"My deepest apologies!" it was kind of funny, seeing her face transition from rage into shame and then fear, before she bolted over and bowed like an upside-down 'L'. "I have transgressed greatly and I will do anything to repent..."
Haah.
She's a bad actress. I mean, that's not a bad thing--it means she's an honest person--but having to stand here and pretend I believe her... it k...
2025-09-17 20:59:49 +0000 UTC View PostAah, comfort, how I missed thee.
My bedroom--that's right, I got a proper freakin' bedroom!--was actually fairly large, especially considering that space was premium here. There was no 'bed', but there was a wide-ass cushion where I immediately plopped myself, enjoying the scent of flowers and the cushioned existence.
The rest of the room was spotless; hardwood floors with spring-f...
2025-09-16 20:46:29 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, two questions.
One, who the hell is Zhu Jiang?
And two, how the hell can we be of any help?
... no, wait, the quest! It mentioned the Zhu Clan, so it's probably the daughter of the Matriarch. Still, how the hell can we help?
"I'm not quite sure how we can be of help...? Neither I nor any of my Disciples are versed in the art of Alchemy, I'm afraid."
"Ah, sorr...
2025-09-15 21:15:45 +0000 UTC View PostI noticed something quite peculiar as we made our way to the Greeting Hall--any patch of dirt that wasn't a building or a rather narrow pathway between the buildings housed a different kind of a herb. Their colors, shapes, and sizes made for a fun little journey, as I never really knew what to expect when we turned corner.
"There isn't a lot of space to grow things here," Cao Xun explain...
2025-09-15 21:15:17 +0000 UTC View PostWithin the blink of an eye, two people appeared and immediately pressed their knees into the man's back.
"You dare try and scam your way back in? Hah! You get what you deserve!"
"Whoever stopped him, please come forward; we would like to reward you."
"..."
Nobody did, however, come forward.
Light didn't care to do it as she probably stopped him for fun, and the o...
2025-09-14 21:05:30 +0000 UTC View PostAfter a quick introduction, I learned that the old man's name was Cao Xun, the guy fangirling the hardest was Gu Hai, and the two of them (as well as the rest) all belonged to the same sect residing within the Silvercrest City: Spirit Blossom Sect.
They were a small sect, totaling in just about 200 disciples, but were actually respected decently well as they focused on something that I ha...
2025-09-14 21:05:05 +0000 UTC View PostWe didn't stand on ceremony any further, taking one of the descending pathways to the valley. Within moments, we found ourselves trekking through a forest with a rather thick canopy of trees--but I was far too in awe of their shape and color to think of much else.
This was what I was missing, in a way--though I've seen some fantastic sights, they were usually made up of ordin...
2025-09-13 20:00:19 +0000 UTC View PostIt wasn't even four seconds into me admiring the floating city and wondering how exactly is it floating that a crack of thunder and a bolt of lightning streaked out of one of its many jutting spires. The very next moment followed an array of blindingly-bright flames, and the two converged into a weave in the high sky.
I immediately poured some Qi into my eyes and activated Art of...
2025-09-13 19:59:54 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing the kids did as soon as we descended the mountain and touched upon the riverbank was jump into that very river.
The water was surprisingly calm and relatively slow, with about two feet or so of depth, and clarity that rivaled glass. It was also quite cool, though the day itself was cool--overcast and drab, too--so, clearly, that didn't bother them.
Dai Xiu, Xi Zhao...
2025-09-12 20:08:51 +0000 UTC View Post"Why are you doing this?!!"
A panicked cry broke out just a moment before a booming explosion tore open a hole in the wall of a small hamlet residing deep within the forest.
A figure flew out like a cannonball, burning through the tree in their path and demolishing them all one by one for almost a mile before they finally came to a halt. The original building cracked further out a...
2025-09-11 20:40:42 +0000 UTC View PostThe summit--well, not the literal one, but more so the one passage between the two sides of the mountain--turned out to be a wide col, a flat saddle between two peaks, but instead of rock, it was a plateau of solid ice, approximately eighty feet from front to back and about two hundred across.
We emerged right by the edge of the leftmost side, with Rayce leading the charge and me coming ...
2025-09-11 20:39:10 +0000 UTC View PostIt was about four hundred yards point from the castle (give or take) that we had to actually take out a rope, reinforce it with Qi, and tie it around ourselves so we wouldn't get lost.
No, seriously.
It was actually impossible to see anything. At least for the kids and me.
An unexpected hero emerged, though--though I wanted Long Tao to take the front and just yank us...
2025-09-10 22:04:55 +0000 UTC View PostI thought that, with the changes my little body underwent thanks to the breakthrough, the climb up to the summit and over would be a breeze.
Well, not a literal breeze, but as close as it can get.
Nope.
Fat chance.
This is hell.
No, seriously, somebody should erect a sign--screw it, I'm doing it. Under the confused looks of the kids, I stopped, took out a...
2025-09-10 22:04:31 +0000 UTC View PostI didn't really understand the true gravity of the Inscriptions. I mean, how could I? I have no frame of reference for it. Because of that, I stealthily kept my eye on Long Tao, but either he, too, didn't know (unlikely), or simply didn't bother display any emotion (probably), with the end result being... I still didn't know.
"Thank you," regardless, just the Word of Enduring alone sounde...
2025-09-09 19:44:27 +0000 UTC View PostThere were still a few things I've actually missed and had to manually check, namely in how exactly the restructured monthly system quests worked, as well as the 'Innate Art' that I've gotten.
I never actually heard of Innate Arts before, possibly because they are related to existing in a world of higher prowess, but more likely simply because they are extremely rare. And when I read mine...
2025-09-09 19:44:02 +0000 UTC View PostAlright, Jake, enough weeping.
