CSMCDB - Chapter 108

Chapter 108

Without a doubt, it was an unforgettable birthday.

After her birthday passed, Wen Yuncheng began to fret over what to do for Lin Jinyu's. It would be their first birthday together, so naturally, she had to put in extra effort.

While Wen Yuncheng was busy preparing gifts and surprises, 1947 sensed the fluctuations of a secret realm appearing.

[Another secret realm might be appearing!] 1947 said excitedly. [I wonder what kind of secret realm it will be this time!]

"Any kind is fine, as long as it doesn't appear in January…" Wen Yuncheng, on the other hand, seemed extremely calm. She recalled the opening of the Xuanhuang Tomb; 1947 had sensed it long in advance as well. But even after a secret realm appeared, it still took some time before it officially opened.

Secret realms, tombs, opportunities, independent spaces… Someone once called these randomly appearing realms "stars lost in time and space."

1947 was likely the first to sense it. Now, all they had to do was wait and see where the secret realm would manifest.

Wen Yuncheng looked down at the needles, thread, and fabric she had purchased from the system store and began to earnestly sew a sachet. She had originally wanted to make a scarf, but Lin Jinyu didn't seem to need one. After some thought, she decided on a sachet instead, since the system store sold spices anyway. The only question was what pattern to embroider on it…

[Forget the pattern, the real question is whether Lin Jinyu will even be able to tell what you've embroidered,] 1947 said, highly skeptical of Wen Yuncheng's embroidery skills.

Wen Yuncheng fell silent. That did seem to be a problem.

The days passed one by one, and a week after her birthday, Wen Yuncheng finally leveled up again.

Host: Wen Yuncheng

Race: Human

Age: 19

Class: Mechanical Overlord

Level: 43

Experience: 5/33000

Points: 2474

Looking at the thirty-three thousand experience points needed to fill her EXP bar, Wen Yuncheng sighed and found herself looking forward to the impending secret realm. After all, if she could just get in, that was eight thousand experience points right there! And if anything unexpected happened, 1947 would issue corresponding missions.

Perhaps some members of Fu would be mixed in as well. If she happened to kill them, that would be another nice chunk of experience.

Wen Yuncheng hesitated for a moment before calling Lin Jinyu to tell her that a secret realm might be opening in the future, and that she should pay attention. After all, for a sect, getting firsthand information about a secret realm's opening was crucial.

Lin Jinyu agreed. She didn't ask why or how Wen Yuncheng knew, nor did she question its authenticity. Instead, she just told Wen Yuncheng not to spread the word.

"I know, I'm only telling you," Wen Yuncheng couldn't help but chuckle. Lin Jinyu's first reaction upon hearing about a secret realm was to worry that she would get into trouble by talking too much. That was really…

At the beginning of January, the Imperial Capital was placed under lockdown.

Well, it wasn't exactly a lockdown. But Wen Yuncheng could feel that the patrols of the Imperial Capital guards had become more frequent, and the guards themselves had been replaced by a new batch whose star ranks were a major level higher than before. People could enter and exit the city without extra checks; the patrols had simply been intensified.

Wen Yuncheng made some inquiries and learned that other cities had also strengthened their patrols. She understood the reason and felt an even deeper disgust for Fu. Wen Yuncheng couldn't figure out what those madmen were after. It was one thing for the powerhouse from another plane to be hiding within Fu, scheming for his own ends—that guy was selfish and just wanted to go home. But the other members of Fu were native-born people of the Starry Sky Continent! Fu had been rotten to the core long before that powerhouse had been stranded on the Starry Sky Continent by a spatial turbulence.

[For some people, you can't use ordinary logic to guess their thoughts,] 1947 couldn't help but say. [Maybe they really did discover something? The existence of another continent made them think they could control the Starry Sky Continent? Perhaps it's for power, or for strength, or maybe it's an exploration of godhood.]

[In the higher dimension I come from, there was once a genius,] 1947 said thoughtfully. [A true genius, a prodigy. From a young age, he received the attention of many great figures in my dimension. Everyone did their best to cultivate him, believing he could help us overcome many difficulties in the future. His mind was incredibly vast; you could say he was the first of his kind in the history of our civilization. But in the end, he went mad.]

[This was recorded history from two hundred thousand years ago, but we've always preserved the records about him. Not only did he go mad, but he even secretly researched a superweapon… the kind that could directly destroy an entire star region,] 1947 said. [That weapon was actually mostly successful, but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted a weapon that could destroy the entire dimension, all of time and space. He truly went mad. He said he wanted to personally create a new world, calling himself the Creator God. So many years have passed, and the great powers of every galactic season have tried to understand what he was thinking, but no one knows.]

"What a mysterious story," Wen Yuncheng remarked with a sigh. She thought that if she could truly understand the mind of a madman, she would either be a madman herself or even crazier than one.

"By the way, what's your dimension like?" Wen Yuncheng asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

[Haha, it looks very ordinary. Don't be curious, and don't try to find out.] 1947 didn't answer. Knowing too much about its dimension wasn't a good thing for Wen Yuncheng. Even 1947 didn't have the authority to casually reveal details about its own dimension to its bound host.

