I was so brave!
The instant Yan Qing returned to his room, he shut the door tight, removed his mask and bandages, and gasped for breath. His heart pounded wildly, and it took a long time to calm down. He hadn't dared answer Yaoshi Yuan's final question at all, afraid that one word would ruin everything.
That was Yaoshi Yuan!
Born in a military town, a Third Rank Herald, and in possession of all the Heavenly Dipper and Earthly Fiend abilities—she might not have made much of a showing during the battle at Shu Road Mountain, but what about the others? The Three Great Protectors of the demonic path, two members of the Helan Family with False Foundation Establishment, the Life-Slaying Herald, the Calamity Successor, and Bunny Heroine. Yaoshi Yuan was a young girl of around twenty, yet she had survived among them and even made crucial contributions. Her strength was beyond doubt. She could absolutely crush both him and Shang Xin Lei!
Although Yan Qing possessed Bingzi Jiaolin and Calamity Karma, and seemed to lack nothing on paper, he had no actual combat experience whatsoever. The moment he displayed his true strength, others would realize that he had no real strength at all. Yan Qing understood this perfectly. No matter how powerful he was in the game, it was all fake. In reality, he was still a shut-in.
But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. From the very beginning, Yan Qing had defined himself as a "whale"—using the strongest relics to blast his enemies into dust. Ideally, every battle would be a challenge against opponents above his level: fighting a First Rank at Third Rank, fighting mortals after Foundation Establishment. If it wasn't a fishpond match, he wouldn't fight!
Yaoshi Yuan was undoubtedly the exact opposite type, specializing in