The following day, nearing noon, Huai Shi finally opened his eyes and saw the indifferent face of the Qing Emperor looming over him.
She was standing right in front of him, looking down at him.
The current Qing Emperor looked quite old, her face covered with wrinkles. What surprised Huai Shi, however, was how short her full head of graying hair was, each strand as stiff and sharp as a needle.
Gone were the warmth and grace.
When her pitch-black eyes looked down at him, they brimd with imnse authority and a chilling solemnity that made onlookers tremble with fear.
Thus, as she coldly scrutinized the little brat who had taken over her rocking chair, she suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Aren't you afraid I would get angry, Little Brat?" she asked. "This is Yu Dai Shan. You refuse an offered toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit, and you dare to offend so—even the Astronomical Society wouldn't be so presumptuous, would they?"
Huai Shi was taken aback for a mont, then shook his head. "If the old lady were truly angry, why wait until I had a full night's sleep to wake up? Besides, didn't you leave a blanket for ?"
The old lady's eyebrows raised slightly, neither confirming nor denying. "Sounds indeed just like what the old man from the Yuan Family said—a recklessness beyond asure. Has everyone from the Astronomical Society grown so bold these days?"
"I'm here not because I am from the Astronomical Society."
Huai Shi stood up, carefully folded the blanket, placed it back on the rocking chair, and then respectfully answered the elder, "It's because Mr. Chu thought I am a friend of the Social Security Bureau."
"A friend of Chu HongChen? Every single one of them, nothing but little bastards."
The old lady casually waved her hand, signaling him to move aside. She picked up the blanket, tossed it to the little girl silently watching the commotion, then sat down in the rocking chair again, apparently not planning to fuss over this matter with him.
She just asked, "Any thoughts?"
Huai Shi pondered for a mont, then earnestly replied, "This place is really nice."
More than just nice.
For anyone with a plant-type Stigma, this was like the Heavenly Kingdom itself. If Huai Shi decided to follow the Qing Emperor's Road and stay here, he wouldn't need many years to reach maximum level just by sitting around.
"Would you like to stay?" out of the blue, the old lady said. "I'll teach you."
"No need," Huai Shi shook his head once again. "The Astronomical Society is quite good."
"Heh, ungrateful."
The old lady chuckled. She didn't insist any further but rather started speaking matter-of-factly. "Rest assured, I am so old now, I won't take advantage of my age to trouble you. Since you have co here, I will not make things difficult for you—after all, Chu HongChen and his father are the sa, both so stingy. No matter how much or how little the Mountain Ghost's vitality is, what's the use of scrimping and saving like that..."
She paused for a mont, then lifted her eyes to ask Huai Shi, "How much can you eat?"
Huai Shi thought for a while, then earnestly replied, "This ti, I plan to eat as much as I can."
"Good, Ju Shuang—"
She raised her voice slightly and called over the girl who had been watching curiously from afar. "Since we have a guest, take him around for a tour. Whatever he wants to eat, let him take it himself."
Ju Shuang nodded, looking at Huai Shi with curiosity, and gestured for him to follow her.
After they had left, the old lady lay back in her chair, quietly basking in the rare winter sun alongside the withered i beside her.
I guess I'm old after all.
In the silence, the old lady listened to the receding footsteps and couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh, finally allowing a touch of warmth and kindness to erge from her sternness.
"Youth is truly wonderful..."
***
From that day on, there was no more peace on Yu Dai Shan.
This continued for a week.
Amidst the booming eruption of the earth's energy, Lu Yan, who was miserably shoveling snow, wiped the sweat from his face. He looked up at the countless transformations of vitality at the mountain's summit and sighed, "How is it not over yet?"
"Mind your own business and just shovel the snow."
Inside the gatehouse, Hu Jing propped up his legs, pleasantly sipping his hot tea while reading books and newspapers.
He had a cup of tea, a cigarette, and a newspaper to read for the whole day, plus a newcor to boss around at will. Life couldn't get any better.
