During the three hundred years Meng Chuan spent in seclusion, he had been disconnected from the Chat Group. For Ancient One, the only member who had never logged off, merely a month had passed.
The flow of time was utterly chaotic and had nothing to do with the worlds' levels. Sometimes, Zhang Sanfeng had only been offline for a day while five days had passed for Meng Qi; sometimes, it was the other way around.
It left everyone scratching their heads.
A month had passed in group time, and the four remaining administrators had spent that month chatting away. Even the elderly members had become adept at using memes.
Anyone who chatted with Zhang Sanfeng without knowing his identity would never have guessed that he was an ancient man nearly a hundred years old.
Zhang Sanfeng: Great Emperor's majesty.JPG
Ancient One: Great Emperor's majesty.JPG
Daigu Madoka: Great Emperor's majesty.JPG
Meng Chuan burst out laughing at the meme. They had actually fucking screenshotted his expression from the memory fragments.
Meng Chuan: Fine work! You deserve a reward!
System notification: Group administrator Meng Chuan uploaded a group red envelope—Nine Secrets: Zhe.
Daigu Madoka: Is this one of the Nine Secrets Little Meng told us about? Nine Secrets: Zhe gives you really strong vitality once you master it, right?
While Daigu was typing, Zhang Sanfeng and Ancient One immediately claimed the red envelope.
Zhang Sanfeng: How generous, Great Emperor! Sadly, this old Daoist has nothing to his name, so I can only freeload!
Ancient One: Speaking of which, I have prepared some gifts for you, Great Emperor.
Reading her message, Meng Chuan felt a stir of interest. The Marvel Universe did have some good stuff. He wondered when travel between worlds would become available.
System notification: Administrator Ancient One uploaded a group red envelope—Dimensional Demon corpses ×4. System notification: Administrator Meng Chuan claimed the group red envelope. System notification: Item-type group red envelopes may only be claimed once.
Ancient One: @Zhang Sanfeng @Daigu Madoka, when I find something suitable, I will prepare a gift for each of you as well.
Zhang Sanfeng: Then this old Daoist thanks you in advance, Grandmaster!
Daigu Madoka: +1!
Neither of them held the slightest resentment over missing out on Ancient One's red envelope. In fact, they felt that they were the biggest freeloaders in the entire group and were rather ashamed of it.
Meng Chuan: You're a true friend, Grandmaster!
Meng Chuan smiled at the corpses before him. They belonged to a different system of power and were far from weak, making them highly valuable to him.
Meng Chuan: How has everyone been lately? After three hundred years in seclusion, I've really missed you all!
Even though Meng Qi had already explained the Shrouding the Heavens World to them in detail, the three were still shaken. A single period of seclusion spanned several mortal lifetimes. Without the Chat Group, they could never have encountered such an existence in their entire lives.
Well, except for Ancient One.
Zhang Sanfeng: Only a few months have passed on my end, but I have made a start on your Dao Beginning Scripture, Great Emperor. I opened my Bitter Sea not long ago.
Zhang Sanfeng: Also, I will be a hundred soon. Cuishan should be returning then, too!
Meng Chuan: Your talent truly is peerless, Perfected Zhang. If you ever come to my world, we might well see the rise of a Tai Chi Great Emperor!
Zhang Sanfeng: You're making this old Daoist believe it's actually true. "Doge"
Daigu Madoka: There's still no sign of the Dark Giants here, but I've reached the Life Spring Realm.
Daigu Madoka: When I cultivate, another power emerges inside me and strengthens me in every way. My cultivation progresses very quickly.
Meng Chuan: That should be the light. Daigu, you are both light and human. You're very special.
Daigu Madoka: That's what I think, too.
Meng Chuan: Keep it up, future Light Emperor!
Zhang Sanfeng: @Meng Chuan, a Great Emperor for everyone, huh?
Fuck, don't think I won't dare hit you just because you've learned how to spam the group.
Ancient One: With your Dao Beginning Scripture, Great Emperor, I have cultivated to the peak of the Great Power stage. I now face the Severing the Dao Heavenly Pass.
