Firefly slowly descended from the air, her face filled with the joy of a long-awaited reunion.
Lu Jiang was drawn to the dreamlike girl before him and, as if possessed, reached out his hand to her.
Then he took Firefly's hand and slowly pulled her in front of him.
Firefly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then smiled and asked him,
"Trailblazer, you look much younger."
Firefly lowered her head and looked at Lu Jiang's face.
At that moment, Lu Jiang looked no older than a teenager. Standing beside Firefly, he looked even more like a child.
After all, Firefly was a warrior of the Grammar Empire and possessed the finest genes.
As a result, she was slightly taller than most girls.
Lu Jiang had not been short among people his age, but standing beside Firefly made him seem somewhat overshadowed.
Lu Jiang stared blankly at the girl before him.
At the same time, he sank into his memories.
Firefly was one of the Iron Cavalry created by the Grammar Empire during the Swarm Disaster.
She had been one of the main fighting forces against The Propagation Path.
However, due to genetic modification, these girls had been afflicted with Entropy Syndrome from the moment they were born.
Their bodies would undergo irreversible chronic disintegration.
Even so, these strong girls had never bowed their heads to fate.
They put on armor and became blades protecting the galaxy.
This was Firefly: gentle toward everyone, yet unyieldingly strong within. The perfect girlfriend!
The moment Lu Jiang saw Firefly, he understood why the developers had portrayed her as the Trailblazer's little girlfriend.
Wasn't she far better than Ning Rongrong, that spoiled Eldest Young Lady who admired strength?
Whether in appearance or personality, Firefly won completely, alright?
Lu Jiang pulled himself out of his countless thoughts and began considering what Firefly had just said.
She called him Trailblazer? It seemed she had mistaken him for the protagonist of Honkai: Star Rail.
He should never have been to the Honkai: Star Rail universe, much less met Firefly.
He had merely been an obsessive fan for a while in his previous life.
It seemed the system might have given him a unique identity and background.
That made things much easier.
After all, Firefly's Affection Value toward the protagonist had been maxed out from the very beginning.
There was no need to worry about her stabbing him in the back like Ning Rongrong.
Lu Jiang was just about to explain his current situation to Firefly.
When a system pop-up suddenly appeared before him.
[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully unlocked the Character Card: Firefly.] [Reward obtained: Firefly's exclusive Light Cone (Where Dreams Die), exclusive Relics (Iron Cavalry Against the Scourge, The Forging of the Lotus Lamp of Calamity).] [Additional reward: Soul Power Level increased to Level 20.] [Note: Continue accumulating card slot points to keep drawing cards and unlock new Character Cards.]
Lu Jiang's eyes slowly widened.
He had not expected even Honkai: Star Rail's progression system to be brought over.
Still, getting a fully built Light Cone and Relic set right away was quite nice.
More importantly, drawing cards could actually refund Soul Power?
Wasn't that basically free card pulls?
Could there really be something this good?
Soon, Lu Jiang noticed something was wrong.
His talent was not particularly high. Even if he had not fed his cultivation from the past few years into card slot points, his Soul Power could never have reached Level 20.
At most, he could have broken through to the Soul Master realm and reached around Level 15.
This system's returns were actually faster than his own cultivation!
Lu Jiang was extremely satisfied. He had originally worried that if his cultivation fell behind, he would become a high-attack, low-defense summoner. If his summons could not protect him, he would be finished.
Now, it seemed those worries had been unnecessary.
His cultivation speed was even faster than that of a Soul Master with twin martial souls and full innate Soul Power!
Just as Lu Jiang was about to close the system panel, another pop-up suddenly appeared.
[Ding! It has been detected that this is the Host's first card draw. A beginner's gift pack is hereby provided.]
There was even a beginner's gift pack?
Without a second thought, Lu Jiang directly tapped to claim it.
Then, he felt all the Soul Power in his body being mobilized, and his Martial Soul appeared before him.
Weapon Martial Soul: Blank Card.
Put simply, it was an ordinary card, the kind that was even less useful than Blue Silver Grass.
Because of the limitations of his Martial Soul, Lu Jiang's cultivation speed had been so slow, and his upper limit had been nearly locked in place.
He would have been thanking the heavens if he could reach Level 30 in this lifetime.
But why was the system summoning his Martial Soul now?
Just as Lu Jiang was puzzled, the card suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light.
[Martial Soul Evolution: The Host's Martial Soul has evolved into a God-Tier Martial Soul—Phantom Card God!] [System successfully bound to Martial Soul.] [Characters summoned by the Host in the future may be sealed within the Martial Soul to restore Soul Power and may be summoned at any time. Maintaining a character's actions consumes Soul Power. Characters can automatically store the Host's Soul Power, but once their Soul Power is exhausted, continuing to fight can only consume the Host's current Soul Power.] [Note: Summoned characters cannot leave a range of one thousand meters from the Host. Otherwise, they will automatically return to their cards.]
This Martial Soul was interesting. It could actually bind with the system?
Lu Jiang summoned Firefly's panel and, sure enough, found her Affection Value.
[Character Card: Firefly] [Action Value: 100/100]
"Trailblazer? Trailblazer?"
Firefly's voice pulled Lu Jiang back from his thoughts.
Lu Jiang then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.
Firefly let out a breath and said,
"Trailblazer, ever since you disappeared, I have been piloting Sam through the universe in search of you."
"Now we have finally reunited."
"But... where is this?"
Firefly curiously looked around.
Lu Jiang explained to Firefly that they were currently in another world.
"A-another world?"
"Was the original universe no longer enough for you to explore?"
Surprise appeared on Firefly's face, and then she cautiously asked,
"Then can you still go back?"
Lu Jiang knew that what she truly wanted to ask was whether he could return.
So he slowly moved closer to Firefly and reached out, smoothing the hair that the wind had just tousled.
It was Firefly's first time looking at Lu Jiang from such close range, and her heart immediately began racing.
Like an innocent high school girl, she lowered her head and blushed shyly.
"Trailblazer... (ω)"
Then Lu Jiang said to Firefly,
"Don't worry. As long as I'm still walking the path of Trailblazing, the day we return will come."
"Before then, we can only weather the storm together for a while."
Firefly's face turned even redder. Weathering the storm together with the Trailblazer...
Was that a subtle invitation to a honeymoon?
"However, there's a rather troublesome problem right now. I've been kicked out of the place where I was living."
"The owner of that house doesn't think much of me, so I can't stay there any longer."
"Would you be willing to wander with me?"
Firefly revealed a warm smile and said,
"As long as I can be by your side, I can go anywhere."
Lu Jiang's heart, tormented for over a decade, suddenly skipped a beat.
What kind of perfect girlfriend was this?
After calming down, Lu Jiang sat back on the bed and began considering where to go next.
Shrek and the protagonist's group were definitely out of the question.
He might as well go directly to visit Qian Renxue. She probably had not become a god yet, so there was still time for everything.
But before that, getting two Soul Rings was the most important thing.
Before you continue