Auntie Li, You?!

"Did Xiao Liu go to buy groceries?"

In the Corridor, a young man carrying a shopping basket met an elderly man in his sixties. The young man nodded and smiled, "Uncle Xu, going out for a stroll?"

"Yeah, let's go find Old Wang and play a couple of rounds!"

The old man and the young man exchanged a few words and passed each other by. The young man went up to the seventh floor, took out his key to open the door, went inside to change his shoes, put the vegetables, meat and eggs he bought in the kitchen, washed his hands quickly, and started cooking while humming a song.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang in the young man's ears. "Ling Xin has received Chaos Mission; tonight's black market event is canceled."

The young man paused for a moment, then replied in his mind, "Understood, Great Master. Since you have nothing else to do, would you like to try my cooking? The culinary culture of Zhendan is truly profound; I learn something new every day."

"No need. Since I can't go to the black market, I plan to focus on my cultivation. I feel like I'm approaching a bottleneck..."

"Alright, I wish you success in your breakthrough!"

After ending his internal dialogue, the young man named Xiao Liu skillfully flipped the ladle, turned off the heat, and ladled the steaming stir-fried dish onto a plate.

That's right, this Xiao Liu is actually Ailongtan in disguise, and the face he's wearing is exactly the same as the Luo Jun had when he signed the contract half a month ago.

The Imposter Mask can store three faces. One of them is Luo Jun's own face, so that Ailongtan can impersonate him at any time. The second is Michelle's face, which was copied when he killed the Hell Creek Family. As for the third, which is Xiao Liu's face now, it was obtained by Luo Jun from the [Martial World] world.

Although Ailongtan almost always wore a mask during the filming of "Martial World", Old Ai Luo Jun sometimes needed him to do things remotely. Remember when Luo Jun asked Ailongtan to find a way to deliver the virus solution to the Hundred Rivers Sect? To avoid being discovered, Ailongtan changed his appearance and found an Old Man to help deliver the solution.

At that time, he copied the face of a traveling merchant in Tongda Town. The man was in his twenties, not particularly handsome, but very approachable. And that face has been preserved to this day.

For the past two weeks since renting the apartment, Luo Jun has mostly been attending classes and cultivating at the academy, while Ailongtan has been living a quiet life in this rented room, using Xiao Liu's face as a cover.

Although this old guy always calls himself "I" in front of Luo Jun, once he enters the role, his social skills are not ordinary. In less than half a month, the neighbors upstairs and downstairs, and even the vegetable seller from the nearby market have become familiar with him. Everyone knows that a Xiao Liu has moved to the seventh floor. He is very kind, sensible, polite, good at talking, and has a very warm smile.

To be honest, when Luo Jun first rented the apartment, his idea was to keep a low profile and avoid attracting too much attention. Although he was wearing a face that didn't exist in this world, the information was still fake, and being too conspicuous might cause trouble if someone investigated.

However, Ailongtan expressed a completely different opinion.

Old Ai believes that rather than playing a withdrawn and eccentric person who doesn't interact with others, it's better to play a cheerful and warm-hearted man.

No matter how much you try to stay home, in an old neighborhood like this, news of new residents moving in upstairs can't be kept secret. With the intelligence capabilities of the neighborhood aunties, they'll find out your background in just a few days... If they can't find out, they won't mind making one up.

A young, solitary man who is withdrawn, doesn't communicate with others, has a gloomy demeanor, and is fairly good-looking—if these elements are combined, rumors will spread that he's a wanted criminal, a pervert, or being kept by a rich woman...

However, an outgoing person doesn't have these problems. As long as they can integrate well into the local social circle, people will get used to their presence and won't notice them as much.

It has to be said that in the end, Old Ai persuaded Luo Jun with his silver tongue. Of course, Luo Jun had a slightly dark suspicion that the old guy was just a restless, attention-seeking madman.

Ailongtan hummed a song as he cooked several dishes, placed them on the table, and served a bowl of freshly cooked white rice, which he then ate with relish.

In theory, Summoned Creature don't need to eat; the three hundred Breath Vital Energy Luo Jun expended when summoning him were his energy source. But the problem is, this guy's existence time is infinite. Infinite time, and no energy consumption—that doesn't make sense.

