CHAPTER 81.1: WHEN I GROW UP, I’LL BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL IN THE WORLD

Heavenly Dao class Foundation Establishment... ?

Jiang Lingsu naturally didn't believe him.

If Senior Brother had truly achieved such a feat, the heavens would have shown signs. A hundred birds would have sung in chorus, and ten thousand flowers would have bloomed even in the heart of winter.

Yet, over the past few days, there had been no auspicious omen. Only endless snowfall and thunder rumbled across the skies. She suspected not a Heavenly Dao class, but the birth of an evil spirit.

Still, thunder alone was hardly an omen. Even so, if Senior Brother had truly succeeded in his Foundation Establishment, she would naturally be happy for him.

Qi Yuan wore a troubled expression. "Junior Sister, you're well-read and knowledgeable. So tell me, after achieving Heavenly Dao class, could there be side effects? I don't know why, but I've been feeling hazy and dazed lately. Sometimes I even hear things."

"Hmm?" Jiang Lingsu frowned slightly. "You shouldn't have such symptoms. Senior Brother, maybe you should see a physician or consult one of the elders."

Qi Yuan hesitated.

Then, those strange murmuring voices crept into his ears again.

—Finally reached Qi Refinement level three! Senior Sister will definitely think better of me now, right?

—Ugh!! No, don't! It stinks!

—The Xuanyuan Method has seven layers. Reach the seventh, and one may step into Core Formation realm!

The sounds buzzed around him like a swarm of mosquitoes.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

Jiang Lingsu blinked in confusion.

He said solemnly, "My golden finger has arrived!"

When he'd entered the Qi Refinement realm, his eyes had gained the ability to see hidden information. Now that he was at Foundation Establishment realm, his ears could hear strange, hidden voices. Wasn't that perfectly normal? His 'golden finger' had finally been upgraded!

Jiang Lingsu, however, felt that even after achieving a breakthrough, Senior Brother's head hadn't quite healed.

Still, something occurred to her. "Senior Brother, didn't you want to join the Divine Flower Society? Now that you've reached Foundation Establishment, I can vouch for you. How about it?"

Qi Yuan smiled. "Please do so. Thank you, Junior Sister."

After all, the two of them had killed Zhu Lianhua of the Bright Palace. That day, his generous junior sister had taken the blame for him, something that still made him uneasy. Joining the Divine Flower Society would be like stacking another defensive buff on himself. That was his logic, anyway.

Besides, as a village-level cultivator, befriending university-level cultivators gave him prestige to brag about.

Jiang Lingsu said, her eyes bright with playful anticipation, "It will take a while to process your membership application. Since I've helped you so much, how do you plan to thank me, Senior Brother?"

Qi Yuan's gaze drifted to her chest.

Her loose-fitting, light green dress failed to hide the twin snowy peaks beneath. A faint glimpse of pale skin could be seen through the sheer fabric, smooth and flawless. To put it bluntly, the delicate and petite Jiang Lingsu was very well-endowed.

Suddenly, Qi Yuan remembered the voice he had heard earlier.

—My chest wrap's gotten tight again. So annoying.

To offer help in time of need and help Junior Sister with her problems, was that not a form of gratitude?

Without thinking, he said, "I'll buy you a bigger chest wrap."

Jiang Lingsu froze, then immediately looked down. Her hands flew up to cover her chest.

When she'd been changing clothes in her hut, she'd been so excited to hear that Senior Brother had emerged from seclusion that she'd thrown on the smaller one she had at hand, then quickly draped a thin dress over it.

Now, realizing what he'd noticed, her face flushed scarlet. "Shameless!"

She spun around and bolted back into her hut.

Qi Yuan stared after her, bewildered, then reflected guiltily. "That was too blunt... I need to work on my EQ."

With that resolution, he returned to his own hut. Sitting alone inside, a hollow emptiness lingered in his heart, the same feeling he'd had after clearing the game.

Outside, snow blanketed the Seven-Colored Peak, reminding him of the snowy night over the Seventh Moon Lake.

He had sat alone on a blue stone, accompanied only by Moon Maiden. Qi Yuan lifted his arm. The crescent mark on it had vanished.

"Life is but a dream," he murmured.

Taking out the gaming jade slip, he transferred his consciousness into it. Yet, all he saw was a blank, white void. He could no longer enter the Moonwatch Continent as before.

"Once you clear the game... you can't go back?" Qi Yuan muttered, stepping outside to gaze at the heavens.

The night sky was laden with stars, the same countless constellations he had once seen over the Moonwatch Continent.

The stars above are projections. Which means both Moonwatch Continent and World share the same sky.

The thought eased his heart a little and he returned inside.

"If I've cleared one game, will the second one unlock?"

His consciousness drifted through the white expanse of the jade slip. Suddenly, he saw a glimmer of light, which looked like the icon of a game app.

Qi Yuan lit up. "A new game?"

When he tried to approach it, the icon seemed to reject him. No matter how he pushed his consciousness forward, he couldn't get close.

Qi Yuan growled. "Damn game! Why won't you let me play!"

After that, he tried many times, but to no avail.

He went pale. "Could it be that I don't have enough memory? Or maybe my level is too low?"

Then, he recalled when he'd first played Moonwatch Continent. His divine soul was so weak, he could barely stay inside for an hour before collapsing from exhaustion. As his spiritual power grew stronger, he could remain longer.

Qi Yuan scowled in dissatisfaction. "So, that's it? My divine soul is still too weak to enter the second game?"

With Heavenly Dao class, his divine sense could now extend outside his body. Even his soul had grown immensely. Yet it still wasn't enough?

As he mused, his consciousness stopped struggling forward. "Either this game is enormous, or I’ve been banned."

Just then, a whisper brushed against his ear. "When I grow up, I'll be the most beautiful girl in the whole wide world."

Qi Yuan froze. "My ears are that powerful now? I can hear voices from inside a game?"

The voice had clearly come from the glowing app icon. It was crisp, tinged with the soft lilt of a child's voice—young, innocent, and full of life. It sounded happy.

Qi Yuan couldn't help saying softly, "Little Ning Tao, I believe you."

A wry smile tugged at his lips. He didn't know whether the NPC in the game could hear him or not.