The Overseer had left.
In Emptiness,
lines of faintly glowing text finally appeared:
"Special selection has begun."
"Reach Foundation Establishment Late Stage within one month."
"Complete the task to receive a Blank Historical Branch and qualify for the subsequent advanced selection."
"Failure means elimination."
One month!
Foundation Establishment Late Stage!
Wasn't that asking a bit much?
Xu Yuan sighed as he took out the Paper Strip he had just obtained.
That Blank Historical Branch had been so hard to earn.
He was too busy, with too much to do and no chance to rest. If he wanted life to be a little less nerve-racking, then—Xu Yuan wrote on the Paper Strip:
"An extremely precious Pill accidentally fell into my hands. When I swallowed it, my strength immediately rose to Foundation Establishment Late Stage." Would that work?
He felt a little uneasy.
Though he had used it many times, using the Paper Strip still felt a bit like fishing. The greatest thrill came the instant a fish took the bait. Until then, you never knew whether you would catch anything that day.
A moment passed.
The Paper Strip vanished.
The Historical Side Quest had taken shape!
With a crash, the window shattered. A Pill shot in from the night sky outside, bounced off the table, struck the wall, then rebounded and landed on the table. Visions of dragons and tigers appeared above it, while a marvelous fragrance spread through the room.
The Pill bounced a few more times, rolled slowly, and dropped onto a plate of pastries.
"..." Xu Yuan.
I take back what I said.
This is way better than fishing.
But who goes around throwing things like that?
No manners at all!
After grumbling to himself, Xu Yuan picked up the Pill, checked it with the Prompt Talisman, and