Therefore, the so-called infinite existence time within the Skeleton Ring is just a theoretical value. If it doesn't receive energy from the outside, it will still starve to death. It's just that as Summoned Creature, it can be summoned again when the Cooldown Time is up.

Therefore, when he was impersonating Luo Jun, Old Ai would still eat like a normal person, and his appetite was quite large.

But things are different now. Because of the Master's Pendant's Pendant, Luo Jun directly gave him tens of thousands of breaths of vital energy. Not to mention that this thing can be replenished at any time, even if it's a one-time deal, it's enough for him to live for ten or eight years.

So now, Old Ai eats not to sustain his life, but simply out of hobby.

Just as I was enjoying my meal, there was a knock on the door.

Who would visit him at this time? A wary thought crossed Ailongtan's mind. He put down his chopsticks, walked to the door, and glanced through the peephole.

A woman in her fifties was standing at the door. Seeing that there was no response from inside, she raised her hand and knocked on the door again.

Auntie Li downstairs?

Ailongtan paused for a moment, then opened the door. "Auntie Li? Is there something you need?"

"Oh, Xiao Liu." Auntie Li greeted him with a broad smile, and smelling the aroma of food, she peeked into the house. "Dinner's ready?"

"Oh, I just ate." Ailongtan turned to the side and smiled, "Has Auntie Li eaten yet? Want to come in and have a bite?"

The house wasn't big, but you could see several exquisite dishes on the dining table right from the entrance. Auntie Li's expression changed slightly. "Xiao Liu... you said you were single before... what's this meal...?"

"Oh, I made it myself." Ailongtan asked, puzzled, "Is there a problem?"

"No problem, then there's no problem!" Auntie Li beamed with joy. "This child is really capable... Auntie has something to ask you, so I won't go in."

"Oh, Auntie, you say it."

"You're renting this place, you're not a local, are you?"

"Oh, I'm from Shun City," Ailongtan said. Shun City isn't far from here, but it's not as prosperous as Ningdong. Many young people from Shuncheng come to Ningdong to work, which is a good reason to come.

"Shun City is not bad either." Auntie Li nodded. "You seem to have a lot of free time. What kind of work do you do here, and how's your income?"

"Work..." Ailongtan replied, "I'm a designer, I can work from home most of the time, and the income is alright."

"Designers have it good, I heard they earn quite a bit," Auntie Li complimented a couple of times, then tentatively asked, "Does your monthly income reach over ten thousand?"

Ailongtan still didn't understand what Auntie Li wanted to do, so he nodded subconsciously.

"The income is not bad either." Auntie Li nodded and continued, "You said you were twenty-four years old this year... Are the elders in your family all doing well?"

"My parents passed away in an accident last year. The two of them went on a trip abroad, but they encountered a mudslide while climbing a mountain... Sigh..." Ailongtan sighed. Luo Jun didn't have any requirements for this personal background information, but because of his dramatic personality, he made up a very detailed one for himself.

"Oh dear... poor child..." Auntie Li said with a look of regret, "Don't you have a house or anything back in your hometown?"

"My parents left me a house, but living there always reminds me of them," Ailongtan sighed. "Besides, my profession offers more opportunities in Ningdong, so I moved here. The house back home is rented out..."

As someone with a histrionic personality disorder, even though she enjoyed playing the persona she created, Ailongtan now sensed something was wrong and asked, "Auntie Li, what exactly are you trying to say?"

"It's nothing..." Auntie Li smiled, "Winter break is coming soon, and my daughter is studying in Tianjing. She'll be back in a few days. She's graduating this year and is at the age where she should be thinking about marriage. I think you're a nice guy, Xiao Liu. Would you like to get to know her?"

"Ah... ah?" As an ancient being who had lived for thousands of years, Ailongtan never expected that he would be approached to arrange a blind date?

"Great Master, save me!"

Ailongtan shouted in his mind, and soon Luo Jun's impatient voice came. "What is it?"

"I'm being watched by the old lady downstairs..."

Ailongtan quickly explained the situation to himself. Luo Jun listened for a second in silence, then burst into laughter.

"Great Master, please stop laughing..." Ailongtan's voice was trembling with tears. "I have ruled the country, fought on the battlefield, and chatted with all sorts of people, but I have never been set up on a blind date... How am I supposed to refuse?"

"Hahaha... Don't refuse, say yes!"

"Agree?!" Ailongtan exclaimed in surprise, "Great Master, how can this be..."

