Shi Lai's settlement

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled down.

Someone had closed Feng Shuhu's wide-open eyes. His face was deathly pale, without a trace of life.

At the Height of His Power, the Jiedushi of Zhi Prefecture, the Great General who commanded over ten thousand soldiers and nearly a thousand cultivators, was no different from an ordinary person in death.

He was just an ordinary corpse.

Chen Guang forced himself down from Shi Lai's back and stood before Feng Shuhu's corpse for a long time. Over thirty years of memories played through his mind, finally freezing on the moment he killed Feng Mo and attacked Feng Shuhu with his spear.

He sighed silently.

"Our debts are settled, second junior brother."

A breeze blew, carrying a few fallen leaves past his eyes, as though scattering those old grudges.

"Finished looking? Then let's go. Pick up your wife and child on the way, too, and have them stay at my place for a few days," Xia Yi said, turning away.

Chen Guang's expression shifted slightly. "Thank you, Teacher."

They left together. No one stopped them.

Watching Xia Yi's retreating back, Ma Chen gritted his teeth several times, desperate to fight him to the death. In the end, he could only sigh helplessly and clench his fists as he looked at Feng Shuhu's corpse.

After they had walked some distance, Xia Yi suddenly looked down at Lü Ying. "Hey, little girl, they're all coming home with me. What are you tagging along for?"

"I..." Lü Ying was momentarily speechless. She had just taken part in something so huge, and she was a little scared... She glanced at Shi Lai and said, "He gets to come along, so I... I'll just tag along, too."

Caught in the crossfire for no reason, Shi Lai froze. What kind of relationship do I have with Grandpa, and what kind do you have? How is that the same? He retorted, "Grandpa said he'd teach me a super-powerful Saint Soul!"

"Well... Senior just gave me some pointers on the Deception Scripture, too. I didn't quite understand, so I want to ask him about it again." As Lü Ying spoke, she stood on tiptoe and draped an arm over Xiao Xian's shoulder. "Senior Sister Xiao Xian, don't you welcome me as a guest at your place?"

"Oh... of course I do. But it's Teacher's home, so he has to agree," Xiao Xian replied, putting on a stern face.

Lü Ying froze. She looked at Xiao Xian, then at Xia Yi, and said indignantly, "Well, Senior Sister Xiao Xian, even you've learned to bully people! I..."

"Jump up and hit her knees?"

It took Lü Ying a good while to catch Shi Lai's joke. With a whoosh, she took down her massive sword.

I'll give you a chance to rephrase that!

Xia Yi smiled without speaking, letting the three children laugh and play. After what had just happened, everyone except Shi Lai, including Chen Guang, felt somewhat weighed down. Joking with each other and easing their spirits was good.

Without Reloading a Save, Shi Lai really was no match for Lü Ying. Before long, he had two large sword imprints slapped onto his face. Pouting, he ran over to Xia Yi to annoy her. "Grandpa, Grandpa, what's the super-powerful Saint Soul you're going to teach me?"

"How about the one that helped us hide in Wangjiang Tower without anyone seeing us? The Three-Star Saint Soul, Man Tian Guo Hai. You can use it to fight or escape."

That sounds pretty good... Shi Lai thought it over and was just about to agree when a system notification suddenly popped up before his eyes with a ding.

[Ding! Player "Shi Shi Bu Shi Shi," please note: the one-month period for the "Novice Trial" is about to end. Please leave combat and find a safe location within five minutes to undergo your Novice Trial settlement.]

[Ding! Player...]

The notification popped up several times in succession. Shi Lai stopped in a daze. Novice Trial settlement?

What the heck?

He thought back. It did seem that a full month had passed since his first day logging into the Saint Soul Continent, but nothing had been said about this before...

"Hey, why'd you stop? Did your senior sister smack you stupid?" Lü Ying asked, carrying her massive sword.

Shi Lai came back to himself. Seeing everyone ahead looking at him, he scratched his head in distress. Why's this stupid thing so sudden? I have to find somewhere safe for settlement within five minutes? What am I supposed to do...

It'll be time to get out of bed soon, too. Looks like I won't learn that Saint Soul today. This time... Grandpa probably won't run off. I'll learn it tomorrow.

"I suddenly remembered something. I need to leave for a bit. Tomorrow morning, first thing tomorrow morning, I'll come find you to learn that Saint Soul, Grandpa! Be there!"

"We have class tomorrow morning!"

"It's fine. I'll skip!"

"..." Lü Ying watched blankly as Shi Lai waved and ran off, then turned to Zhou Xiaoxian. "Is he always like this? He's so weird."

"Yes... a little."

Did something happen in his world that means he has to log off? That was all Xia Yi thought of it. He waved a hand. "Never mind him. Let's go."

Meanwhile, Shi Lai ran to a deserted corner.

After a wait of several dozen seconds, the five minutes were up.

[Ding! Beginning settlement!]

[Player "Shi Shi Bu Shi Shi," current level: 86. Tianshu Star condensed. Sword Scripture mastery: tier 1, level 9. Medicine Scripture mastery: tier 1, level 4.]

[Your base rating is A.]

[You activated the Main Quest: Demon God Uprising. Rating -------]

[You used Reloading a Save 7 times. Rating -]

[You used Reloading a Save 14 times. Rating --]

Shi Lai's mind went blank.

"What the fuck! Reloading a Save costs points?!"

[You obtained the Heaven-Bestowed Saint Soul: Four Little Talented Scholars. Rating --]

[You used Reloading a Save 21 times. Rating ---]

[You completed 49 easy quests, 5 normal quests, and 1 difficult quest, and did not complete the Main Quest. Rating --]

[Based on your overall performance, your final rating is SS. The Advanced Trial settlement will take place in three months of game time. Keep up the good work.]

The system text ended.

Shi Lai leaned against the wall in the corner, his heart aching so badly he could hardly breathe. You should've told me earlier that Reloading a Save costs points! If you'd told me, I would've... I would've still had to reload that many times?

"No, it's all that Grandpa's fault! He cost me at least a whole rating tier! Uh, without him, my level rating would probably have been lower. The final difference probably wouldn't have been that big..."

"Forget it, forget it. It looks like it's just a rating for fun anyway. There aren't any rewards..."

Just as he thought this, Shi Lai heard the system notification again.

[Ding! Settlement complete for all players!]

[Players rated SSS: 0]

[Players rated SS: 1. Rewards: Saint Soul Slots -2, comprehension -1]

[Players rated S: 2. Rewards: Saint Soul Slots -1, retain some existing personal relationships and merge into the Main Worldline (the Main Worldline is the worldline in which the Main Quest has been activated).]

[Players rated A: 75. No rewards or penalties. Retain everything in the existing worldline.]

[Players rated B: 153. Penalty: Saint Soul Slots -1 (if Saint Soul Slots <=2, logging into the Saint Soul Continent again will be impossible).]

[Players rated C: 551. Penalty: Saint Soul Slots -2. Players rated D: 218. Penalty: Saint Soul Slots -3.

Players rated C and D, please improve your ratings as soon as possible. Those whose ratings remain at C or below when the Advanced Trial ends will fall into the Nightmare Trial.

Those who fail the Nightmare Trial will have all memories and gains related to the Saint Soul Continent erased.]

[Dead players: 1]

Shi Lai stared, utterly dumbfounded.

"Hey, hey, what's this supposed to mean?"

"I'm not the only one with a cheat?"

"What is this? Main God Space?"

"What's all this worldline stuff..."

Shi Lai felt as though his brain could not keep up, but he saw that last entry very clearly.

Dead players: 1

People could actually... die?