Choice

"Third Rank?" Lin Yue, who was stroking the Snow Deer, naturally saw Zhu Li's message too.

Having encountered Qianqi Weiming once before, the two of them knew what those two words meant.

"Why am I so unlucky?!"

Lin Yue cried out in despair. She pushed the Snow Deer out of her arms, jumped to her feet, and hurried over to the other two.

Compared with them, Zhu Li seemed much calmer. She bent down and gently stroked the Snow Deer, which had followed them over.

The Snow Deer looked up at Zhu Li but didn't resist her touch.

[Don't panic. We can't get away anymore anyway. The Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon's domain covers a huge area. If we can see the Snow Forest Spirit Deer, its domain has probably already covered us.]

Seeing how calm Zhu Li was, Chen Xi relaxed as well.

After all, if there had been a problem, she would have taken the two of them and run already. She wouldn't still be standing there, leisurely using flames to explain things to them.

Lin Yue hadn't figured that out. Thinking Zhu Li was still assessing the situation, she had already coated herself in shadow armor.

"Where's the Tree Spirit?" She stayed on her guard, watching their surroundings.

But apart from the deep, silent woods, the only things she could see were two faces struggling to hold back laughter.

Lin Yue finally caught on and snapped, "You were messing with me?!"

"I didn't say anything..." Chen Xi folded her arms and looked away.

Zhu Li smiled and continued explaining.

[Actually, neither of these two Legends will attack humans. Instead, they'll make us choose.]

"Legends like that exist? I don't think I've seen anything about them on the forums."

Chen Xi looked surprised.

The supernatural beings in this world were far more varied than she had imagined.

[People used to post about their sightings in the Deep Discussion Forum all the time. But now that the Spark Federation has been invaded by Evil Flower, posts like those have been buried under pleas for help.]

As Zhu Li spoke, the Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon revealed its form. In the distance, a section of forest rose from the ground, its trunks merging into a massive body as tall as a hill.

The once lush trees were drained of life in the blink of an eye, turning black and yellow. The hollows in the Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon's body twisted, gradually forming a face.

The three looked up at the colossal creature. An immense pressure, greater than any they had felt before, slowly bore down on them. Though Zhu Li had warned them in advance, Lin Yue still instinctively prepared to flee.

"Humans who have never met us before, make your choice," the Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon rasped.

As its voice faded, the surroundings suddenly changed.

Where the Snow Deer stood, snow-white light melted into the darkness. Plum blossoms bloomed one after another, clustering together to form a flower-lined path. The little deer lay obediently where it was, quietly watching the three of them.

In contrast, on the Tree Spirit's side, deadwood intertwined and wove itself into an arched bridge that reeked of decay. The Tree Spirit remained motionless, silently watching them.

At the strange sight, the two exchanged a look and turned to Zhu Li.

[Choose one of them, and it will grant you its 'blessing.' Within a range of five hundred meters, you'll be able to vaguely sense Transcendents who chose the other one. Kill one of those Transcendents, and you can absorb some of their Legend Degree.]

[In the fighting, a Transcendent whose 'achievements' are recognized can choose to control one of their avatars.]

That was right: the two before them were only avatars. Their true forms were two Sixth Rank beings whose influence spanned multiple nations.

At this, Chen Xi quickly weighed the pros and cons.

Something about this didn't sound right... It seemed no different from raising Gu.

"Can we choose neither?" Lin Yue had already started having second thoughts.

Zhu Li shook her head slightly. [No. Not unless you can beat them.]

"Sister Zhu Li, which one did you choose?"

[The Snow Deer.]

Lin Yue lowered her voice. "Then I'll choose the deer too. It's cuter."

"What about you?" She tilted her head toward the black-haired girl.

Chen Xi promptly explained her reasoning. "I'll choose the Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon."

"That way, we'll be able to sense whichever side the others choose. No one can ambush or set us up. I'm sure most people with teammates would think the same way."

"That makes sense," the blonde girl mused. "Then we'll split up and choose."

Once they had decided, the two headed in opposite directions.

Beneath the Vengeful Spirit Tree Demon, twisted branches stretched out, taking the shape of an arm.

Chen Xi gave it a light squeeze. Decaying black mist swirled around her, and when she blinked, both the Tree Spirit and the Snow Deer had vanished.

A new message appeared in her Panel Info.

[Resentment: Devour those hypocrites.]

Lin Yue jogged over and read aloud the words on her panel, a little sheepishly. "Love: Free those who are cursed."

Chen Xi sighed. "Forget it. It's not all bad. At least we have a chance to raise our Legend Degree quickly."

Seeing that the two had made their choices, Zhu Li smiled and controlled the flames.

[Don't worry too much. Transcendents who get chosen are rare. I only met two in a whole year.]

Hearing her say that, Lin Yue immediately relaxed.

That was generally true. The problem was—Lin Yue was the protagonist.

Being the protagonist meant constant trouble, especially when she was a protagonist with Regression.

Following her around meant plenty of CGs, but she also died plenty fast.

"What is it?" Lin Yue asked, puzzled, noticing Chen Xi sneaking glances at her.

What was it?

Chen Xi lowered her eyelids and thought back over Lin Yue's every move.

She had softened.

She'd help Lin Yue get through Qianqi Weiming's pursuit first. They could deal with what came later when the time came.

When she noticed both of them looking at her, Chen Xi's lips curled into a faint, scornful smile. "It's nothing. I was just wondering if your barbecue had burned."

"Ah!"

As they shrieked, the two hurriedly used their abilities to put out the fire on the grill.