Any living being is at its most vulnerable when asleep.
So vulnerable that even a creature infinitely weaker could easily kill it.
Just like now.
The black cat crouched low, its gaze locked on Chen Huaian's exposed neck.
It had only just awakened, and in a direct confrontation, it would be no match for an adult human male. However, once it recovered further and hunted more prey to regain its vitality, even those four-wheeled metal boxes would no longer pose a threat.
Thinking of those four-wheeled metal boxes, a flash of hatred flickered in the cat's eyes.
Those cunning humans had hidden themselves inside those fast-moving, four-wheeled metal boxes. The first time it encountered one, unaware of what it was, it had nearly been crushed to death!
So, revenge would begin with devouring this human!
Whoosh—!
The black cat pounced toward Chen Huaian, its speed so fast it became a blur. It raised its paw, the claws leaving crimson trails in the air.
This strike was aimed directly at the neck.
But just as it was about to succeed—
Roar—!
A thunderous dragon's roar exploded in the black cat's mind, leaving it dizzy and its agile limbs instantly stiffening. It fell to the ground like a lifeless lump of meat.
[Ancestral… Ancestral Dragon?]
[This aura… How is this possible?]
The black cat trembled as it climbed back onto the bed, shaking its dazed head and looking at the snoring man with disbelief in its eyes.
The commotion caused Chen Huaian to smack his lips and roll over in his sleep, the blanket slipping off to reveal half of his back. There, a black dragon tattoo writhed menacingly, its eyes glowing with a piercing golden light, exuding an aura of威严.
As if sensing the black cat's gaze—
Roar—!
Another dragon's roar exploded in its mind.
The black cat's mind went blank as it saw the dragon tattoo leap off the man's back.
[Whoa! Is this necessary?!]
Terrified, the black cat turned to flee.
But the golden-edged, black-scaled dragon tail swept toward it, sending it flying back into the shoebox.
The shoebox lid snapped shut with a click.
[Argh—! Damn it, this human is protected by the Ancestral Dragon!]
The black cat curled up in the shoebox, trembling in pain. It felt as if its internal organs were burning, and it spat out a mouthful of blood.
It had only just awakened, its body frail.
In this era of scarce spiritual energy, healing was already difficult. First, it had been hit by a four-wheeled metal box, then it had been torn apart and carried far away by a wretched bird. Now, it had been struck by the dragon's tail. Its injuries were even worse than before it arrived here.
[No, I must leave this place. It's too dangerous to stay!]
The black cat struggled to get up, feeling lightheaded. It hadn't taken two steps in the shoebox before it completely passed out.
The moonlight remained silent, and the dragon tattoo circled the bed once before returning to the man's back.
In his sleep, Chen Huaian let out a silly smile, scratched his butt, and rolled over again.
…
7 a.m.
The alarm rang, and Chen Huaian, his head buried in the pillow, reached out with uncanny accuracy to grab his phone. With a single swipe, he unlocked it, revealing a face with dark circles under the eyes.
Electronic girlfriend, activate!
In the cottage, the girl was still sitting cross-legged on the bed, diligently absorbing spiritual energy from the spirit-gathering array.
[Status: Cultivating]
[Cultivation Progress: 7631/9999 (8th Layer)]
[Remaining Lifespan: 273 years]
[Affection: 60 (Close)]
"Not bad!" Chen Huaian was instantly awake upon seeing Li Qingran's cultivation progress.
Since he was running low on funds, he had only activated the intermediate spirit-gathering array for Li Qingran. Yet, even so, she had jumped multiple layers overnight, her strength advancing by leaps and bounds.
Is this the terrifying power of a peerless dantian?
Chen Huaian felt immensely gratified. Although this game was a cash grab, as long as you spent money, the effects were immediate!
He tapped Li Qingran's shoulder.
The battle pass system and some historical information popped up.
The battle pass system offered rewards as Li Qingran's cultivation level increased. For example, last night, Li Qingran had jumped from the 6th layer to the 8th layer, unlocking three golden bag-like rewards. Chen Huaian clicked to claim them, and the three bags instantly appeared on Li Qingran's table.
