interested.' Yuan Haoran scoffed in his mind and closed the panel.
[The host cannot reject the reward. The knowledge from the Flora Encyclopedia has been delivered into the system and is now accessible to the host.] A mechanical voice responded.
Yuan Haoran could have sworn the system sounded smug, even though it should be just an artificial intelligence unit. He was not too skilled in computer technology, but he knew the limits of machine learning.
Unless the technology was far beyond his time on Earth...
'I would like to disarm or uninstall the system.' Yuan Haoran said, even though he had tried it when he first entered the body and found the so-called Hero System in his mind.
[The Host cannot get rid of the Hero System.] The answer was not different from the first time he tried. However, this time, the system added new information. [Permission to install was granted by the original owner of the body, Yuan Haoran.]
'The owner of the body was also called Yuan Haoran?' He repeated with a frown.
[Yes. The Hero System is also attached to the body, not the soul or consciousness. It has the right and the permission to issue missions and rewards to the person using the body during the period of activation.]
'What is the condition for uninstalling the system?' Yuan Haoran pressed on.
The Hero System did not respond immediately.
The smile on the young man's face became bright, but the evil tinge lingered.
So, there was an exit clause.