Meng Chuan: !!!
Meng Chuan: Cheater?
Zhang Sanfeng: Cheater?
Daigu Madoka: Cheater?
Ancient One: ...
Ancient One: I traveled to different timelines and even sealed time into a loop. In terms of actual cultivation time, I have spent nearly a hundred years.
Meng Chuan: Envy.JPG
Meng Chuan: Stop parroting me!
Zhang Sanfeng: ...
Daigu Madoka: Grandmaster, did you get this far with those thirty thousand jin of divine source?
Ancient One: I also found some resources in our world. Since I have ample time, I sometimes slowly study the Great Emperor's Dao Beginning Scripture myself rather than rush to break through.
Ancient One: The more I study it, the more unfathomable I find the Great Emperor's realm. Although there are powerful beings in my multiverse, most know how to wield their power without understanding why it works.
Ancient One: Only after studying a great emperor scripture for a hundred years did I come to understand the Great Dao of this world.
Meng Chuan was dumbfounded. Was this still the taciturn Sorcerer Supreme who had first joined the group?
Was she... buttering him up?
Meng Qi: Hello! Everyone's here today!
Meng Qi: Huh? Grandmaster, are you flattering the Great Emperor?
Meng Qi: Holy crap, another red envelope from the Great Emperor! How generous!
Meng Chuan smiled as Meng Qi came online and immediately rattled off a string of messages. It seemed that knowing the future in advance had not affected him too much. After all, at worst, he would become the Primordial Heavenly Venerable...
Fuck!
Zhang Sanfeng: Little Meng, why did you come online a little late today?
Meng Qi: I got pulled into the Six Paths of Reincarnation today. I just finished the Hidden Emperor Fortress mission.
Meng Chuan: How did it go? Did you unleash your divine might and win Xiao Jiang's heart on the spot? ヽ(ω)ゝ
Meng Qi: I did get to show what I could do. I've been practicing Perfected Zhang's Pure Yang Limitless Art lately, and with your divine source as well, Great Emperor, I've improved a lot.
Zhang Sanfeng: Then how did you explain where those martial arts came from, Little Meng?
Meng Qi: I put them in a cloth bundle and had my junior brother drop it outside my door. Then I could just say I picked it up.
Meng Chuan: ...
Zhang Sanfeng: ...
Ancient One: ...
Daigu Madoka: Isn't that a bit crude?
Meng Qi: The Chat Group covers my tracks anyway. Besides, no matter what excuse I come up with, it won't hold water if the people behind the scenes really investigate.
Meng Qi: Saying I just picked it up might even work surprisingly well.
Meng Chuan: Great foolishness masquerading as wisdom!
Meng Qi: Great Emperor, I can tell you're insulting me.
Meng Chuan then defended himself, saying that without any swear words, it did not count as an insult and could only be considered something or other. For a while, the Chat Group brimmed with merriment.
Ancient One: Everyone, wait a moment.
Ancient One: I have discovered something.
Ancient One: I found a work that seems to tell the Great Emperor's story?
Meng Chuan: ???
Meng Qi: !!!
Meng Qi: Grandmaster, upload it! Hurry!
System notification: An administrator uploaded the memory instance "Heroes." System notification: "Heroes" meets the requirements. Converted into a Fate Instance. Administrator Ancient One has restricted access to administrator Meng Chuan only.
Meng Chuan's face was full of question marks. There really was a story about him?
He went in looking utterly baffled and came out looking perfectly calm.
Meng Qi: How was it, Great Emperor? Was it exciting?
Meng Chuan: It was certainly exciting, but the ending was a little...
Meng Chuan: If I hadn't transmigrated here, the Meng Chuan native to Shrouding the Heavens should have been just as this records. But because I transmigrated, reality is very different from this Fate Instance.
As he spoke, Meng Chuan opened access to the Fate Instance.
Thanks to Immortal King Taiyi for the recommendation votes. Aren't any handsome lads going to invest...? Still asking for votes and favorites. Also, I should mail the contract today.