[I got you that projection machine you wanted. It consumes points when used. One point for every five seconds. Are you sure you want to use it?]

"Yes! You've saved so many videos of Little Ice Mountain. What are a few points?" Wen Yuncheng said firmly. She had spent three thousand points in one go when she left the Demonic Beast Great Forest, so why would she be afraid of spending a few points now? The two thousand points from the achievement award were compensation that 1947 had applied for, so in Wen Yuncheng's mind, they were practically free.

[You're really generous when it comes to Lin Jinyu,] the old father figure couldn't help but sigh.

"No, I'm just spending my points where they ought to be spent." Isn't it normal to be stingy about things you don't think are necessary, but generous and decisive at other times? It's just that everyone has a different definition of what's "important" and "worthwhile." After her simple reply to 1947, Wen Yuncheng eagerly tested the projector's effect. This projection machine was different from the projectors of her past world. It was called a projection machine, but it was more like a ball of energy.

It was a cotton-like ball the size of her palm. By holding it and using her thoughts, she could activate it to project images. The projections were even life-sized, 1:1 scale reproductions.

With everything ready, Wen Yuncheng looked forward to seeing the expression on Lin Jinyu's face on her birthday. She thought she might be able to use this opportunity to kiss her Little Ice Mountain again, right?

Little Ice Mountain's lips were cool and soft, like kissing soft ice cream that melted instantly, spreading a sweet taste across the tip of her tongue.

Ah… Wen Yuncheng touched the tip of her nose and was relieved to find no nosebleed. She let out a slow breath and clenched her fists. I have to level up faster! I have to be worthy of Little Ice Mountain! The sooner I can beat up Sect Master Lin and carry my Little Ice Mountain home, the better!

Speaking of which, Sect Master Lin was only a second-layer Star Spirit four years ago. His talent wasn't all that great. He didn't inherit Grandpa Lin's Star Emperor-level talent at all.

[About that… that has to do with your grandfather sacrificing himself to save Sect Master Lin.]

"What…?"

[When Sect Master Lin was twenty, he was confirmed as the next sect master of the Flowing Cloud Sect. At the time, his grandfather was only a first-layer Star Venerate, and Sect Master Lin himself had just advanced to a first-layer Star Lord.]

"Was it an attack by Fu?"

[Not Fu, let me check.] 1947 flipped through the data it had collected and continued to explain. [It was a major sect. Sect Master Lin and that sect's heir both fell for Lin Jinyu's mother at the same time, but in the end, she chose Sect Master Lin. The heir was unwilling to accept it and, in a moment of madness, contacted some shady organizations, paying a high price to have Sect Master Lin assassinated.]

[At that time, a small secret realm had just opened. Sect Master Lin entered it to seek opportunities, and it seems your grandfather also went in to find some resources for your family. The two of them must have traveled together. As soon as Sect Master Lin left the secret realm, he was ambushed. Those people launched a surprise attack and severely wounded him. Then your grandfather stepped forward to help him escape, getting seriously injured himself. Sect Master Lin had his own trump cards, but he couldn't withstand the organization's relentless pursuit. In the end, it was your grandfather who lured the pursuers away, giving Sect Master Lin a chance to escape with his life.]

Wen Yuncheng was silent for a long time. She hadn't expected such a story from the past. "Sect Master Lin… was so badly injured that his foundation was damaged, which is why… his cultivation has been so difficult to advance?"

[Yes. He has placed too many of his own expectations on Lin Jinyu.]

"That's not a good thing, and it doesn't excuse him for being a neglectful father," Wen Yuncheng snorted. Although Sect Master Lin was pitiful, she felt more for her Little Ice Mountain. Lin Jinyu was a living person. What right did he have to place the burden of what he couldn't achieve on Lin Jinyu's shoulders? And he even took out his anger on Lin Jinyu over her mother's difficult childbirth… "By the way, is he still a second-layer Star Spirit now?"

[Third-layer Star Spirit.]

That was fine. He hadn't reached Star King yet, so she could still vent a little of Lin Jinyu's frustration on him. As Wen Yuncheng plotted to march on the Flowing Cloud Sect in two or three years, she thought of the organization and the love rival from the story. "What about that organization? And that sect?"

[After Lin Jinyu's grandfather broke through to Star Emperor, he slaughtered the person who had put out the bounty. He then loitered around that sect for a month, and they were so terrified they disbanded. As for the organization, Lin Jinyu's grandfather annihilated them too. The Empire even publicized it.]

Wen Yuncheng sighed. Was that how the previous generation's affairs ended? Sect Master Lin must be a very conflicted person. Perhaps it was his experiences over the years, perhaps it was the dejection and setbacks of half a lifetime, or perhaps it was the despair of knowing he could have reached the summit but was now unable to take another step forward that had turned him into the person he was today.

Humans were truly complex creatures.

"I will protect Lin Jinyu," Wen Yuncheng murmured. Lin Jinyu was a genius, an outstanding and hardworking genius. She deserved to stand at the very peak, to become the most brilliant star. "A secret realm… a secret realm… Is there anything in the new secret realm that can help Lin Jinyu break through to the third layer of Star Lord? I wonder if I can work hard enough to make Little Ice Mountain the youngest Star Spirit."

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