Before he could even finish reading the front page of the latest news, he felt the whole roof shake abruptly. Pausing in surprise, he closed the newspaper, looked out of the window, and bellowed, "Lu Yan, what the hell are you doing?"
"It's not !" Lu Yan responded indignantly. "Look for yourself!"
Hu Jing had already seen it without Lu Yan needing to say anything.
A streak of erald green light burst forth from the summit of Yu Dai Shan, weaving and fluctuating uncertainly. It was the Disaster Miracle, woven from countless strands of vitality.
After a lengthy period of accumulation, it was finally undergoing a complete transformation.
Soone has made a breakthrough!
Who could it be?
Hu Jing, in disbelief, pondered the possibility but suddenly rembered the figure who had ascended Yu Dai Shan a week ago.
Is it him? It can't be, right? Why so fast!
At the summit, Ju Shuang looked numbly at Huai Shi before her. "Again?"
Amidst the surging green light, a ferocious Source Fluctuation surged upward from Huai Shi's body, pouring out in all directions and nearly forming a massive storm.
Countless blades of grass and green shoots sprang forth from the snowy ground as if from nowhere.
The entire Yu Dai Shan echoed the vitality emanating from Huai Shi, with thousands upon thousands of strands of radiance rging into his body, lending him their strength...
But the problem was... this wasn't the first ti such signs had erged in the past few days!
Over these days, Huai Shi, eating without restraint, had nearly taken a bite out of everything on Yu Dai Shan, including the reserves in countless laboratories and hidden stashes.
Logically, the sheer accumulation should have naturally pushed him onto the Qing Emperor's Road by now, but the problem was, every ti he was about to advance, he managed to hold back.
Just like at this mont, as Huai Shi took a deep breath, the straight line of green light suddenly halted.
Then, inch by inch... it receded.
It seed extrely unwilling, as if it were being forcibly pulled back, unable to escape, reluctantly returning into Huai Shi's body and firmly locked up by the Mountain Ghost Stigma.
I can't advance yet; I just can't advance like this. If I make one wrong step, I'll really beco the Second Fifth of the Heavenly Kingdom Genealogy, a true traitor!
Right there, Huai Shi's face turned a dark green, and his entire body seed to round out a bit.
After holding it in for a long ti, he couldn't help but let out a satisfied burp and flashed a smile at Ju Shuang. "—I'm good now!"
I'm not good! Ju Shuang glanced at him, a hint of madness in her eyes.
She had been aimlessly wandering with this guy for a week now, and her postgraduate entrance exam was approaching. Her revision ti was being delayed; why hadn't this guy advanced yet?
Huai Shi, looking like he had overeaten, stayed put, holding his stomach. After a long while, he finally sighed in relief.
"OK, that's enough for now."
He wiped his mouth with a hint of reluctance.
I've really reached my limit; I can't eat any more. If I eat any further and fail to hold it in, I'll advance on the spot, and that will be the end of it.
If it weren't for the effects of the 'Birth of Life,' how could I have eaten so much?
The 'Birth of Life,' in essence, involved gaining gradual control over one's own state through a profound understanding of life. This profound understanding, brought about by a significant Correction Value connected to an Artificial Human's Creator (one who did not originally exist in this world) fully becoming a mber of the Current Circumstances, was an insight far greater than what one might obtain from rely siring a child.
Of course, the approval of the White Crown King and the assistance of the Three Sages were part of it, but the absolute leading role was played by Huai Shi himself.
Therefore, the effect brought about by this understanding was also exceptionally imnse.
Huai Shi now had perfect control over the life force within his body and his own state. Controlling his heartbeat, the functioning of his lungs, and his muscles were just the most superficial manifestations. His absolute control over his Stigma and Soul was nearing the theoretical limit.
It was for this reason that he was able to eat his fill on Yu Dai Shan, to the point that Ju Shuang began to question reality.
Now, as Huai Shi unfolded his palm, in Ju Shuang's disbelieving gaze, countless life forces quietly erged, intertwining continuously, sketching out the faint outline of The Great Circle of Yu Dai Shan.
