Senior Brother's Got Your Back

Qi Yuan looked around and saw a riot of colorful clothes floating within the Attire Forbidden Area.

"These little monsters are pretty creatively designed."

The clothes—robes, short tunics, long gowns, vests, nursing dresses, coats, suspender pants—ancient and modern attire, everything imaginable.

They drifted through the air like living beings.

But the moment Qi Yuan stepped into the Attire Forbidden Area, every single garment turned to face him.

There were no heads inside the collars—just empty space—yet Qi Yuan felt as if thousands of eyes were boring into him.

"Tough crowd. Run!"

Qi Yuan bolted.

Even though he was a full level 82, the Clothing Monsters in the Attire Forbidden Area were far too numerous.

There were tens of thousands in sight, many above level 50.

Worst of all, the beasts and monsters in the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area, though strong, lacked any organized hierarchy—they fought on their own.

But these clothes were clearly acting like an army.

If Qi Yuan made a move, they'd likely swarm him immediately.

Qi Yuan shamelessly fled.

About fifteen minutes later, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally got away."

He pulled out the Great Treasure Sword and stabbed it straight into the ground.

He dug a massive pit.

Who knew how deep it went.

He was practiced at this.

After all, he was used to it.

He lay down in the pit.

Only then did he notice the message from Jin Li in the chat interface.

He replied at once: "I'm not lying to you. If you carry a ladder, you can enter the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area with no danger."

He'd personally set the rules—how could they be wrong?

Still, when Jin Li said she wanted to go to the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area herself, Qi Yuan took a look at his game screen.

The screen showed the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area was under his control.

In other words, it was his property.

He sent another message: "Don't worry, it's fine. Go ahead boldly."

Back on Seven Colors Peak, Qi Yuan gazed at the moonlight and felt a bit tired.

Maybe playing the game too long had drained his energy.

He said to Jin Li in the game: "There are too many Clothing Monsters in the Attire Forbidden Area. I'll grind them tomorrow.

I dug a hole and buried myself in the dirt.

Logging off. Good night."

With that, Qi Yuan set down the Game Jade Slip.

The slip merged into his body.

Elsewhere, in a dark palace, Jin Li, who had been asleep, suddenly opened her eyes.

Her gaze fell on the Exquisite Jade Tide. When she saw its contents, a strange glint flickered in her eyes.

"Alright. Be careful, stay safe. Good night."

Just a simple greeting.

Meanwhile, at the Prime Minister's Residence.

Sima Ting was still awake.

On his desk lay a pile of official documents to process.

If anything, compared to Empress Jin Li, he was more of a shrewd politician—always putting interests first.

"Any unusual movements from the Empress today?" Sima Ting set down a document and asked slowly.

Beside him, a figure cloaked entirely in shadow appeared, head bowed. "Today, at the hour of Wei, the Empress met with the Minister of Revenue to allocate disaster relief funds. At the hour of Shen, she visited Old Madam Qin.

After returning to the palace, she reviewed memorials without any unusual activity.

However, at night, she ordered a maid to retrieve records on the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area from the Library Pavilion."

"The Xuanyuan Forbidden Area?" Sima Ting smiled. "It seems she's out of options and is pinning her hopes on that elusive place."

Sima Ting knew that the duel ten days from now was crucial for Empress Jin Li.

Once Empress Jin Li lost, the already precarious situation would come crashing down.

And now, Madam Qin was severely injured, no match for Nanfeng Nation's National Teacher at all.

So Empress Jin Li had taken a desperate risk, heading to the Xuanyuan Forbidden Area, hoping to enter and obtain a Spiritual Herb to heal Madam Qin.

That was Sima Ting's guess.

"Her Majesty the Empress is at her wit's end—no need to bother with her." Sima Ting didn't spare Jin Li a second thought; his real focus and worry were the collaborator from the Northern Khan Royal Court and the Heavenly Revelation General stationed at the border.

Still, he picked up the official document and added, "Send some people to tail her, see if anything unexpected happens."

It was always wise to be cautious in any endeavor.

A familiar tone rang out.

Qi Yuan waved his hand, and the Wooden Cat Puppet was sealed again, unable to make a sound.

