CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 120: THE BEST OBSERVATION SUBJECT

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

Watching Old Zhao leave the room deep in thought, Ren Suo didn’t hesitate. He had the Nine-Tailed Fox leave behind an illusory Immortal Sword at its location, then instructed it to activate "Knight’s Wind" and effortlessly depart the Embassy in just a few seconds.

Upon reaching an inn outside, the Nine-Tailed Fox randomly selected a room. Finding it vacant, it transformed back into its True Form—a small nine-tailed fox—and then used "Illusion" to conceal itself inside a wardrobe.

Ren Suo gave the illusion of the Immortal Sword a higher priority. This illusion would persist indefinitely, and if someone came within three meters, it would automatically alert the Player.

Naturally, Ren Suo couldn’t let the Nine-Tailed Fox stay in the Embassy; Heaven knows if those Cultivators would try to probe its secrets.

For safety, leaving a sword in the room as a ’Transportation Credential’ was sufficient to show the Nine-Tailed Fox’s stance: I’m cooperating with you.

Old Zhao had asked the Nine-Tailed Fox whether the Fairy Palace might appear in the world, to which Ren Suo’s response was: not for the time being.

He directly used the Spirit Vein setting, claiming that the revival of the world’s Spiritual Energy was not yet complete. Should the powerhouses of the Fairy Palace emerge, they could potentially destroy the world with their mere actions.

The Fairy Palace wouldn’t meddle in the affairs of various countries. It would only pay slight attention to critical events, like igniting Spirit Veins, and even then, only just. The fact that the Fairy Palace treated igniting Spirit Veins as a mere Shape-shifting goal for a group of small animals showed they didn’t take it very seriously.

The reason the Nine-Tailed Fox could leave was that its strength was minimal within the Fairy Palace, allowing it to traverse freely in the current state of Spiritual Energy.

Although they only had the Nine-Tailed Fox’s word, Old Zhao seemed to believe it for some unknown reason. Visibly relieved, he quickly excused himself to go and discuss matters with the senior officials of the Mysterious Country.

In fact, Ren Suo had prepared for Old Zhao’s persistent inquiries, as he had come up with the Fairy Palace setting on a whim. The main purpose was to explain ’why the powerhouses of the Fairy Palace do not appear’—because they are too strong, and the world cannot contain them.

But unquestionably, this setting was nonsensical. However, Old Zhao did not probe further, perhaps due to his Favorability level.

Before leaving, Old Zhao mentioned he would try to finish negotiations with the Flourishing Sakura Country within two days, hoping they would send over national treasures to let Little Blue Cat satisfy its urge to handle them and, in exchange, give Little Blue Cat a chance to ignite a Spirit Vein.

So, Ren Suo intended to fast-forward 10 hours, but—

"Game character is in a special status; fast-forward feature unavailable."

Huh?

Ren Suo tried several more times, but it still didn’t work, not even when he had the Nine-Tailed Fox revert to its True Form and lie on the bed. If it weren’t for Ren Suo’s remaining sanity, he would have wanted to capture the image of the Nine-Tailed Fox lying on the bed to use as his phone wallpaper.

Switching control to another character, Ren Suo found that although there was little change in the Pangolin’s room, a few pets had appeared by its side.

Hmm, these pets are all Pangolins.

On the desk was a plate of ants, stuck in syrup, arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner.

What on earth were the people at the Endangered Fairy Conservation Department thinking...?

Yet, even with the Pangolin, the fast-forward function was unavailable.

Hmm? Hmm? Hmm?

Ren Suo was utterly baffled. In-game time was still passing, but... no fast-forward.

It seemed as though the game had not yet processed the game character’s ’special status,’ hence the temporary suspension of the fast-forward function.

Although it wasn’t much of a hassle, Ren Suo checked the "Automatically Pause on Event Encounter" option in the game settings. He then returned to the main interface, turned off the screen, put away the controller, and carried on as if he hadn’t been playing a game.

