Chapter 82: Ice Cream Advances!

Hiss~

Walking home, Qin Chuan rubbed his sore shoulders, gritting his teeth.

Too miserable.

Who knows what he went through in the last half hour.

Relying on a single long blade and just learning a dozen basic sword moves, he lost to Ji Huai within two exchanges every time, having lost over a hundred times in half an hour.

The point is, Ji Huai was utterly inhuman, giving Qin Chuan no time to catch his breath.

Out of stamina? Come, eat a fruit!

Seeing Ji Huai toss the familiar stamina-restoring fruit into his arms, Qin Chuan felt such disgust for it for the first time.

However…

Qin Chuan couldn't help but smile.

Hiss~

"Beat the Ice Demon Wolf ten times, and snag an achievement while I'm at it."

Yue Li, who had just entered the Dream World, tilted her head at the glum Qin Chuan beside her, looking puzzled, and asked, "Did something unhappy happen in reality?"

Ow ow ow~——

"What's wrong with you?"

Half an hour later.

Taking the crimson fruit Shui Hua had found, he waved at Yue Li, then brought Xue Gao and Shui Hua up Snow Ridge.

"Thanks then." Qin Chuan smiled, turned to look at Snow Ridge not far behind, and said, "I'm ready to head up Snow Ridge for a trip."

"Pfft~" Yue Li covered her mouth, shoulders trembling, "I seriously doubt you're just looking to vent."

【Novice Bull: Accumulate 10 successful cross‑rank challenges against Spirit Beasts and emerge unscathed.】

Perhaps the pressure Ji Huai exerted was too great, fully stimulating his potential; Qin Chuan, who initially only realized how to use his sword moves after his long blade was knocked away, had by then developed some muscle memory.

Just after returning to where they had separated, he saw Yue Li directing Xiao Qing and Xiao Hong to construct in midair a fire dragon vortex wrapped in blazing flames.

After earning an achievement, he gave the Ice Demon Wolf that had snatched Xue Gao's icy essence on Snow Ridge a thorough beating, then returned with Xue Gao and Shui Hua feeling refreshed.

"Not really, it's actually a good thing…" Qin Chuan thought, then without concealment briefly explained his special training from Ji Huai: "The training intensity was just too high; my whole body ached, and I almost couldn't fall asleep before midnight."

In just one hour, going from nothing to this level, Qin Chuan's progress is hardly small.

After all, his opponent is Ji Huai.

"No problem." Yue Li chirped, "Even if you don't sleep before midnight, I'll protect you in the Dream World until you log back on!"

【Congratulations, player achieved the hidden achievement 【Novice Bull】, achievement points +300, experience gems +30】

The soreness in his shoulders surged again, and Qin Chuan's smile quickly vanished.

The effect really works.

"How could that be." Qin Chuan looked innocent, "I just wanted to have a proper conversation with that Ice Demon Wolf."

That's also why he could hold out to the second round.

That formidable presence far exceeds Xiao Qing's solo tornado.

"Done venting?" Yue Li, noticing Qin Chuan's arrival, turned back with a smug smile and said, "Take a look at my new research!"

"You… did you develop a fusion skill for Xiao Qing and Xiao Hong?" Gazing at the fire dragon vortex in the air, Qin Chuan couldn't help but exclaim.

Yue Li had only contracted Xiao Hong yesterday, yet today she could already command two contracted spirit beasts to perform such a skill.

Such efficiency—no wonder she's a top student.

"I happen to have a few small ideas." Yue Li said softly, "A spirit beast can possess only one attribute, but we can utilize more attributes in reality."

"That means we can try combining different attributes to develop multi‑attribute skills, then turn around and guide the contracted spirit beasts so they likewise master them in training."

"The Dream World forum has discussions on multi‑attribute development." Qin Chuan mused, "But they seem to lack the idea of turning around to guide the contracted spirit beasts."

"Probably because they don't take the Dream World that seriously." Yue Li chuckled, "Even if a player dies unexpectedly in the Dream World, they can just start over; although the Dream World's power affects reality, many still feel reality matters more."

"And you?" Qin Chuan glanced at Yue Li.

"I think both worlds are equally important." Yue Li's eyes sparkled, "Here I can witness things unseen in reality and experience things reality lacks."

She unconsciously lowered her gaze to her own feet, her smile instantly blossoming: "I've met Xiao Qing and Xiao Hong here, and I've met you; every day I spend is happy."

"I really like this place, so…" Yue Li lowered her eyes, "I will never let myself delete my account and start over."

Qin Chuan said nothing, merely admiring the girl before him.

At this moment he seemed to understand why, despite spending day and night with Shui Hua, his affection could not catch up to hers.

Because she treats this as another reality.

"I think you're right; helping contracted spirit beasts master multi‑attribute combat coordination is very important." Qin Chuan suddenly laughed.

In his mind, a decent idea suddenly appeared.

Among the abilities he currently masters, the most powerful is none other than the high‑speed water‑flow rotation that slices opponents—the rotating strangulation.

That ability requires diamond powder, which cannot be brought into the Dream World; pure water‑flow damage would drop drastically.

But he developed a method for using an ice‑water mixture in reality yesterday.

In zero‑degree water flow, tiny ice crystals can serve as a substitute for diamond powder.

Although ice crystals aren't as strong as diamond powder, they have the ice attribute's boost, allowing them to freeze opponents while strangling them.

Thus the power remains comparable.

"Looks like you already have an idea." Gazing at Qin Chuan's ever‑brighter, thoughtful eyes, Yue Li spoke softly.

"Mm, I have a few." Qin Chuan nodded, "But there's no rush with the training."

"Let's first head to the next exploration point and let Xue Gao advance."

Xue Gao still needs two low‑grade resources; with Yue Li's luck buff, he can exchange for two random low‑grade resources at the achievement shop to complete the set.

And Yue Li's luck buff can last for ten minutes; when stacked with the sundial's second-day talent, it might still bring good luck like yesterday.

Two things that originally had nothing to do with each other were brought together by luck.

So, he needs to get to the next exploration point first in order for Xue Gao to advance.

"Let's go." Yue Li followed behind Qin Chuan with a smiling gaze, very curious about what good things they might discover today.

One hour later.

In Xue Gao's astonished gaze, Qin Chuan, like performing a conjuring trick, pulled out two silver orbs, designating them as the two additional resources it needed for advancement, then embedding them into the advancement formation.

Accompanied by a dazzling advancement light, Xue Gao's skirt lengthened, its ice-crystal-like eyes also lost a bit of childishness, and its aura became more formidable.

Xue Gao, advancement successful!

(End of chapter)