Computer

At the sight, Xing Yao immediately broke into the gratified, satisfied smile of an old father, so radiant it could have bloomed into flowers, his eyes brimming with the pride of That's my most reliable clones and Sure enough, you're the only ones who do me proud.

He turned his head in delight, his lips already parting, ready to unleash a storm of praise:

"Well done! No. 2! No. 4! You really haven't let me..."

He never got the chance to say "down."

The next second.

What happened before his eyes made Xing Yao's pupils explode, his brain crash, and his soul leave his body, petrifying him on the spot!

Clone No. 2 and Clone No. 4, who had walked up to him, exchanged a glance, as though they had rehearsed this long ago.

Both suddenly slid their feet forward at the same time!

Their legs bent with the motion!

Their knees hit the floor of the mental world with a swish!

Their movements were smooth as silk, completed in one fluid sequence, flawless in form and so fast they left only afterimages!

"Swish-swish-boom!"

Clone No. 2 and Clone No. 4 slid neatly and smoothly onto their knees side by side before Xing Yao!

Their posture was perfect, their expressions sincere, their eyes serious, and their manner obedient. There was not a trace of embarrassment on their faces, only the composure of I'm perfectly serious, and this is perfectly reasonable.

They looked up at the thoroughly dumbfounded Xing Yao and spoke in unison, their tone calm, natural, blunt, and utterly self-assured, enunciating every word with perfect clarity:

"Main body, buy us a computer, would you? Cultivation is too boring."

In that instant.

Time seemed to stop completely throughout the mental world!

The wind stopped.

The Laws ceased to move.

Even the air froze.

The radiant, gratified, proud smile on Xing Yao's face froze solid in an extremely bizarre, extremely twisted fashion!

His mouth gaped wide enough to fit two fists, his eyes bulged wider than bronze bells, and it was as though the five thunderbolts of heaven had struck him down, as though tens of millions of lightning bolts had hit him at once, numbing him from crown to sole, freezing him from soul to flesh.

The confidence that had been overflowing just moments ago,

The authority that had been absolute just moments ago,

The urge to deliver an endless lecture just moments ago,

The sense of superiority from thinking he had won so hard just moments ago-

All evaporated on the spot, leaving not a trace!

Blankly, stiffly, numbly, he stared at Clone No. 2 and Clone No. 4, who had slid onto their knees side by side before him and were asking for a computer with clear, earnest eyes.

Then, slowly, mechanically, incredulously, he turned to look at Clone No. 1 and Clone No. 3 beside them, whose faces said, I knew this would happen, I'm used to it by now, and Main body, just accept your fate.

Four clones.

One played with mud.

One shattered his aloof persona.

Two slid onto their knees to ask for a computer.

Every! Single! One! Wanted! A! Computer!

Xing Yao stood rooted to the spot, his mind utterly blank, dumb as a wooden post, his soul screaming madly within the mental world, yet unable to force out so much as half a word.

At this moment, he finally understood.

What it meant for greater hope to bring greater disappointment.

What it meant to be as imposing in public as you were broken in private.

What it meant to suffer social death, to be publicly executed on the spot!

Xing Yao stood frozen, looking at the four clones who had all slid onto their knees before him, their eyes clear and utterly insistent, a breath stuck in his chest that would neither rise nor fall.

That pitiful scrap of authority he had possessed as the main body had long since been ground to pieces.

He took a deep breath, then exhaled hard, the corners of his mouth twitching wildly. Pointing at those four utterly sincere faces, he spoke in a trembling voice:

"You... one, two, three, four! You've all crowded around to ask me for a computer?! Huh?!"

He took a step forward, sweeping an incredulous gaze from Clone No. 1 to Clone No. 4, his voice filled with both despair and helplessness:

"Just how boring can cultivation possibly be?!

Devoting yourselves to cultivation, comprehending Laws, breaking through realms, growing stronger to protect yourselves... which of those isn't more interesting than playing games?

You've all just broken through to the Second Tier! This is the crucial time to consolidate your cultivation and push toward higher realms, yet instead of thinking about how to thoroughly grasp the Laws, you're all fixated on a computer?!"

Clone No. 1 was the first to lose patience. He lifted his backside off the floor and got up, looking entirely justified and even a little aggrieved:

"Main body, you can't put it like that!

Cultivate, cultivate, cultivate! All day long, it's nothing but cultivation, without a single diversion! It'll cause mental problems!

You have no idea. In this mental world, all there is to do is meditate or comprehend Laws. There's not even anyone to talk to and relieve the boredom. Before this, I was so idle I could only play with mud!

What's wrong with having a computer? Playing some games to relax and balancing work with rest will only make cultivation more efficient!"

After speaking, he did not forget to sneakily poke Clone No. 3 beside him, signaling frantically with his eyes.

Clone No. 3 gave a light cough and stepped forward, a rare trace of earnestness appearing on his usually steady, aloof face:

"I agree with No. 1.

The Law of the Earth Element is weighty and steady. Prolonged cultivation can easily weigh down the mind, so something external is needed to regulate it.

Besides, I've observed that many powerful people in the outside world don't spend every waking moment doggedly cultivating either.

A computer would let us learn about the outside world while also relaxing our minds. It would do no harm to our comprehension of Laws; on the contrary, it would help maintain a stable mindset."

By the end, even he felt it was a little far-fetched, but his gaze remained firm:

"In short, cultivation is too tedious. I need one too."