It was already nighttime, so Ren Suo decided to go to the dining hall for dinner.

The third floor of the dining hall was bustling. Many students, undeterred by the third-floor dining hall’s ’petty-bourgeois prices,’ decided to treat themselves to a good meal on the first day of school.

While holding his food tray, Ren Suo unexpectedly saw Zhao Huo also having dinner. He went over and sat opposite him. "How does it feel to be a teacher?"

Hearing Ren Suo’s question, Zhao Huo shrugged and said with a wry smile, "What can I say... I just taught one class today. I introduced Spiritual Energy and its current research status to a group of high school freshmen, and they asked a lot of questions."

"If I taught the Spiritual Energy Cultivation Methods, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to answer their questions myself."

"Then you have to keep studying," Ren Suo said. "Surely you Cultivation Instructors have access to more powerful, high-level Cultivation Methods, right?"

Zhao Huo glanced at Ren Suo. "That’s classified... but I’m indeed not using advanced Cultivation Methods anymore. The more powerful Cultivation Methods aren’t just about Breathing; like Spells, they require a Law Net Instrument to impart them. If you want to learn, you’ll have to find your own way—I don’t have one, anyway."

Ren Suo clicked his tongue, chatted idly for a few more moments, then casually asked, "Do you know Dong Chengling?"

"Dong Chengling? Oh, her," Zhao Huo blinked. "I know her, but we’re not close. What’s up? Are you interested? Didn’t you take a fancy to a girl during the civil service training?"

So that really is her name.

Ren Suo immediately shook his head. "I just happen to remember the name. Don’t you think it’s quite unusual?"

"Speaking of unusual, isn’t your name even rarer?" Zhao Huo laughed. "Dong Chengling is quite pretty too. But for those of us who become Cultivation Instructors, it’s first about talent, second about diligence. Almost all of us seize every moment to cultivate and study. At most, we might chat with same-sex friends; we don’t have the mind to build connections with others."

Ren Suo nodded; he naturally understood the thoughts of Cultivators like Zhao Huo.

Wealth, connections, status—these are all hierarchical systems humans created upon realizing their own weakness, to leverage the strength of the collective.

But now, a true hierarchy had emerged. This system allowed mortals to gather immense power unto themselves, breaking the limitation that an individual is inferior to the collective, and perfectly overwhelming all those prior factors. Moreover, higher levels came with more resources and power. It was no wonder Zhao Huo and others cultivated with such desperate eagerness.

Ren Suo asked, "Do you know who among you are Awakeners and who are not?"

Zhao Huo glanced at Ren Suo. "That question is very dangerous. Do you really want to know?"

Ren Suo nodded.

Zhao Huo finished his pork bone, corn, and peanut soup, took out a napkin, and wiped his mouth. "Next time I catch a cold or something, I’ll come to you for Healing first."

Ren Suo said, "Don’t worry, it definitely won’t kill you."

"Not killing me is good enough..." Zhao Huo forced a smile. "As for the specifics of Awakening Abilities, only the Awakener themselves knows. But whether someone is an Awakener or not, we can mostly guess."

Ren Suo was slightly surprised. "Guess?"

"Yes, guess," Zhao Huo affirmed with a nod. "Because during special training, our talents have to be measured and publicly displayed every day to determine who has the best Cultivation effects and who improves their talent most efficiently—Cultivation can slowly improve talent. Then I found that there’s an upper limit for cultivation aptitude. The top tier of apprentices almost exactly approached that limit. There’s also a lower threshold, and most apprentices who nearly hit that threshold are Awakeners. So, within those apprentices nearing the upper limit, are there any Awakeners? The answer is—no. I’ve personally witnessed a Cultivator who Awakened during special training with incredibly high talent leave the training base the next day, and he never returned."

Zhao Huo chuckled. "Rumor has it he went to Sky Capital for advanced studies. That’s why most people, if they Awaken, will announce it. After all, who the hell wants to come out and work when they could be cultivating in peace?"