There isn't much left and I'm actually kind of excited about this next tidbit. Overall, monthly quest have been a sour disappointment, to be honest. It was sort of like discovering a new system in a game you're enjoying, using it once, but then realizing it was kind of shit and never using it again. Unless the game forces you to, in which case you do it whi...
2025-09-09 19:43:38 +0000 UTC View PostLong Tao left, and I was left in a bit of a stunted silence.
... I mean, I've known he's had some trust issues considering that, you know, he was betrayed and killed, and I knew he was always a bit guarded around all of us... but I didn't think it was that bad that he didn't even trust me.
What's changed?
I don't know.
Maybe he changed and finally opened his he...
2025-09-08 21:48:40 +0000 UTC View PostIt was uplifting.
Sort of like that time dad picked me up when I fell asleep in the back of his old Cadillac. Half-awake, I felt his arms lift me up with such ease that he seemed the strongest person in the whole world.
Over the length of our courtyard and up the stairs, gently putting me down on the bed, pulling the blanket over me, kissing my forehead, and leaving the door just ...
2025-09-07 21:59:31 +0000 UTC View PostThe first thing I felt was a slight loosening in my dantian.
It was honestly... strange, even now, as there was no comparison to any feeling I felt back on Earth. Though, technically, dantian was in the center of the abdomen, the sensation of it was felt everywhere. Yeah, I know, makes no sense, but perhaps in some manifold logic of the higher math and higher dimensions,...
2025-09-07 21:59:05 +0000 UTC View PostRight.
Of course, of course he's some proper-right monster. How else would he have 'fallen' into my lap?
Ugh, don't say it like that...
It's sort of like a curse that's trying to wrap itself like a present--oh? You're an Elder? And your System is dependent on having a bunch of real talented kids? Here! Have all of them! All the talented kids!
Will they suck up all your ...
2025-09-06 20:37:10 +0000 UTC View PostThe dishes were laid out flatly on the table--your standard fare of plain, unseasoned rice, some boiled game meat (mostly hare), a few veggies strewn about in a haphazard salad, and... well, that was it. There was a lot of it, yes, but that was it.
The kids didn't stand on ceremony, digging in right away and slowly slurping the combo of rice, 'salad', and few pieces of chopped me...
2025-09-05 20:24:23 +0000 UTC View PostThe weather luckily improved within a couple of hours, during which the young man never woke up.
As the blizzard settled down and the thick fog began to recede, we started our climb back up to the castle, the moods lifted. The kids chattered on about one thing or another, I kept glancing over at Long Tao and wondering precisely what new fresh hell he would take us to once we crossed the ...
2025-09-05 20:23:51 +0000 UTC View Post"Senior Brother Tao, you're back!" Dai Xiu leapt from in front of me and greeted my bread maker, soon followed by others.
"What happened? We felt some strange energy appear for a moment and then poof, it was gone," Xi Zhao asked.
"Did you kill someone? Was it fun?" hey, Wan Lan. What kind of question is that?
"Yeah, was it fun?" Oi, Light, don't copy the worst of their bits!...
2025-09-04 20:26:47 +0000 UTC View Post[--congratulations on completing the Quest, The Eternal Lament]
[Due to the nature of completion, additional rewards have been triggered]
[...]
[Reward 1: Body Purification => 100%. Please find a safe space to meditate; fully purifying and expelling toxins will take approximately 6 hours. Any disturbance during that time might lead to unforeseen circumstances]
[Reward...
2025-09-04 20:26:21 +0000 UTC View PostI couldn't even really celebrate the windows and notifications popping around me as I was being dragged out through the dark tunnel and out into the light.
... except there was no light.
With us emerging from the cave, I realized that the mix of rain and snow had turned into a straight-up snow.
Rather, it was a blizzard.
Winds quickly cut through and nearly ma...
2025-09-03 20:47:47 +0000 UTC View PostMy eyes immediately veered up to the young man and I saw it--shadows stirring behind him and coiling around him, colored anywhere from pitch black to bloody red.
There were thousands of them, each one of their movements seeming to cause the cave to quake. Just as I was about to order retreat, I heard Long Tao's voice break out.
"You should all go," thankfully, his voice was calm--a...
2025-09-02 21:10:32 +0000 UTC View PostI don't know what exactly I expected when I pulled out the umbrella, pointed it at the woman, and poured Qi into it... but, well, it just kind of did what umbrellas do? In addition to one thing umbrellas shouldn't be able to do.
It unfurled, rapidly and with a rather loud boom, before a sudden burst of energy exploded outwardly from its canopy--it was like a beam of light shot o...
2025-09-02 21:10:07 +0000 UTC View PostOkay, I need my brain to work about four thousand miles an hour because I do not have that much time before shit hits the fan here.
System, for all its frustrations, has been... consistent. I don't know why it's giving me a 'hint' in the form of a riddle all of a sudden instead of just explaining what it is, but I can kind of venture a guess; as it outright said, the woman in fro...
2025-09-01 20:15:22 +0000 UTC View PostThe cave itself was rather damp but also... surprisingly warm? Like, I expected it to be warmer--on the account of it blocking the wind and such--but I actually could stop using the Art and just enjoy the... nope, it swung the other way.
Within two-three minutes, I was outright sweating with how much raw humidity just assaulted me. It's like someone took a bat to my sweat glands and now t...
2025-08-31 20:34:44 +0000 UTC View PostThe night was quite ways colder and darker than any of the ones before we experienced. The temperatures dropped well below zero--in fact, it quickly started reminding me of that dreaded weekend Yas and I got lost while hiking at the PCT; we were young and we were dumb, and we thought it would make for a fun story, so we decided to take off during the mid-summer from the Mexican border ...
2025-08-31 20:34:16 +0000 UTC View Post