I Was Just Messing Around Before. Now I'm Getting Serious.

Ling Ju immediately added, her face turning red:

"This is the first time Senior has ever seen me. How could you possibly say you like me?!"

Ling Jing raised an eyebrow.

"But who in this whole world doesn't know that my older sister, Ling Jing, is the most beautiful woman under heaven? Besides, with Senior's divine abilities, does he really have to see you face-to-face for it to count? He must have seen you long ago."

"Maybe the reason Senior was willing to keep me around was because of you, Sis. After all, I offended Senior back then, and he didn't hold it against me."

Ling Ju's heart was in a muddle. A rosy flush spread across her cheeks, and she lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at Ling Jing. For a moment, no one knew what sort of wild thoughts were running through her mind. But soon, Ling Ju lifted her head and chided him:

"Stop spouting nonsense. Who is Senior, anyway? How many goddesses of peerless beauty has he seen? Someone as outstanding as Senior must have goddesses who adore him, yet even now he remains all alone. That proves his heart is set on the Great Dao. He has no such thoughts."

Ling Jing shrugged indifferently.

"Maybe Senior's had too much meat and wants to try some cabbage. Maybe he likes someone like you. Who can say?"

At that, Ling Ju glared at Ling Jing and snapped:

"Who are you calling cabbage? How am I any worse than everyone else?!"

Seeing that Ling Ju was genuinely angry, Ling Jing scampered away, leaving her alone in the room, her face flushed and gleaming like a polished pearl, uncertain what to do.

At dawn, Jing Pu rose early and went to the backyard to tend to the plants he had planted a few days ago. With Shen Nong's help, the plants had started sprouting after only a week. In another month, they should be ready to bear fruit.

That said, Jing Pu wasn't really in such urgent need of food anymore. With that Dragon Horse around, whenever he got hungry, he could ride it to Qinghe Town and buy something to eat. The round trip only took a few hours.

Of course, eating one's fill and eating well were two different things. The food he grew himself was still better.

Speaking of that Dragon Horse... Jing Pu kept it in the backyard. It was intelligent enough not to eat the vegetables or trample the plants.

It was just that Jing Pu felt his Dragon Horse had changed quite a bit again.

Before, its body had been the color of white jade. Now, under the sunlight, it had begun to gleam gold, as if it were about to transform into a dragon.

As Jing Pu was feeding the Dragon Horse, Ling Jing's brassy voice rang out beyond the courtyard.

Hearing Ling Jing, Jing Pu shook his head helplessly. That guy sure showed up early every day.

When Jing Pu opened the door, he saw Ling Ju, Ling Jing, and Lie Chun standing outside.

Jing Pu was used to seeing Ling Jing and Lie Chun looking like a pair of good-for-nothings, but today, his eyes lit up.

Ling Ju seemed even more beautiful today. And by beautiful, he didn't mean that she had dressed up. Quite the opposite: she wore simple clothes beneath the flowers, her bearing as graceful as a crabapple in bloom.

She truly looked like a fairy descended to earth. Ling Ju's clothes were plain, and she wore only a pair of gold earrings. From the look of her, she had genuinely come to help with the work. Her outfit was completely different from yesterday's gorgeous clothes.

Ling Ju seemed even more beautiful today than she had the day before. It wasn't that yesterday's clothes hadn't been lovely; it was just that those gorgeous garments drew some attention away from Ling Ju's own beauty.

Without all that finery, her natural beauty stood out. She was truly elegant as a fairy, graceful and alluring as rippling water.

For a moment, Jing Pu found himself staring.

Ling Ju's heart had already been in turmoil over what happened yesterday. Now, as soon as the door opened, Jing Pu stared at her like that, and her breathtaking little face instantly turned scarlet.

Ling Ju's starry eyes held a hint of reproach as she looked at Jing Pu and murmured:

"Senior..."

Her eyes were brimming with autumn waters. She gazed off to the side as if looking at flowers through a mist, too shy to meet Jing Pu's eyes.

Jing Pu froze, then clicked his tongue. Damn, she was really too beautiful. Even his Dao Heart, long since perfected, hadn't been able to hold firm just now.

