Joint Operation

There was no need for further explanation. The use of the liquid had already appeared in his mind.

He took a deep breath, glanced at the girl beside him, solemnly helped her up, and carefully poured the liquid into her mouth.

The moment she finished drinking it, his sister's eyelids twitched.

He was overjoyed and had just been about to say something when his head suddenly spun. When he came to again, he found himself lying on the bed.

His sister was still lying beside him.

"Was it just a dream?"

He rubbed his aching head and looked at the normal scene outside the window, suddenly feeling a little disappointed.

But when his gaze fell on the girl beside him, he was shocked to see that she was slowly opening her eyes.

"Is this... Brother?" She stared blankly at her older brother, her expression strange. "What's going on? Why are you lying on my bed?"

"That's wonderful!" Bai Yun disregarded everything else and hugged her excitedly. "You're awake. You're finally awake!"

"Ugh..." The girl raised a hand to press her head, then quickly came to her senses.

"I remember now. I think I got sick, then passed out. Have I regained consciousness now? Big Brother, you look much older."

"Yes, you've been unconscious for five or six years. I've been taking care of you the whole time." Bai Yun wiped the corner of his eye and sat up. "Move around a little and see how you feel now."

"Okay!"

The girl sat up and slowly stood.

"That's wonderful."

Bai Yun had thought it was a dream, and everything before had indeed seemed to happen within one.

He never expected that after waking up, his sister would truly have returned to normal.

From fourteen to nineteen, he had cared for her for so many years. At last, this day had come.

"Brother, how did you cure me?" his sister asked doubtfully.

"This..." He fell silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "Maybe it was a miracle."

No matter what, he could not tell her. At the very least, he could not make his sister worry.

"I'll take you shopping. You need to stretch your limbs a little."

"Okay."

He personally accompanied his sister, who had not naturally walked on the ground for many years, through the streets. Seeing her happy expression, Bai Yun felt a trace of happiness as well.

His wish had come true.

He had never expected it to happen this way.

Whether that hidden existence was righteous or evil, he had at least obtained what he wanted.

And what he had offered up... was freedom.

"Freedom?"

Although he had not received any response from that existence yet, Bai Yun was already waiting anxiously.

Having accepted that being's favor, he was probably, to some extent, now one of its people.

At that moment, he did not know that an invisible thread had passed through his body. Ye Qian, who was watching this scene through it, finally let out a sigh of relief after a long time.

"Good thing the Water of Purification worked. If it had been useless, then once he woke up, I would have just pretended nothing happened and treated it as a dream."

That was exactly Ye Qian's plan.

She had made him sleepwalk in his dream and personally feed the Water of Purification to his sister.

Although everything had happened in the dream, the scenes had been synchronized with reality. After he fed it to her, she would make him wake up. If his sister did not regain consciousness, it would mean the Water of Purification had not produced the intended effect, and Ye Qian could simply pretend nothing had happened without losing anything.

Now, it had succeeded.

"This guy's knot still hasn't been resolved. The people who tricked him seem to be some evil force. His level may be high, but he lacks combat skills and items. No wonder he couldn't beat them alone."

Ye Qian thought for a moment and decided to lend him a hand.

Half an hour later, Bai Yun returned home with his sister and was preparing to cook when his heart suddenly stirred. He felt the surroundings enter that familiar state once more.

The view outside the window was covered in fog, and everything was shrouded in eerie darkness.

Within the thick fog, the blurry silhouette of a young girl appeared.

She held her hands before her chest in a devout gesture of prayer.

"O Dragon of End who stands beyond the world, I have confirmed the enemy's situation, but I lack the aid of a warrior. Please connect me with a companion who can provide assistance. I will offer him an appropriate reward."

After the girl's shadow finished speaking, it vanished along with the fog and the rest of the scene.

Everything returned to normal.

Bai Yun stood there in a daze, seeming to understand something.

Author's Note on Going Premium

Before I knew it, the word count had reached the point where the story was going premium.

Unfortunately, I have no idea what to say, so I'll just mention the future update schedule.

The upcoming content should generally have chapters of at least 4,000 words, though I may occasionally write smaller 2,000-word chapters.

As for the clones, I'll probably use separate free chapters to tally them later, so they'll be easier to follow.

I really have no idea what else to say. In any case, thank you all for your support.

Working Together

"Do they need me to help?"

A suspected follower of the Dragon of End needed to deal with an enemy but lacked combat power, so she had used something like prayer to request assistance from another fighter?

There was no doubt that the dark shadow he had suddenly seen in the thick fog earlier was the image of that girl praying.

Judging from the silhouette and voice, she should have been very young and wearing a dress.

Simply standing within that mysterious fog was enough to stir one's imagination.