"This is so interesting! I can't wait to see what happens next. I'll say yes! If all else fails, I can just meet her and then refuse."

"But I feel this..."

"If you refuse, aren't you afraid your aunt will gossip about you behind your back? Spread rumors about you or something..."

"But if you meet them and then refuse, isn't it the same thing?"

"Then act a little humble and let the girl reject you... In short, don't reject her... don't reject her, and make sure you give me a live broadcast when you meet her!"

"Xiao Liu?"

Seeing that Ailongtan remained silent and stood there in a daze, Auntie Li felt a little uneasy. "Was I too abrupt? Let me tell you, my daughter is very beautiful, and she's a top student at Tianjing University. She's very outstanding, and the boys who want to date her are lined up all the way to Ningdong!"

"I've heard that Auntie Li's daughter is very outstanding..." Ailongtan nodded and said, "Someone so outstanding, how could she possibly be interested in me..."

"Oh, Auntie, as long as I like him, that's fine with me." Auntie Li looked Ailongtan up and down. "These days, there aren't many young people like you who are polite and respectful to their elders. Besides, my daughter is going to go back to Ningdong to develop her career. She doesn't like any of the young men in Tianjing. She just wants to find a local, reliable and down-to-earth boy."

Ailongtan wanted to find a reason to refuse, but Luo Jun kept urging him in his heart. He could not disobey his master's orders, so Ailongtan could only grit his teeth and agree in the end.

"Then Auntie Li will have to show more favoritism..."

"Don't mention it!" Auntie Li immediately beamed. "My daughter will be back next week. Give me your phone number, and I'll contact you then."

"Um... Auntie Li, I'm basically home every day, so you can just come to my door when the time comes."

"Alright!" Auntie Li nodded, satisfied, and went downstairs.

After closing the door, Ailongtan finally breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly grumbling at Luo Jun: "Great Master, you really love making things worse... I don't even have a proper identity. It's fine if I just pass by occasionally, but if I have close contact with people, without a phone or social media account, it's easy for them to become suspicious."

"Don't worry about that," Luo Jun chuckled. "I ordered something good for you on the Exchange Platform; it should arrive soon. You'll soon have legal status..."

"Huh?" Ailongtan was taken aback. "Legal status?"

Luo Jun nodded and said, "Explorers need a legal identity to travel in other worlds. In general, it's relatively easy to get away with it in medieval worlds, but in worlds with advanced technology and more complete household registration systems, not having a legal identity can cause a lot of trouble. So naturally, there are magical artifacts that can clear one's identity. This thing isn't high-grade, only of the Fine-level, and it's not too expensive. Plus, it works in the Main World... I got two, and I plan to get real-world identities for you and Aishiliya."

"Thank you so much, Great Master..." Ailongtan said with a bitter face, suddenly finding the food on the table unappetizing...

Final exams at the Explorer Academy are quite stressful, especially for first-year students. In addition to various exams and assessments, holiday planning is also very important.

After all, grades are just numbers; strength is one's true capital. Almost every student at the Explorer Academy will make the most of their nearly two-month winter break, using this time to hone their skills. For the Wildlands Hunter Guild, this also means that a new batch of Wildlands Hunter will be joining.

As for Luo Jun, he wasn't too worried about his final grades. With his outstanding performance during his internship as a foundation, his grades were bound to be good, and he couldn't afford to aim for high scores. So while others spent all their time training in the Experiment Building and the sports field, he was in his dormitory regulating his Inner Breath and striving to improve his cultivation level.

Raising one's cultivation level seems to be something every Cultivators should pursue, but in reality, once a cultivation level reaches a certain point, stabilizing at a certain stage is the norm.

After all, progress in the Heart Refining Realm relies on fortuitous opportunity and insight, while improvement in strengthening one's foundation and Foundation Establishment depends on luck.

Indeed, for most Cultivators, once they have reached a certain level in Foundation Establishment and cultivating their vital energy, it is more worthwhile to practice combat skills, develop new abilities, or acquire a new treasure weapon than to risk the minuscule probability of advancing to the next level by closing the gates or even using their own resources.

However, Luo Jun clearly did not have such concerns.

On the last day before the final exams, he returned to his dormitory and regulated his Inner Breath, entering a state of breakthrough.

"Dice of Heavenly Secrets, activate!"