Hugging the book “Encouragement”, He Yi collapsed to the floor and cried like a baby. Her white shirt was drenched in tears, and her coffee-colored uniform and short skirt hugged her shapely body tightly. The curves peeking out of her miniskirt were one of the major reasons Du Thirteen’s mind wasn’t with him.

“Ahem…”

A long time later, Du Thirteen let out a cough and said, “As you can see, lady, Lu Chen is no longer with us. So…”

“I… I…”

He Yi shot Du Thirteen a look. Her eyes were puffy and teary. “Go somewhere else. Leave me alone!”

“But!”

Du Thirteen spread his arms helplessly before saying, “But you are disturbing my daily life. Please control yourself.”

He Yi’s tone grew a little angrier. “Leave me alone!”

This time Du Thirteen didn’t dare say anything. He Yi’s forceful attitude wasn’t something he could deal with.

A very long time later, He Yi finally got back to her feet while still holding the book. She looked around the room yearningly one last time before leaving.

Relieved that it was finally over, Du Thirteen knocked on the door and said, “You can come out now, Lu Chen. She’s gone.”

My expression was ugly when I left the storage room. Du Thirteen knew what I was thinking, so he patted me on the shoulder. “Chin up, this sorrow is only going to last for a moment. Once your body is completely healed, you can return to her and give her a pleasant surprise. Isn’t that right?”

I nodded. I was surprised that Du Thirteen could say something like that, he normally had no clue how to console others.

“Speaking of which, He Yi is incredibly beautiful…” Du Thirteen praised from the bottom of his heart.

I couldn’t help but ask with a laugh. “Oh? How beautiful is she exactly?”

Du Thirteen hummed to himself for a moment before replying, “She looks like a million dollars!”

“Not bad, you know how to use idioms now.”

“Fuck you!”

“Come on, let’s head downstairs and eat some Suan Cai Yu. My treat. I’ve been starving the whole day.” Du Thirteen walked to the window and looked outside. Suddenly, he withdrew his head and exclaimed in surprise, “She… she hasn’t left yet…”

I moved to the edge of my bed and peeked out. As he said, He Yi was still sitting inside her car and lying on top of the steering wheel. Her shoulders were trembling slightly.

I couldn’t describe how painful it was for me to see her like this. I felt the impulse to run down the stairs and tell her that although I had been killed, I was still alive.

I held back the irrational impulse with all my might. Du Thirteen went downstairs himself to buy some food for the both of us.

I didn’t log into the game even when it was after 10 pm. Hiding behind the curtain, I watched He Yi and accompanied her silently on her grieving. It was because this might be the last time I was ever going to see her again.

When the clock reached 11 pm, a woman dressed in a black skirt uniform showed up and consoled He Yi for a moment. Then, she took the driver’s seat from He Yi and drove the Lamborghini away.

I recognized the woman. She was Murong Mingyue, one of the four elders of Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls.

“So this is how sister Mingyue looks like…” I muttered to myself.

Beside me, Du Thirteen wiped his saliva away before saying, “Wow, her bust is amazing…”

I nodded. Murong Mingyue’s class was Priest, and her eternal motto was: “No one’s starving while this busty lady’s around!”

I shot him a look before saying, “Keep your imagination to yourself. Neither Murong Mingyue nor He Yi are available to you, get it?”

“But why?” Du Thirteen asked in confusion.

“I don’t know!” I replied without hesitation.

“Tch, never mind then. Let’s eat!”

“Mn.”

After the two of us had filled up our bellies completely, Du Thirteen asked, “What should we do now?”

“We log in and level up to 30 to heal our hearts. Don’t forget I’m very hurt right now,” I said with an enigmatic smile.

Du Thirteen nodded. “Mn, you’re right. When the time is right, let’s create a super guild and dominate the world, wahahahaha! Alright, time to level up to 30!”

“Why don’t you focus on getting to 15 first…”

“...”

According to Heavenblessed’s official materials, Level 30 was a dividing line where players could officially promote their class to higher rank. It was also known as the second class promotion. Ability to capture and use pets was only available to players at Level 30 and above, which was why countless players were leveling as if their lives depended on it. They all wanted to become the first person to undergo their second class promotion, reap the rewards, and gain powerful pets to aid them in battle as soon as possible.

“Hmm, I should get to 30 as soon as possible. The skills I’ll get after my second class promotion will only be stronger!” I thought to myself before going online.

Swoosh!