Ren Suo blinked. "So apprentices with high talent who could also Awaken don’t participate in Lianjiang’s training but move on to a bigger stage?"

"Pretty much," Zhao Huo said, a hint of envy in his voice. "Although we have one more special training session than regular civil servants, there isn’t much real difference. We are all cultivator civil servants, products of the state’s accelerated teaching programs, designed to quickly establish a Cultivator social system and serve society. The truly talented individuals, however, are still nurtured as seeds. They will be the powerhouses appearing on TV and in the news in the future."

That’s not necessarily true, Ren Suo thought. Many game characters will steal the spotlight.

Ren Suo asked, "Then what about Dong Chengling’s talent?"

Zhao Huo replied, "She has the strongest talent in the special training and is also the most fanatical Cultivator."

Ren Suo clicked his tongue and said, "That impressive? The strongest talent and also diligent in Cultivation—truly a winner in life. Someone like me with low talent is different; no matter how much I cultivate, I’m still a Salted Fish, incomparable to someone Exceptionally Gifted like Dong Chengling..."

Ren Suo noticed Zhao Huo suddenly winking at him, and a voice sounded from behind:

"Don’t use talent as an excuse for laziness."

Ren Suo turned around and saw the tall Dong Chengling standing behind him, alone, holding her dinner tray.

"Giving up just because you think you’re inferior to others is sheer laziness. If you’re looking for an excuse for your laziness, don’t use me as your comparison," Dong Chengling said calmly, looking at them. "That’s an insult to my effort."

Watching Dong Chengling walk away, Zhao Huo shrugged. "That’s just her personality. She always positions herself on the moral high ground and lectures with what she deems the ’most correct’ values... She was even the squad captain during the special training."

Noticing Ren Suo still watching Dong Chengling leave, Zhao Huo laughed. "No way, are you really interested now? Honestly, I think you’d be better off considering that girl from the Tactical Bureau, or the other one who seems to have a crush on you. They’re much cuter than this driven, hardworking type..."

"Do you know where she lives?" Ren Suo suddenly asked.

Ignoring Zhao Zili’s look of astonishment, Ren Suo recalled the conversation between the Nine-Tailed Fox and Old Zhao.

Before Old Zhao left, the Nine-Tailed Fox had asked why Dong Chengling was in a wheelchair. Old Zhao had said, "This incident was a blessing that turned into a disaster... but Dong Chengling is still very thankful to you all. If it weren’t for the Fairy Palace, she wouldn’t have Awakened, although an accident occurred during her Awakening."

Without a doubt, after two direct confirmations, Ren Suo was certain that Dong Chengling didn’t have a Key right now, meaning she hadn’t Awakened.

This Dong Chengling must be the same one from the game who tore through the Space Gate—after all, with that appearance, that name, and as a Cultivator, there should only be one Dong Chengling in the entire Mysterious Country.

According to Old Zhao, Dong Chengling’s Awakening was due to the "actions of the Fairy Palace."

That meant on the night the Pangolin unlocked the Spirit Treasury of the Mysterious Country, Dong Chengling received the Spirit Treasury’s gift and Awakened, but then an accident happened, and she fractured both legs.

If Ren Suo were to upload the save file from "Devouring the Spirit of the World," Dong Chengling would be a prime subject for observation.

He could observe Dong Chengling’s Awakening process to see if the Key’s temptation would appear after she Awakened.

He could also save Dong Chengling from the accident. If she didn’t have the accident, would the corresponding game experience also change?

Instead of participating in the game himself, Ren Suo was more inclined to observe how those around him might be drawn into it. He wondered if, by exerting influence on them beforehand, or even as the game became reality, he could in turn affect the game itself.

Was the ’Destiny’ predicted by the Mini-World Game Console truly unalterable, or did the ’gravity’ of reality carry more weight?