[Spirit Stone Lucky Blind Box (A chance to obtain 1 spirit crystal, 99 high-grade spirit stones, 999 medium-grade spirit stones, or a guaranteed 1000 low-grade spirit stones) (For Li Qingran's use only)]
"Hmm, not bad."
Chen Huaian wasn't particularly interested in such small rewards.
His gaze fell on the grand prize for reaching the peak of Qi Refinement.
The interface was glowing with dazzling purple light—it had to be something good!
[Tideborn Art (Low-grade Earth Rank Cultivation Technique): "The sun rises from the remnants of night; spring enters the old year." The Tideborn Art originates from the vast imagery of the sea, absorbing the spiritual essence of the tides and comprehending the mysteries of the alternation of yin and yang. Cultivating this technique is like standing by the sea, watching the sun and moon alternate, and feeling the rhythm of the tides. At its peak, it gathers spiritual energy within the body like a tide and resonates with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, replenishing consumption naturally and maintaining endurance in battle.
"Hiss—! As expected of the battle pass, truly terrifying!"
Chen Huaian nodded repeatedly, stroking his chin.
Although he hadn't asked Li Qingran what cultivation technique she practiced, he guessed it couldn't be as good as the one from the battle pass. After all, based on the game's nature, anything given for free was likely a basic, low-tier item.
He opened Li Qingran's character panel and glanced at the cultivation technique section, then immediately felt awkward.
Red Cloud Art—Li Qingran's current cultivation technique, also a low-grade Earth Rank technique.
Although both were low-grade Earth Rank techniques, and the Tideborn Art had a higher-tier version, switching cultivation techniques required dispersing one's current cultivation. This meant all the progress Li Qingran had painstakingly made would be wasted. If the Red Cloud Art also had a higher-tier version, having Li Qingran disperse her cultivation and start over would be a huge loss.
"Forget it, it's still a cultivation technique. I'll take it and see."
Chen Huaian noticed that the Tideborn Art didn't have the "For Li Qingran's use only" label. He couldn't help but smirk, a strange thought crossing his mind.
"Could it be that I can use the Tideborn Art too?"
He couldn't help but think of that Green Lotus Sword Manual.
Could it be… that he had to learn the Tideborn Art first before teaching it to Li Qingran?
Chen Huaian felt that, given the game developer's mischievous tendencies, this was entirely possible.
"Making it so serious, as if practicing it could make you immortal."
Shaking his head helplessly, he simply took it as a small detail the developer added to enhance player immersion.
[The small gift from your electronic girlfriend has been delivered!]
[The spoils of war you selected have been delivered!]
Two notifications popped up in quick succession.
The small gift was the bracelet Li Qingran had made.
As for the spoils of war, those were the items dropped after killing Ye Futian: a cultivation technique called [Heavenly Demon Art—Fragment One], a low-grade magical sword, a damaged mid-grade spiritual weapon, and some spirit stones.
At the time, the game had prompted him to choose one as the
As for what "real" meant…
After playing this game for so many days,
He could guess with his toes that it was just a small gift from the game developer.
Knock knock knock!
There was a knock at the door.
Chen Huaian was momentarily stunned, then sprang up on his crutches and rushed to the door.
Today, he was determined to find out who was delivering packages so early in the morning!
But when he opened the door, there was no one outside.
"Is the delivery person some kind of parkour expert?"
Chen Huaian looked at the dark staircase to his right but didn't hear any footsteps descending.
The only other option was jumping out of the window. If the person had gone that way, he wouldn't have been able to catch them in time.
"Tsk tsk, quite shy, huh? Ran off? Fine."
Chen Huaian pulled his head back from the window and saw two boxes lying at his feet.
One box was small, just the right size to hold a bracelet, with the words "Qingran's Little Gift" written on it. The other box was long, about one and a half meters, with only three bold words on it—Spoils of War.
"Just as I expected."
He bent down to pick up the boxes but couldn't lift the long one with one hand. The object inside was extremely heavy, and it fell back to the floor with a clang, leaving a dent in the hotel's floor.
"Holy crap!"
Chen Huaian looked around guiltily, then dragged a corner of the carpet over to cover the dent.
Only then did he carefully lift the long box with both hands, sighing inwardly:
"A fine sword, indeed!
Hehe~"
Chen Huaian now had his own sword.