After the fog vanished, Bai Yun returned to reality. Only then did he realize that a set of coordinates had suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Am I supposed to go there?"

The location looked somewhat familiar. He put down the vegetables in his hand, feeling rather incredulous.

"Even the Light Prayer Church has never heard of any god transmitting information between believers in this manner, and I can't even be considered a follower of the Dragon of End."

The ability to suddenly imprint information into his mind and even allow different believers to converse and support one another through prayer made him tremble.

"This definitely involves the level of sacrifice."

It was, in the truest sense, the domain of gods.

In other words, the being who had made a deal with him could no longer be explained as merely a "hidden existence." In certain respects, it was an existence equal to the nine orthodox gods.

"Dragon of End... There isn't even any record of Its information in the texts I know."

He tried to think more deeply, only to find that doing so made him clearly feel Pollution seeping into him.

A mere name had such an effect. Coupled with that standard prayer incantation, he found it impossible to remain calm.

"It seems I have no choice but to follow that being's request."

He was just an ordinary person, yet by chance he had made a deal with a hidden god. And all that being wanted from him was his freedom.

"Could someone like me possibly have any value?"

He laughed self-mockingly, put down the vegetables in his hand, and turned to leave. "Sis, my boss just told me to work overtime at the company. Make your own dinner, or go eat out."

"Okay."

His sister nodded obediently.

More than twenty minutes later, Bai Yun hurried to the scene beside a six-story building. He looked around, and before long, he spotted a young girl standing in a corner.

Her long black hair hung loose, and she wore an entirely black uniform. The dress and black pantyhose accentuated her figure, making him freeze for an instant.

Her appearance was simply too outstanding, and Bai Yun instinctively assumed that this girl was the one seeking help this time.

He cautiously stepped forward.

"Hello. Are you the one who needs... help?"

"Hello, warrior of the Lord." Upon seeing him, the girl revealed a faint smile. "For certain reasons, I need to eliminate an enemy stronghold nearby. Since you accepted my request, I will naturally pay you an appropriate reward."

"There's no need for a reward."

Bai Yun was somewhat surprised by how young and beautiful she was. He had not expected such a girl to be involved in the Hidden World, much less serve that being.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Bai Yun decided to get straight to the point. "Sorry, I only became a follower of the Dragon of End recently, so I don't understand much about certain matters. Earlier, when you prayed to ask me for help... did you borrow Its power?"

"Yes." Ye Xin had prepared an answer long ago. "I didn't expect you to be a direct follower of the Dragon of End. In that case, perhaps you may also receive that being's blessing."

"That being?"

Bai Yun sharply caught the important point in her words.

"You really know nothing?" Ye Xin put on an incredulous expression.

After pondering for a moment, she spoke in a hesitant tone. "How should I put it... the sole master served by the Dragon of End. I can't casually tell you about that being either. That information itself may contain Pollution."

"So that's how it is?"

Those words sent Bai Yun's thoughts churning.

Only then did he learn that a divine existence like the Dragon of End actually had a master it served?

Information alone contained Pollution. That was absolutely an existence on the same level as the God of Light Prayer. In fact, if people had not become accustomed to the divine name after hearing it from childhood, anyone hearing the words God of Light Prayer for the first time would suffer unbearable pain.

Of course, he had no way of knowing that Ye Xin said this simply because she had not come up with any suitable details.

As long as she fooled this person, that was enough. He could fill in the rest himself.

After all, that loli dragon might mess up and expose herself someday. When that happened, the master above could still serve as a shield.

And the purpose of Ye Xin's intervention this time was to deal with the villains who had threatened Bai Yun.

After all, he was her tool now, wasn't he?

In fact, Ye Xin had already investigated them. Their strength was inferior to the Insect Blood Society's stronghold.

Bai Yun had merely been lucky. Through an extraordinary item, he had replenished a huge amount of life force and then come into contact with the Hidden Circle.

However, because he lacked actual combat skills and had low growth attributes, relying solely on his physique made his strength rather limited.

Theoretically, if he were given a few combat items and learned some fighting techniques, he would become extremely formidable.

"That should be enough. Let's set off."

"Okay."

Bai Yun followed Ye Xin forward. A few minutes later, as they approached a certain area, his state of mind changed.

Because he had already realized what they were about to do.

"This is to deal with..."

"A small local gang," Ye Xin answered.

Hearing that, Bai Yun swallowed, his emotions wavering.

"We're actually making a move against those people?"

"You know them?" Ye Xin asked curiously.

"Yes. They're a group of villains."

"Great. Then there won't be any psychological burden when dealing with them."

Seeing how relaxed the girl looked, Bai Yun took a deep breath.

She seemed very confident. Was she extremely strong?

There were quite a few of these local thugs. Even with his strength, it had been impossible to wipe them out. She had casually called him over and believed they could defeat them safely?