Two Protagonists

"Wow, what a show-off!" Fox Face thought.

I was such a fool that I stood there getting soaked, and he had actually frozen every raindrop around us in midair.

Raindrops floated right in front of Chu Huai Xu. They were crystal clear yet utterly motionless, defying the laws of nature.

Though he was already drenched from head to toe, he curiously raised one finger and lightly poked one of the drops.

"Why can't I poke it?" he wondered in surprise.

He quickly realized that every raindrop was wrapped in a layer of invisible power.

Because the drops were enclosed by that power, the astonishing scene before him had come into being.

As for who that power belonged to, the answer was obvious.

Chu Huai Xu looked up at the man high in the sky whose features he could not make out, and summed him up in two words:

"What a show-off!"

Beneath the oiled-paper umbrella, Han Shuangjiang tightened her grip on the handle with her right hand.

Although she still looked as cold as frost on the outside, and her expression remained fairly composed, she was already utterly shaken inside.

"Skywalking? That means he's a Great Cultivator!"

In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators were divided into nine realms. Anyone who reached the Fifth Realm would be respectfully called a Great Cultivator.

The most obvious trait of a Great Cultivator was the ability to walk through the sky without relying on any external object.

Even among the Four Great Sects of the Mirror Kingdom, people with such strength were rare.

One had to understand that Han Shuangjiang had once belonged to the Joyful Sect. Even the Sect Master, Saintess, and Saint Son had never reached the Fifth Realm.

More precisely, that Sect Master with an enormous backside and a silver tongue was only at the mere Third Realm.

If they truly fought, a Great Cultivator could suppress him with nothing more than a casual movement of one finger!

However, based on what Han Shuangjiang knew about the Joyful Sect, she was well aware that, in such a situation, the people there would probably kneel down and put that finger in their mouths.

At that thought, she immediately shook her head lightly, dispelling her wild imaginings and memories of the past.

That place, where lascivious music rang out from morning till night, was somewhere she truly did not want to remember.

Within the Joyful Sect, comparison was rampant. What everyone there compared with one another was obvious.

Han Shuangjiang did not want to become the subject of those comparisons one day.

She had heard that the Saint Son and Saintess were even responsible for teaching their junior disciples in class and demonstrating "Joyful Entanglement" for everyone to watch.

She only wanted to escape all of this and take control of her own destiny!

And the prerequisite for all that was cultivation—forging herself stronger!

Therefore, after seeing that the other party was a Great Cultivator, Han Shuangjiang was first shocked, then filled with burning excitement!

This was Wumeng Mountain, outside the Dao Sect. It was practically certain that this person was not only at least a Fifth-Realm powerhouse, but also very likely came from the mighty Dao Sect!

"He didn't lie to me. That Storyteller didn't lie to me!" Han Shuangjiang thought.

"He said that if I came here at midnight tonight, I could join the Dao Sect. It's actually true!"

A few days earlier, she had encountered a Storyteller by chance. He had told her this, then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Could this truly be my opportunity? Han Shuangjiang raised her head and watched the figure high in the sky slowly descend.

The man wore a white robe. He landed between Chu Huai Xu and Han Shuangjiang, creating a stark contrast among the three of them.

Chu Huai Xu was drenched, but even with several strands of wet hair plastered to his forehead, his handsomeness could not be concealed.

Han Shuangjiang held up the oiled-paper umbrella, but even with a thin veil over her face, her stunning beauty could not be hidden.

He was a handsome man, she was a beautiful woman, and the Great Cultivator was, well, a person.

The man's white robe and bearing both gave off an otherworldly air.

Yet his appearance was utterly ordinary.

If this had been an ancient-costume drama, after causing such a huge commotion, radiating such overwhelming presence, and even making the raindrops float in midair, the camera would have ruined the audience's expectations the moment it focused on his ordinary face.

But Chu Huai Xu recognized him, and was still quite surprised.

Before transmigrating, the timeline of Borrowed Sword had been the 1997th year of the Xuan Calendar. The game had opened its Public Test in 1991, so six years had already passed.

At that time, as a veteran player, he had already reached Level 49.

