She now possesses a total of six Epic Fragment—
That's right, there are six.
As is well known, all Echoer receive three fragment slots upon their first entry into the Sea of Consciousness, without exception.
The Echoer have only one way to increase the number of slots:
That is to break through the current level and enter the Sea of Consciousness again.
Then, the Sea of Consciousness will recognize your state and grant you three additional slots.
Some might ask, why does Suyo, who is only at the third tier, have six slots?
Because when Suyo first entered the Sea of Consciousness, it was at the second level.
Upgrading from tier two to tier three is also a tier increase, which naturally increases the number of slots.
However, because Suyo had used [Intent Forgery], his spirit body was tainted with "noise," so when he first broke through to the third level, he was not correctly Sea of Consciousness.
It wasn't until Suyo second login that the Sea of Consciousness was recalibrated and the three slots that should have belonged to her were reissued.
So even though she's only at Tier 3, she possesses a total of six Epic Fragment!
There were twice as many as usual third-tier Echoer!
This is precisely why the Thousand Faces Family, knowing full well the extreme danger of entering the Sea of Consciousness at the second level, still chose to gamble on it at any cost.
Because if you win the bet, the rewards are immeasurable!
Having tasted success in blocking evacuation points, Suyo is clearly now addicted.
"Brother, brother, let's block this evacuation point for the rest of our lives, okay?!"
Qiji: "..."
My dear sister, do you want to hear what you're saying?
Do you have a large family?
It seems there are quite a few people in the Thousand Faces Family...
That's alright then.
However, since Suyo is her younger sister, it's perfectly fine for her to be happy about a temporary gain.
But as the older brother, Qiji has many more things to consider.
I also read Kalentia's latest issue of the "Qiji Echo Journal".
After watching it, there's only one feeling, without a doubt—
Nausea!
That's absolutely disgusting!
He kindly left maps to guide those lost in the Sea of Consciousness who couldn't find their evacuation points, but it was written as "maliciously destroying temporary evacuation points"!
He opened the treasure chests for everyone in advance and thoughtfully marked the direction of the next treasure chest, yet he was accused of a "serial scam"?
This really chills the heart of a handsome young man who asks for nothing in return, who only wants to shine brightly in the Sea of Consciousness and silently maintain Sea of Consciousness harmony and stability!
The journal author's intentions are truly malicious!
Qiji could easily imagine that as more and more people saw this journal, he would inevitably have fewer and fewer opportunities to do such good deeds in the Sea of Consciousness.
Therefore, Qiji seized the opportunity and, the day before the preliminary rounds of the competition began, pulled in his Suyo, to pull off one last big heist!
If you don't do it now, you might never have another chance...
Damn it!
Qiji helped tidy up the bags of several Kalentia citizens who had lost their belongings during the evacuation.
I found it was full of small blue and green trash.
For a moment, I really missed the Kamishiro Family.
I have no idea where the Kamishiro Family got so many epics...
For almost every two Echoer from the Kamishiro Family that Qiji helped to evacuate safely, he would receive a purple shard as a gift from their warm hospitality.
In contrast, the drop rate for Kalentia is less stable, unless you happen to encounter a member of a powerful family—
For example, the big fat sheep Charles.
Unfortunately, although the Charles people were generous, their spirits had not yet recovered and they were unable to log into the Sea of Consciousness. Even if they wanted to offer tribute to Qiji again, they were powerless to do so.
After sending several more waves of poor Kalentia's timed evacuations, Qiji's fantasy that "everyone in the Echoer of the Kingdom is rolling in money" was completely shattered.
Realizing that the time allotted for the Suyo was nearing its limit, the brother and sister stopped buying more.
They then boarded a yacht and chatted casually as they headed towards the evacuation point.
"By the way, have you been doing the chest expansion exercises I taught you?"
Qiji thought of something and casually asked a question.
"That kind of thing is completely useless!"
Suyo rolled her eyes, utterly speechless.
"Huh? It doesn't work? But its name includes the words 'chest expansion'?"
Then I'll teach you Latin dance, brother. Is that alright, brother...?
Suyo kept these words to himself, too embarrassed to say them aloud.
Seeing that Suyo wasn't obsessed with growing bigger, and thinking that being small was also cute, Qiji let her be.
Qiji seemed to remember something, and then said:
"By the way, did the Thousand Faces Family and City of Kindling make things difficult for you after that?"
