Chapter 240: People Are Different

Upon hearing this question from Pink Mao Mao Rabbit, the Science Obsessive immediately understood: without a doubt, the so-called trial required him to manipulate Qi without relying on Talisman and Spell.

However, he had no intention of hiding this issue; first, Pink Mao Mao Rabbit had already arrived in the village, and withholding the information would only slow the other down with no benefit, and this wasn't something that couldn't be learned without instruction—given enough attempts, the other would eventually figure it out, let alone the risk of triggering reverse psychology and causing him to withhold the village's location entirely.

In comparison, it was better to help him master it sooner, making it easier to extract the village's location from him.

Yet this matter was just like riding a bicycle—no matter how many scientific explanations you give, in the end you still rely on instinct; the Science Obsessive could only dump out all his personal practice insights, and to avoid triggering stress, he didn't ask where the village was, but instead inquired about what books were in that "library."

Pink Mao Mao Rabbit, who had originally harbored some hidden motives, was left speechless by the Science Obsessive's honesty, even feeling slightly embarrassed; after some thought, he decided he probably wasn't cut out for this, and without the master demonstrating it himself, he feared he'd never learn—so he simply said:

"Master, you go ahead and study it yourself—I'll send you the coordinates!"

"Straightforward!" The Science Obsessive hadn't expected this player to be so easy to crack; he immediately donated some money on the forum—not much, but enough to show his appreciation.

……

"What the hell, how did this guy even find it?" The Science Obsessive stood near the coordinate point, comparing it with the map, shifting step by step from one coordinate to another; had he not repeatedly walked past it and precisely avoided it, he might have suspected he was being fooled.

"If you didn't know the coordinates in advance, even if you noticed the coordinate point had shifted, walking back and forth like this would never get you there—you'd just assume it was a game bug, right?"

The Science Obsessive shifted his feet left and right, finally stepping squarely onto the correct coordinate point—the world before him instantly changed.

But unlike when Pink Mao Mao Rabbit had arrived, it was now mealtime; the streets were empty, and only wisps of fragrant cooking smoke rose from every household.

"This level of detail is far superior to that shabby Wang Cheng—just this authentic Chinese village atmosphere alone makes it feel like a completely different game!"

The Science Obsessive gazed at the village, which bore some resemblance to his hometown, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly; by comparison, this game's royal capital was an absolute eyesore.

But now was clearly not the time for complaints; seeing no NPCs around, he sent a direct message to Pink Mao Mao Rabbit—

"I'm in the village. Where are you?"

"Keep walking straight along the village dirt path—you'll find a Siqi Temple."

Seeing Pink Mao Mao Rabbit's instant reply, the Science Obsessive knew this player had made zero progress; as he walked along the dirt path, he muttered to himself about the name "Siqi Temple."

"Dao temples don't name themselves randomly—does 'four qi' refer to the four seasonal qi, or the Traditional Chinese Medicine concepts of cold, heat, warmth, and coolness? Neither seems quite right…"

His muttering ended abruptly when he saw the two characters 【天】 and 【地】 on the main hall's facade; there was no way he could avoid thinking of Wu Zhuang Temple.

"Wu Zhuang Temple corresponds to the Five Organs Temple—Five Elements, Five Qi, Five Organs—so does 'four qi' here refer to the four of the Five Elements drawn from the Demon Dragon? Or the so-called Four Elements?"

"Esteemed Daoist, may I ask your purpose?"

The sudden appearance of the Daoist acolyte startled the deep-in-thought Science Obsessive, but he still nodded and replied:

"The elder instructed me to come here to find him."

"My master is currently in seclusion for recovery, but he left instructions regarding your matter—follow me!"

The acolyte said, leading the Science Obsessive toward the side hall; but unlike Pink Mao Mao Rabbit, the Science Obsessive wouldn't miss this opportunity and immediately asked:

"Young master, may I ask what the 'four qi' in Siqi Temple refer to? Earlier, the elder mentioned the 'Four Elements'—what are those?"

"The four qi refer to the four fundamental qi of Ying, Wei, Zong, and Yuan—the foundation of cultivation. The Four Elements refer to the four Foundation Skills: Transformation, Transfer, Stabilization, and Filtration. The four trials you will face are designed to help you rapidly master these four techniques, though you must also pass the Qi control test."

As he spoke, the acolyte seemed to recall something, sighing helplessly and even showing a hint of disdain in his expression—an emotional depth far more lifelike than ordinary NPCs.

"Is he saying this to everyone, or is this reaction due to Pink Mao Mao Rabbit's poor performance? If the latter, this NPC's resource bias must be extremely high!" The Science Obsessive had encountered countless NPCs, but in this game, only a handful of rarely appearing NPCs—whose quests remained undiscovered—had ever shown such behavior.

"Ah! The proper path!"

The Science Obsessive suddenly remembered the library Pink Mao Mao Rabbit had mentioned and asked:

"You mentioned rapid mastery—what about the traditional method?"

The acolyte sighed and pointed to a nearby building:

"To follow the orthodox cultivation path, you must read every book in that house. First, come with me to test your Foundation Skill; if you have time later, you can study on your own."

"So it really is because of Pink Mao Mao Rabbit!"

Seeing this differed from what Mao Mao Rabbit had said, the Science Obsessive wasn't in a hurry; since the other said he could study independently, there would be plenty of chances later—he could always activate his screenshot divine art and copy everything to the real world for an AI summary!

Thinking this, he arrived at the basic test site; upon entering, he saw Pink Mao Mao Rabbit standing there like a socially anxious person forced onto a stage to sing despite having no voice—gripping a metal rod with two candles stuck in it, looking utterly ridiculous.

"Master, you're here!" Pink Mao Mao Rabbit let out a cry of relief upon seeing the Science Obsessive enter, causing the Science Obsessive's expression to stiffen slightly; even if it was an NPC, if it had high intelligence, you had to treat it like a person!

He sighed inwardly, but before he could apologize to the acolyte, the acolyte casually walked up to another metal rod, lit the candle, and demonstrated for him.

The Science Obsessive, already aware the trial tested Qi output, felt confident and immediately wanted to show off to the NPC, proving he wasn't like that Mao Mao Rabbit over there—yet the moment he channeled Qi from his body into the rod, the candle flames suddenly surged to over three feet high, nearly scorching his eyebrows!

"What's going on?" The Science Obsessive stumbled back two steps in shock; the acolyte, who had already turned to leave, paused and nodded:

"Not bad—you at least know how to channel Qi. But your movements are too forceful; you must evenly distribute Qi between both candles. Still, you seem intelligent—you'll probably learn quickly…"

Watching the Daoist acolyte vanish in a flash, Pink Mao Mao Rabbit muttered under his breath:

"What do you mean 'seems intelligent'… do I look stupid?"

(End of Chapter)