In the Xuanhuang Realm, before mortals could formally begin cultivating, they first had to forge their bodies and open their apertures. Only then could they draw qi into their bodies and become First-Realm cultivators.

For players, this Aperture Forging Body Stage corresponded to Levels 1 through 9.

A player who reached Level 10 was comparable to a First-Realm NPC.

At Level 19, they were equivalent to someone at First Realm Great Perfection!

By that calculation, Chu Huai Xu's Level 49 was equivalent to Fourth Realm Great Perfection.

Raising it by one more level, to Level 50, would make him comparable to a Great Cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm!

The only reason he had not leveled up was that the current game version's level cap was Level 49.

Although he had transmigrated and the current timeline was the 1990th year of the Xuan Calendar—one year earlier—his memories had not vanished. Naturally, he recognized the famous figure before him.

"Li Chunsong, Six Elders of the Dao Sect, a terrifying Seventh-Realm existence, and a powerhouse renowned throughout the entire Xuanhuang Realm."

"He also has plenty of famous titles on the game's Forum."

"Dead gambling dog, Charitable gambling king, Li Purely Gives."

The man was addicted to gambling. He was either gambling or on his way to gamble.

Fortunately, he had always upheld the principle that small bets were harmless. He rarely wagered much, but he gambled frequently and was willing to bet on anything.

Since he lost almost every bet, he had earned those nicknames.

Chu Huai Xu had not expected to encounter him at the foot of Wumeng Mountain.

Beyond that, he had no idea what the other man intended to do.

One had to understand that even his previous Level 49 main account would have been utterly helpless before Li Chunsong.

Moreover, after thinking things over for some time, he had already formed a vague idea about his own identity.

"I was hunted by Xue Hu of the Patrol Office, and the Patrol Office belongs to the Imperial Court of the Mirror Kingdom."

"Xue Hu also said that I wanted to infiltrate the Dao Sect and plot wrongdoing."

"So my faction is probably opposed to both the Dao Sect and the Imperial Court."

Damn it, I'm probably from the Moon Kingdom!

And now, standing before him, was an unparalleled powerhouse renowned even within the Dao Sect—a major figure in the cultivation world. If he happened to notice something...

The thought set off alarm bells in Chu Huai Xu's mind. His body tensed, yet he did his best to remain calm.

He knew all too well that before a powerhouse of this level, he was practically "transparent."

For example, the other man could easily detect his rapidly accelerating heartbeat.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" he cursed inwardly as his mind began racing.

Cold sweat broke out across his body and mingled with the rainwater soaking him.

The only thing he had to offer right now was the hundred taels' worth of banknotes in his pocket.

Chu Huai Xu recalled everything he knew about Li Chunsong, then glanced at Han Shuangjiang not far away.

He remembered clearly that a Dao Sect player had once posted on the Forum, saying that the two World Protagonists of the East Continent Mirror Kingdom—Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing—had both been brought back to the Dao Sect by Li Chunsong.

At that moment, he also noticed that after looking at him, Li Chunsong first seemed somewhat surprised, then let out a faint sigh.

But after sighing, he said nothing more. He merely asked, "What are your names?"

"Han Shuangjiang."

"Chu Huai Xu."

Upon hearing this, Li Chunsong looked them over with interest and said, "Shuangjiang is one of the twenty-four solar terms. Huai Xu means April. Your names are rather interesting."

His tone and expression carried a distinct air of someone trying to play matchmaker.

He waved his sleeve and said, "All right, I won't bother with small talk. I deliberately came a little earlier than the agreed time, but I didn't expect the two of you to arrive even earlier."

"Then come back to the Dao Sect with me."

The moment he said this, Chu Huai Xu's heart was thrown into turmoil.

Yet in the next instant, Li Chunsong lightly pointed forward with one finger. He and Han Shuangjiang floated into the air, flying upward together with him.

Only after all three had flown far away did the raindrops suspended in midair begin falling to the ground one after another.

Elsewhere, in the dense forest at the foot of Wumeng Mountain, a delicate-looking youth named Xu Ziqing was frantic with anxiety.

Because he was in a hurry.

However, he had been surrounded by people from the Patrol Office.

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