A proportionally scaled model of Yu Dai Shan, thousands of tis smaller, was ford.
In other words, with his occasional nibbles here and there these past days, Huai Shi had sohow accumulated enough to et the conditions for the entire Great Circle of Yu Dai Shan.
But then, the projection in Huai Shi's hand suddenly dissipated, as gently as spring rain turning to mist, silently rging back into the overall cycle of Yu Dai Shan.
Ju Shuang once again began to question reality.
This display was truly shocking.
Reaching this level, with just a nod from the Qing Emperor, he could interfere with the whole Great Circle... aning, he had essentially conjured administrator-level access out of thin air.
Old lady, if this son of a bitch doesn't leave, forget the chickens and dogs, our whole ho is going to be stolen!
Sensing the astonishnt hidden in Ju Shuang's eyes, Huai Shi's mischievous urge for a bit of showing off was satisfied. Just as he was about to say sothing, his vision suddenly blurred.
The next mont, he found himself at the foot of the mountain.
The old lady was shooing him away.
Now that he had eaten and drunk his fill, she wanted him to get lost.
"Thanks for the hospitality, I'm out of here." Huai Shi stifled a laugh, waved goodbye, then turned around only to be tripped by a root, taking a nasty fall with his entire face smacking onto the frozen ground.
SMACK.
Scrambling up in an ungainly manner, Huai Shi helplessly rubbed his face, putting his hands together in a plea for rcy with a bitter smile before hastily making his escape.
This old lady's temper is truly foul...
***
He went directly to the Social Security Bureau's border transfer station and arrived back at the Stone Marrow Pavilion just after noon.
Upon entering, Huai Shi saw Raven lazily lying on the sofa, basking in the sun.
It wasn't unusual for this woman to slack off, but what was unusual was that... she had transford back into human form again, her deanor coquettish and indolent, captivating to the point where one couldn't look away.
"What's with you?" Huai Shi was startled, becoming alert once more. "Are you thinking of 'giving out welfare' again?"
Just thinking about last ti's 'welfare' makes my mouth hurt.
This woman's conscience is terribly flawed. I have to always be on guard.
But imdiately after that, he noticed two iron boxes used by Raven as footrests on the coffee table and instantly realized.
"Has the stuff arrived?"
The first box, when opened, contained a piece of Amber as big as a fist, with a pale fla quietly burning inside it. Upon detecting Huai Shi's gaze, the fla moved in his direction.
If not for the barrier of the glass bottle, Huai Shi even suspected the fla would follow his gaze and burn its way onto him.
anwhile, the second box was brimming with a blood-red light that sent shivers down Huai Shi's spine.
Amid layers of silver cords, a palm-sized blood-red Crystal Stone oozed with dense crimson. Just looking at it, one could feel an overwhelming surge of blood, making Huai Shi feel as though he were suffocating.
Right after, Raven took out another two boxes, one containing Holy Grace.
In the other box were Remnants of Sinister Beings.
All four major materials were ready.
The conditions—Birth of Life, True Essence of Nothingness, Linking of Souls, and Phantom of Yesterday—were also thoroughly prepared.
Huai Shi's Mountain Ghost Stigma had also reached its limit in growth.
Amidst crisp knocking, a delivery from the Stone Pot Society arrived at Huai Shi's door.
It was the reward from the Asian rookie competition.
——The huge box contained all the materials for advancent to Soloist, categorized and neatly arranged. All materials were processed to the highest specification, and more than two sets of everything had been prepared.
When Huai Shi walked into the basent, he encountered a solemn scene drastically different from the past.
Countless complex Alchemy Runes were enveloped in a Secret Ritual.
As Uncle Fang closed the door behind Huai Shi, silence fell. Behind the Secret Ritual, Raven turned her head, revealing a disturbingly odd smile that made him uneasy.
"What are you standing around for, Huai Shi? Strip!" Raven said cheerfully, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "Before you advance, let your big sister check if you've developed properly..."
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