The refined old man picked up the black cat, set it on his lap, and stroked its head as he listened to the divine servant’s explanation.
【Although “Dreamlike Mirror Flower Fate” and “Headless Zen Monastery” are both rated five stars in difficulty, in my personal opinion, the latter is half a star harder!】
【Of course, the rating has nothing to do with my personal opinion!】
【At the start of the game, you were not calm enough. You did not actively intervene in the game, and were somewhat resigned to whatever happened. You failed to quickly grasp control of the situation, and at the same time put yourself in danger, acting as a pawn.】
【In the process, you suffered some minor injuries.】
【Lastly, the spoils you brought back were not plentiful enough.】
【Overall evaluation: your opening was not perfect. With even a little less luck, you might have died!】
Xue Lingren recalled her experiences in Mirror Flower Fate. It was indeed so.
But precisely because she had acted as cannon fodder, she had seized the initiative. It could be considered a blessing in disguise.
【Now let us look at the candidate Speaker of Sagittarius Palace. His combat power was inferior to the others, but relying on wisdom, courage, and eloquence, he firmly held the initiative within the team and did not allow himself to face even the slightest risk.】
【What is most astonishing is that when facing the strange and unknown forbidden contamination, he remained calm throughout, his emotions showing no fluctuation whatsoever. Either he has an emotional disorder, or he was born with exceptional resistance to pressure.】
【Lastly, the spoils he brought back were more numerous than yours, and more valuable!】
Lu Jiuling had voluntarily worshiped the Buddha and offered up his own head. That added far too many points!
【His entire game process did not involve the slightest bit of luck. It was all strength!】
【One additional note: as of today, “Headless Zen Monastery” has been run a total of five hundred and twenty-nine times. He is the only one to have cleared it!】
【The total number of people who have cleared Dreamlike Mirror Flower Fate is twelve!】
“He’s that impressive?”
The refined young man was astonished.
He had originally thought that this boy was doomed to die. Now it seemed that perhaps there was still a sliver of hope?
No!
That Speaker of Sagittarius Palace would never fall at the hands of a newcomer.
The poised woman in white was filled with emotion. If not for this “Bronze Buddha Mask,” the high school girl’s record would have been dazzling enough to make all of them raise a thumb and praise her as a dragon or phoenix among men. But people feared comparison most of all.
“I can answer any questions the two of you may have. Don’t waste Paradise coins on consultations!”
The refined old man smiled. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
“Tch!”
The refined young man curled his lip. Seeing how outstanding they were, this old man was about to get ahead of everyone else and invest in them.
“Speaker of Aquarius, you won’t compete with me, will you?”
The refined old man’s manner was kindly. From his tone alone, one felt that beneath that mask must be a benevolent, amiable face.
The poised woman in white lifted her right hand and made a gesture of “please, go ahead.”
“Thank you!”
Lu Jiuling stood and expressed his thanks. “No need for coffee!”
Xue Lingren seemed to have social anxiety and was not good with words. She merely followed behind Lu Jiuling and thanked him as well, then lowered her head and fell silent.
“Let us first introduce the Divine Sequence!”
The refined old man spoke with easy confidence. “In our world, supernatural powers actually exist!”
“When a person completes an advancement ritual and ignites the fire of their soul, they can step into the Divine Sequence and become a Transcendent!”
“Next, Forbidden Fruits!”
“This is a kind of blind box that can produce ‘miracles.’”
“What are miracles? You can understand them as character skills in a game!”
“The power of Transcendents lies in their ability to unleash all kinds of unfathomable miracles.”
The refined old man’s voice was warm and mellow. Through his explanation, a transcendent world filled with mysterious powers slowly drew back its curtain before Lu Jiuling and Xue Lingren’s eyes.
The refined young man listened for a while. It was all information he already knew, so he gave a greeting and left first.
“When an object happens to come into contact with a divine husk and is eroded by divinity, it may unexpectedly gain mysterious and bizarre effects. Transcendents collectively call such things forbidden objects.”
The refined old man looked at the Bronze Buddha Mask on Lu Jiuling’s face. “Forbidden objects are very powerful, but using them means facing a great risk of death.”
“Because forbidden objects have a high probability of radiating forbidden contamination, indiscriminately corroding everything!”
Lu Jiuling touched the Bronze Buddha Mask on his face. It felt like the suckers on an octopus tentacle were adhering to his skin.
“What is this thing’s contamination?”
Earlier, Lu Jiuling had felt an itchy prickling on his skin and wanted to scratch it, but in such a short while he had already adapted. Instead, he found it very comfortable and did not want to take it off.
This was very likely the contamination.
“I don’t know!”
The refined old man chuckled. “I’m not a prophet!”
“The contamination radiated by many forbidden objects is inconceivable, strange, and terrifying. Until the moment it erupts, no one knows!”
“In short, if you can avoid using them, then avoid it as much as possible. Better yet, don’t even touch them!”
