"You have a summoning request, would you like to respond?"
The emotionless system voice sounded unexpectedly pleasant to Tang Lin, even more delightful than a certain someone's new song posted on an e-scooter repair forum.
Tang Lin set down the English dictionary in his hand, locked his phone screen, shut down his computer, and confidently said, "Respond to the summon."
"You have responded to the summons, gained 100 Wish Power points, establishing connection... Connection established, initial communication begins."
Tang Lin waited eagerly. He was confident that his English listening skills had surpassed college entrance exam levels, and he would have no trouble with everyday conversations.
Soon, the voice in his mind changed from emotionless to one full of resentment: "#￥%%%&##%..."
Shut up! This is not English at all!
Tang Lin felt like a lightning bolt had struck him from head to toe, wondering if the emotionless system had done this on purpose. After all that time spent diligently studying English, did he transmigrate to a place where English wasn't spoken?
He felt overwhelmingly tricked by the system, but what comforted him slightly was that after calming down, he managed to make out one phrase.
"Hung ba, nio chie yan ta man!"
This was damn Cantonese!
Tang Lin, given his age, didn't owe a certain master a movie ticket, but his father, Tang Zhanpeng, owed hundreds. Men's childcare techniques often involve showing the kid TV and letting them play with phones.
As a result, Tang Lin had been made to watch many Cantonese movies from back in the day without subtitles, so he could barely understand half of it.
Therefore, the phrase just now should translate to, "Xiong Ba, you have gone too far!"
Hearing this name, Tang Lin immediately recalled that this was the classic Wuxia movie—The Storm Riders!
Tang Lin hadn't seen this movie, but the name Xiong Ba was too famous. After all, his fateful words shared the title with a classic novel. Even if you hadn't seen the movie, you would know something about it.
In the world where Tang Lin had transmigrated, language was based on the original movie version. The Storm Riders was a Hong Kong drama, so naturally, the original was in Cantonese.
After preparing English for so long, ending up with a Cantonese version, Tang Lin felt the system's deep malice. Nevertheless, he suppressed his disappointment with firm determination and continued to listen closely to what the other party had to say.
Thanks to his dad's extremely perfunctory childcare methods back in the day, Tang Lin actually understood most of it.
"I, Nie Ren Wang, am willing to trade the Nie Family's 'Ao Han Six Techniques' for Xiong Ba's life!"
This was the summary Tang Lin came up with. The original words might not be exactly like this, but the meaning should be roughly the same.
"Connection constructed, contract formed, task difficulty: easy. Acknowledge the summons to gain 1000 Wish Power points, complete the task to gain another 1000 points. Do you wish to refuse the summons?"
Since the level was still easy, Tang Lin felt there was no need to hesitate.
He put on a trench coat and running shoes, wore safety goggles, slung a backpack over his back, and stuffed Oro into the chest pocket.
"No problem! I agree to your request!" Tang Lin decisively agreed.
This was Tang Lin's first time actively accepting a summoning. Previously, it was always because he forgot to refuse. But the effect seemed no different, as the world spun around, and Tang Lin arrived in a picturesque location. What stood out most before him was a gigantic Buddha statue immersed in the river.
This Buddha statue wasn't just big; it was almost as massive as Tang Lin himself, although it was sitting down, making it appear shorter. At that moment, possibly due to the rising river, the Buddha statue, originally on the riverbank, was nearly submerged up to its knees. Tang Lin stood before the giant Buddha, and his legs were soaked as well.
Atop the Buddha, two figures, one blue and the other red, were entangled, clashing weapons with loud clangs.
Tang Lin glanced and found his eyes struggling to keep up with their speed, barely managing to see two figures flashing back and forth, like fluorescent sticks being waved chaotically at a concert.
When Tang Lin appeared, these two figures separated with a tacit understanding. The blue figure staggered as it stood atop the Buddha, while the red figure jumped to the Buddha's shoulder.
Now, Tang Lin could see clearly. One was disheveled and in rags, yet wielding a magnificent, gleaming long blade; the other was garbed in luxurious silk, exuding unparalleled presence, wielding a fiery long sword.
Tang Lin didn't recognize Nie Ren Wang, but he easily recognized Xiong Ba due to his iconic look.
Without any courtesy, Tang Lin threw the white ash ball he was holding at Xiong Ba. In recent times, besides rigorously practicing English, Tang Lin hadn't forgotten to forge (by hand) this white ash ball.
The more power imbued into it, the more precise Tang Lin's control over the white ash became. The ash expanded into a large white net, engulfing Xiong Ba. This net could keep pace with Xiong Ba, blocking all directions he might dodge. However, with a swing of Xiong Ba's fiery sword, the Sword Qi slashed through the white ash net effortlessly.
Shrouded in Qi Force, Xiong Ba passed through the white ash net and dashed over the Buddha's head, escaping. With a display of Qinggong, Xiong Ba disappeared from Tang Lin's sight with a few leaps, his speed surpassing even the Angel from the X-Men world.
So decisive was Xiong Ba, he didn't even try attacking Tang Lin but chose to flee instead.
Tang Lin sensed that the martial strength in this world seemed quite high. A Xiong Ba so nimble would be hard to eliminate. But it didn't matter, as Tang Lin had prepared in advance and had no time to dig out equipment now; next time he saw Xiong Ba, he wouldn't let him escape.
After temporarily scaring Xiong Ba away, Tang Lin turned to chat with Nie Ren Wang, as it was him who summoned him. Even if communication was difficult, they had to converse; otherwise, he wouldn't know how to find Xiong Ba.
Upon turning, Tang Lin saw Nie Ren Wang holding the gleaming blade horizontally, watching Tang Lin with extreme caution. At that moment, Nie Ren Wang was in despair; a few years ago, Xiong Ba had taken his wife. Today, he witnessed his wife throwing herself off the Buddha statue, took up the Snow Blade to fight Xiong Ba, only to be unable to defeat him.
In the depths of despair, a strange voice seemed to ask if he wanted to pay a price for assistance. As a result, Nie Ren Wang made a wish in his heart, and suddenly, the terrifying Giant appeared.
Xiong Ba's flight was natural. Even Nie Ren Wang wanted to escape, but his son, Nie Feng, was nearby, and he couldn't abandon his son to save himself.
Tang Lin wanted to greet him in what he hoped was "fluent" Cantonese, but how did one greet for the first time in Cantonese?
After racking his brain, Tang Lin squeezed out a phrase: "Good morning! Have you eaten breakfast?"
Nie Ren Wang: ...
The two were in the middle of a very awkward conversation, while the river water kept rising, nearly submerging the Buddha's knees.
Before transmigrating, Tang Lin only knew, "Golden Fish is not a thing to remain in a pond, once it meets The Storm Riders, it transforms into a dragon."
But he didn't know that there was another widely-spread phrase in the world of The Storm Riders, which was, "When the water submerges the Buddha's knees, the Lingyun Cave burns!"