But this time, Qi Yuan rarely opened his eyes.

"The sun's already scorching your backside.

As the Senior Brother of Seven Colors Peak, I need to set an example for my Junior Sister—no sleeping in."

Even though the disciples of Shinguang Sect had already finished their morning cultivation.

For Qi Yuan, though, this counted as getting up unusually early.

After washing up, Qi Yuan stretched lazily, sunlight falling on his face, making him look utterly languid.

But because he was so handsome, even his laziness carried an air of distinction.

"Morning, Junior Sister." Qi Yuan stepped out of the courtyard and saw Jiang Lingsu, her body drenched in sweat.

He didn't approach, deliberately keeping his distance.

In his line of sight, hidden information about Jiang Lingsu appeared.

She was an ordinary girl, carrying numerous techniques, training hard, hoping one day to gain the power to suppress the world and prevent disasters from recurring.

Seeing this, Qi Yuan added another point to his assessment of Jiang Lingsu.

Jiang Lingsu, meanwhile, frowned at Qi Yuan. "Senior Brother, why do you look so drained... like you've overindulged or something."

Qi Yuan was taken aback.

He'd just been playing too many games, draining his mental energy.

Right now, his strength was stuck at Qi Refining Completion, unable to step into Foundation Establishment.

So wasn't it normal to burn out from gaming?

Unfortunately, to break through to Foundation Establishment, Qi Yuan still lacked two things.

One was a suitable cultivation technique.

The other was a suitable Foundation Establishment Spiritual Object.

As for the right technique, he'd have to create it himself.

Though his cultivation was low, his eyes could see hidden information.

He could cobble together a technique blindly, then keep refining it through those hidden insights.

By now, Qi Yuan had read through all the sect's techniques.

But he was still far from creating his own.

Or rather, his accumulation was too shallow.

Still, just now, looking at Jiang Lingsu, he saw she had countless techniques at hand.

He turned to her and said, "Junior Sister, you've got to save your Senior Brother."

He didn't take her earlier verbal "attack" to heart.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Lingsu asked worriedly, afraid his cultivation had gone awry.

"I can tell you're from an extraordinary background..."

"You want to borrow money?"

"No, what I mean is, do you have any extra techniques, regardless of grade, that I could borrow to look over?" Qi Yuan said.

Jiang Lingsu breathed a sigh of relief. "How many does Senior Brother need?"

"The more, the better," Qi Yuan said. "A few hundred, even a thousand would be ideal."

"Plenty of techniques" meant the number wouldn't be small.

"Senior Brother, what do you need all those techniques for?" Jiang Lingsu asked.

Qi Yuan replied lazily, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

Give me some techniques, and once I've cultivated successfully, I'll have your back—not just the whole Shinguang Sect, but the entire Azure Wave Realm!"

Hearing this, Jiang Lingsu burst out laughing.

Protect her?

Does she even need protection?

Despite Qi Yuan being taller and likely older than her, Jiang Lingsu felt she could thrash this Senior Brother with one hand if they fought.

"What do you need so many techniques for? Tell me," Jiang Lingsu asked again.

"To create my own technique," Qi Yuan said without hiding it.

After all, in this world, no one believed the truth.

For instance, he had already exposed the fact that the sect master was a spy, but no one believed him.

Jiang Lingsu was stunned.

Create his own technique?

This Senior Brother sure dared to dream.

But then, recalling something, she took out a jade slip.

"Senior Brother, there are quite a few techniques here. I'll lend them to you for a look."

Over the years, Ruan Yixi had only taken on this one disciple, Senior Brother.

This showed that Ruan Yixi must value Qi Yuan highly.

She needed to get on good terms with Qi Yuan.

"I'm lending you these techniques, Senior Brother. Don't get addicted to games every day. Cultivate properly, and you'll have to protect your Junior Sister in the future," Jiang Lingsu said.

"Gaming is also a form of cultivation," Qi Yuan said as he took the Technique Jade Slip.

As for the stench of sweat on his Junior Sister, it no longer smelled foul now—instead, it was fragrant. After all, his Junior Sister's Technique Jade Slip contained hundreds of techniques.