Xue Lingren touched her trouser pocket. Inside was a sachet—the spoil she had obtained from that ghostly young lady in Dreamlike Mirror Flower Fate.
“You two are very impressive. Among the rewards you obtained are all the potions needed to advance to any Sequence 9 Transcendent profession. I suggest you don’t rush to choose!”
The refined old man imparted his experience. “Some professions are very powerful, but may not necessarily suit you!”
“In short, learn more first. As long as you complete the advancement ritual before the next Divine Game begins, that will be enough!”
Lu Jiuling and Xue Lingren listened very seriously. If they had pen and paper, the two of them would have wanted to take notes.
The refined old man was like a conscientious teacher, telling the two of them every bit of basic information related to this mysterious world in exhaustive detail.
This process took more than an hour.
“All right, digest it slowly!”
The refined old man stood, glanced at the poised woman in white, then carried his black cat and leisurely walked toward the heavenly stairs of Libra Palace. “I should go back too, feed my dog, and water my flowers and plants!”
“Thank you, sir!”
Lu Jiuling and Xue Lingren hurriedly rose to see him off.
“Do you think he’s a good person?”
The poised woman in white suddenly spoke.
Lu Jiuling and Xue Lingren looked at each other and answered with silence.
“Young Buddha Lord, as fellow newcomers go, you are more outstanding than she is, but your luck is not as good as hers!”
Because Lu Jiuling wore a Bronze Buddha Mask, the poised woman in white simply called him Young Buddha Lord. “She is a Speaker, and only faces the pressure brought by the Divine Games. You, on the other hand, must also contend with the Speaker of Sagittarius Palace as a rival!”
“Because you are a candidate Speaker, in order to avoid being replaced by you, he will definitely kill you!”
The poised woman in white waited for Lu Jiuling to ask for help. But the other party said nothing, nor did he show any sign of fear or worry. He was like a heavy mountain, like a deep pool, without the slightest ripple.
Was his mind simply dull and slow to react? Or could he really withstand pressure?
The poised woman in white was speechless. She did not like the Speaker of Sagittarius Palace, and on top of that, Lu Jiuling’s record was outstanding beyond measure, so she had wanted to help him and sell him a favor. But since the other party was so cold, her interest waned greatly.
“That Speaker of Sagittarius Palace is a Sequence 8 Transcendent. You’re on your own!”
The poised woman in white left.
Click! Clack!
Her high heels struck the bluestone floor, producing a sexy and captivating sound. Every step seemed to tread upon a man’s heart.
Xue Lingren saw that the “Young Buddha Lord” sitting across from her remained unmoved, with no intention of asking that poised woman in white for help. Remembering the goodwill he had shown earlier by reminding her “don’t say it,” she took the initiative to persuade him.
“You should have taken the initiative to show goodwill!”
Xue Lingren’s voice was not loud. “If you don’t catch up now, it’ll be too late!”
“I don’t want to owe her a favor!”
Lu Jiuling sighed. The refined old man had spoken of his own accord, and what he had explained was all basic information that was not worth much. But to make him go and beg that intellectual older beauty...
Lu Jiuling could not bring himself to do it.
In all his life, he had never begged anyone!
“...”
Xue Lingren had not expected this boy to be so proud deep in his bones!
That was right!
The two words “beg someone” were simple to write, only nine strokes in all, but the moment they were spoken aloud, one had to lay down their dignity.
At the very least, one had to accompany them with a smile!
Xue Lingren remembered when she was little, her mother had asked her to go to her father’s house to ask for living expenses. Her stepmother always took a very long time before opening the door.
When her father took out the money, he too had been reluctant, his mouth full of complaints.
“I’m sorry!”
Xue Lingren lowered her head. She felt that this boy might have had some unpleasant experiences in the past.
“What are you apologizing for?”
Lu Jiuling was puzzled.
Xue Lingren did not like speaking, and so the council hall fell quiet.
The wind blew past, bringing no breath of nature, only lonely echoes!
Lu Jiuling had originally planned to chat a little with this high school girl, but on second thought, she was also a newcomer. What valuable information could she have?
Moreover, as a candidate Speaker, he might very well die next time. Perhaps she also did not want to waste words on someone doomed to die.
“Goodbye!”
Lu Jiuling smiled and waved. He would go home and think of a way himself.
But after walking a few steps, Lu Jiuling turned back, took out all the money he had looted from the corpses, and stuffed it all into Xue Lingren’s hands in one go.
“Do your best. Live well!”
Lu Jiuling smiled.
“I don’t want it!”
Xue Lingren hurriedly refused, but the other party simply ignored her!
She was not used to scenes of repeated refusal and insistence, so she tightly clutched this handful of scalding money and watched the boy walk toward the heavenly stairs.
Very soon, that figure disappeared.
“Good luck!”
After Xue Lingren sincerely gave her blessing, she crouched down, hugged her knees, and gazed into the distance at the palace gates shrouded in clouds and mist, their outline still faintly visible. She murmured softly.
“This time...”
“Am I all alone again?”