Once again, I appeared inside the dim, dark confines of my grave. It was pitch-black everywhere except the single ray of light peeking from my tombstone. This hiding spot was just wonderful. Most players in Floating Ice City had to use tents when they logged off, but as a result, they stood out like a sore thumb in a training ground. In my case however, no one would ever suspect that my avatar was hidden in a grave.

Rustle rustle…

I pushed aside the rotten soil that formed the “entrance” to my resting spot and poked my head above the ground. By now, I had absorbed enough undead sparks to reach the level of a Bone Creature, and I had regrown a tiny amount of flesh. I was no longer just a skeleton. Unfortunately, it also made me look even more terrifying, and even I was shocked by my own appearance when I changed the camera angle.

Pat pat!

I patted away the dust and soil on my knees and tried to leave. Suddenly, a burning wind attacked me from the side!

It was Flame Thrust again!

Without thinking, I swung my sword and blocked the attack. At the same time, I slammed into my attacker and stabbed him twice through his chest armor with incredible agility. A green halo surrounded my sword as I shouted, “Admit defeat already!”

Crack!

The Forest Green Blade penetrated Gui Guzi’s chest without any resistance. Blood poured out of his wound as a huge damage number popped out—424!

It was a critical hit!

Gui Guzi’s attempt to defeat me came to an abrupt end just like that. He was unlucky. He would have had a small chance to turn this around if my counterattack hadn’t resulted in a critical hit.

“Ugh…”

Gui Guzi groaned before collapsing to the ground, his level falling from 20 to 19 again. Does he grind only to lose levels to me?

I hugged my sword and waited for him to revive. A few seconds later, Gui Guzi’s soul reentered his body, and he performed a cool-looking kip up to get back to his feet. He pointed his spear at me and asked, “You… are you really not Candlelight Shadow? Why is your technique so similar to his?!”

I smiled playfully at him. “Is that so? I told you I’m not Candlelight Shadow. Anyway, you should upgrade your equipment before you challenge me again. At least make me feel like going all out.”

“You!”

Gui Guzi glared at me. “Who on earth are you? There’s no way I wouldn’t recognize someone with your level of fluidity and rhythm. If you’re not the Martial God then… are you A Speck of Dust? Dark Shadow Drifter? Or… Falling Dust?”

“No, you can’t be Falling Dust…” Gui Guzi shook his head. “Falling Dust was crippled two years ago, so it can’t be him. Sigh, what a shame!”

I smiled. Gui Guzi was a pro himself, and he knew that unlike in real life, a professional player wasn’t someone who mastered the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms or anything of the sort. A pro player was just a normal person like everyone else. What really set them apart from the average person was their absolute mastery over their own rhythm and movement in a game.

Long story short, they were well-practiced.

I walked toward Frost Mound before stopping to look at Gui Guzi. I asked, “Bro, there’s something I want to know. You’ve lost to me 3 times already. Do you admit defeat?”

“Of…” Gui Guzi stared at me coldly and unyieldingly. “Of course not!”

I nodded. “Very good. You know, why don’t you look at this from another perspective? We can be friends. At the very least, I wouldn’t recommend you coming at my life every time we meet. Also, I’m planning to build a guild in the near future. Don’t you think it would be better if we join hands and sweep Floating Ice City together?”

“Ah?!”

Gui Guzi trembled before blurting out, “You… you’re willing to team up with me?”

“Why not?”

“Hmph!” Gui Guzi suddenly sneered at me disdainfully. “A true pro would never rely on others!”

“But you’re not a pro.”

Gui Guzi mulled over my offer for a moment before replying, “For now, I have no such plans. Let’s speak about it again in the future. However, I’m not done challenging you yet. Just you wait, I’ll work hard to catch up to you.”

“Very good!”

I turned around while various thoughts danced in my head. Although Gui Guzi’s current skill was perfectly average, he was both determined and talented. All true pros started like this. If I could make Gui Guzi submit to me, he would definitely become a pillar of my future guild.

As for my goal of building a guild, I suddenly recalled a memory from the past. The Ancient Sword Dreaming Souls and He Yi’s gorgeous face appeared in my mind—

A young man and a young woman stood beneath a cyan tree. He was a Warrior, she, an Archer.

He Yi looked at me and asked, “Lu Chen, what do you desire?”

I answered, “Money and women.”

Clearly dissatisfied, He Yi threw a forceful punch at me, so I corrected my answer to “career and love”. This time she gave me an approving smile.

“That’s more like it!”