"No, they're practically treating me like royalty right now!"
Now, every day I wake up and have to report to the Echo Association, facing a bunch of teachers and a bunch of equipment...
The only time I've had to relax in the past two weeks has been like this, playing with my brother Echo Fragment in the Sea of Consciousness.
"Oh, this..."
Qiji knew that the guys from the Echo Association had grasped at Suyo as a lifeline.
In the end, he still caused Suyo to bear everything that she shouldn't have had to bear.
"You must be under a lot of pressure, right?" Qiji looked at the girl and asked with concern.
"Hehe, brother, don't underestimate me, I'm super good at handling pressure!"
When you feel like you can't take it anymore, just have a good cry.
"Besides, I have an older brother now, nothing can break me!"
"What about tomorrow's competition?"
"We will win!"
The brother and sister bumped fists at the evacuation point in the Sea of Consciousness.
Watching Suyo leave, Qiji silently apologized to the latter in his heart:
Sorry, but I don't plan to go easy on you tomorrow.
After you lose to me, have a good, good cry.
The next day.
Two wheelchairs appeared side by side at the entrance of the Echo Academy.
There are especially many people outside the college today.
They were all people seeing someone off and candidates.
Although the Tide Grand Competition of the City of Kindling is nominally hosted by the Kindling Echo Academy, the actual power is entirely in the hands of the Sea of Consciousness.
Therefore, it is not only the students of the college who are restricted from registering to participate.
Anyone who is of the appropriate age, even if they are not Echoer, is eligible to compete for a seat as long as they are recognized by the Sea of Consciousness and pass the preliminary selection.
That is why, even though the City of Kindling was unhappy that Kalentia sent "exchange students" to share the spoils, it was powerless to stop it.
Even worse, when Kalentia sent "exchange students," they demanded a "co-organizing fee" from the City of Kindling.
The reason given was that with their participation, other city-states could no longer interfere in the competition.
According to Kalentia, they helped the City of Kindling retain its seat.
The City of Kindling naturally has to thank them.
At this moment, at the entrance of the Kindling Echo Academy, almost half of the city-state's students aged thirteen to fifteen had gathered.
Some were trainees from the preparatory school, still looking quite young; some were young volunteers from the grassroots of the Echo Association, eager to try; and some were eligible new recruits selected from the army, standing tall and straight.
There are even ordinary people with no talent to Echo, who, knowing the chances are slim, still want to try their luck.
What if?
What if that one-in-a-million Miracle were to happen to me?
In the surging crowd, every face carried its own tension, its own excitement, and its own story.
At this moment, they are all converging in the same direction.
"Alright, Xiao Xi, that's enough for now."
Although the Tide Grand Competition is a highly Attention event, the venue itself does not have spectator seating.
Because it's not necessary.
When the competition begins, the Sea of Consciousness will overlap with reality.
At that time, everyone within the City of Kindling will be able to see the live broadcast of the competition, which will be "rebroadcast" from the Sea of Consciousness, simply by looking up.
Seeing Qiji pushing the wheelchair alone, coughing up blood every now and then, Xiwang was still somewhat worried:
"Brother, with your body like this... are you really sure you can manage? Maybe we should just give up."
Although I know that participating in the competition generally won't put my life in danger.
After all, the candidates participate in the competition using their own "spiritual bodies".
However, unlike logging into the Sea of Consciousness, the Grand Competition's trial grounds were opened at the intersection of the Sea of Consciousness and reality.
If you are injured here, the damage to your spirit will be amplified because of the interference of the Sea of Consciousness with reality.
Therefore, in previous competitions, there have been numerous examples of people whose spirits shattered during the competition and who never woke up again after returning to reality...
Therefore, Xiwang would naturally still be worried.
She felt her brother was being too stubborn, even though his condition was visibly terrible.
With such a severely injured body, can he really manage?
Sensing her sister's worry, Qiji smiled and said:
"Don't worry, just wait and see your brother dominate the battlefield... cough cough, pfft—"
Using a tissue to catch the bloodstains, Qiji thought of something, then looked at her sister, her voice slightly more serious.
"However, Xiao Xi, there is something I must apologize to you for."
"I've kept this from you for so many years. When you find out, please forgive your brother."
When Qiji suddenly spoke so formally, Xiwang was taken aback, and a bad feeling crept over him:
"Brother, what's wrong?"
You'll find out then.
"Huh?"
So, you'll forgive me, right?