Jing Pu immediately turned aside, a little awkwardly, and said:

"Come, come on in."

With that, Jing Pu turned and walked away. Beside him, Ling Jing looked at his older sister and lifted his chin smugly.

"See, Sis? I told you."

Ling Ju came back to her senses and glared at Ling Jing.

"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and follow."

Seeing how completely her attitude had changed, Ling Jing hunched his shoulders and didn't dare provoke her again. He hurried after Jing Pu.

Today's task was simple. Jing Pu had decided on it the night before: they wouldn't do anything else this morning. First, they'd fill in the several big pits from yesterday.

Jing Pu's word carried weight now. Ling Jing and Lie Chun immediately went to fetch the shovels outside the little pavilion, ready to start moving dirt.

Ling Ju was about to go with them, too. Jing Pu was taken aback and immediately said:

"Fairy Maiden Ling Ju, you don't need to go. Let those two handle that kind of rough work. They're the ones who caused the mess, anyway."

They were the ones who caused the mess?

Ling Ju didn't understand at first, but soon she did. Senior meant that this was their cultivation, so... he was going to specially arrange a different kind of cultivation for her?

Ling Ju looked at Jing Pu excitedly and smiled.

"Then, Senior, what should I do?"

Seeing Ling Ju smile, Jing Pu was speechless. Such a beautiful girl, and yet she was a fool. Wouldn't it be better to just sit here and drink tea? Why insist on working?

After thinking it over, Jing Pu suddenly raised an eyebrow.

"How about roasting some tea leaves? We'll be drinking some in a bit, anyway."

Ling Ju immediately nodded excitedly.

"Where are the tea leaves?"

Jing Pu said, "In a jar on the bookshelf in my study. Take some out."

Ling Ju nodded and was just about to leave when Jing Pu suddenly noticed something hanging from her waist, shaped like a bagua disc. Curious, he asked:

"What's that?"

Ling Ju paused. When she saw Jing Pu looking at the small formation of the Lord of Ten Thousand Armies hanging at her waist, she immediately took it off and handed it to him with both hands.

"It's a formation."

Jing Pu took it and examined it closely, while Ling Ju immediately headed inside to fetch the tea leaves.

After looking it over for a while, Jing Pu realized it wasn't a bagua formation. He was a little disappointed; he'd thought he might see something familiar from his own world.

Just as Jing Pu was about to put it away and return it to Ling Ju later,

he suddenly noticed a button on the formation and pressed it curiously.

Bzzzz!

Jing Pu instantly found himself in a strange world!

It was a battlefield!!

It was a wide-open plain, with a huge timer in the sky counting down.

There were soldiers under his command, ready to follow his orders. Jing Pu froze for a moment, then immediately understood.

Huh??

Red Alert?!

A strategy game?!

What was this thing??

A game??

While Jing Pu was still trying to figure out what was going on, he saw the enemy in the distance let out a deafening roar and charge toward him.

Although Jing Pu still had no idea what this thing was,

he had long since perfected his God of War technique. And even in his previous life, he'd been a Red Alert veteran who could take on seven Brutal-level computer opponents at once.

Jing Pu immediately began directing his soldiers.

Five minutes later...

Jing Pu emerged from the strange world, his expression complicated.

This thing...

It was that easy??

He'd beaten it in five minutes!

While Jing Pu was still lamenting how boring it was, Ling Ju returned with the tea leaves in her arms.

When she saw Jing Pu reclining in the bamboo chair with the formation in his hand, Ling Ju froze. Then she looked at him curiously.

"Senior? You tried it?"

Jing Pu nodded. He handed the formation back, sounding a little bored.

"Yeah. Five minutes."

A hint of smugness appeared on Ling Ju's face. So Senior had only lasted five minutes. She'd held out for seven before losing.

Jing Pu immediately caught the little smug look on Ling Ju's face.

Huh??

Judging by that expression... was Ling Ju's score way better than his?

Jing Pu understood.

Oh~~~

So this was a speedrun game!

Got it!

He'd been about to hand the formation back to Ling Ju, but the next moment, Jing Pu pulled it back.

"I was just messing around before. Now I'm going to play for real."