Chapter 122: Stop Sleeping, Get Up and Have Fun

"I haven't heard you play piano in a long time." Luo Shengying sat in a mall, playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata in harmony with Su Lin beside her.

Passersby gathered around, listening to the perfect duet between the man and woman.

"Many years." Su Lin smiled.

Back then, to exchange for this master-level piano skill, he spent 20 "heavy gold" points to obtain it.

That was truly a nostalgic time—eighteen months, twenty points. Though just a small skill, it marked his first step out of absurdity and onto the ladder of art.

On a variety show interview, he used this skill to utterly humiliate an expert who openly mocked and subtly sneered that he had no real talent, relying only on comedy and marketing to grab attention.

Honestly, the guy's words weren't entirely wrong. But everyone was just trying to make a living—he'd admitted his videos were meant for laughs. Still, this guy clearly wanted to turn him into a negative example to boost himself, so Su Lin unhesitatingly played tricks in the very field the man excelled in.

Ssshh—

Even now, recalling this simple, ordinary urban scene still felt satisfying.

But the mighty Manifestation System had been turned by him into a system for urban daily-life stardom—sad, helpless, yet hilarious.

I wonder how many Manifestation points I earned by chasing the High-End Premium route at this time. Without me, those top few special effects creators on the internet probably couldn't even afford to exchange a piano-playing skill.

Foolish child, it's faster to just do absurd stunts. Even a mosquito's blood is blood—he can't generate extraordinary events 24 hours a day.

If you can't let go of your pride, I'll help you. Compared to humanity's survival, a little face-saving is nothing.

The traffic code across eras is in my hands—we will surely change the future!

After this, buy two packs of hot pot base. Tomorrow, I'll perform Iron Pot Stew Self.

Liming Hall

Elegant, melodious music echoed through the spacious hall; moonlight streamed through the glass windows above the walls into the dark interior.

Countless light feathers materialized out of thin air, slowly descending as the Holy, Immaculate God's fingers danced across the black and white keys.

Beautiful and stunning.

"Too flashy," Lao Lu snapped a photo with his phone. "I really want to know what's going on in his head all day."

Lao Tang's throat felt dry. He thought it was pretentious, but that didn't stop first-time viewers from feeling the vibe was utterly refined.

The two sat quietly until Su Lin finished playing, then gave perfunctory applause twice.

"Send me the photo, thanks," Su Lin said.

He stood up from the stool, turned off the live stream function in the group chat, and ignored the group members' personal comments about him.

The clothing woven from light particles faded away, revealing the black down jacket underneath.

"I'm so handsome," Su Lin said.

Lao Lu fell silent for a moment, then said: "I really wish you were mute. It'd be good for your followers."

"I don't need followers," Su Lin extinguished the glow; the drifting light feathers dissolved into illusion and vanished. "Let's go find Chu Zihang."

Awakening Ymjaedae doesn't even require a resurrection spell—her spirit is still alive, she merely lacks a body.

The three walked side by side; Lao Lu opened a portal ahead.

"Aren't we looking for Ymjaedae?" Lao Tang asked, confused.

"Didn't you tell him?" Su Lin asked Lao Lu.

"Forgot."

The three stepped through the portal to the entrance of Gao Tian Yuan Nightclub.

"Chu Zihang is your brother-in-law. Ymjaedae's egg is parasitizing Chu Zihang," Lao Lu explained.

"What the hell is she doing?!" he exclaimed, voice shocked: "She's serious?!"

"Serious."

"Lust really gave her to the right person!"

Su Lin added beside him: "Oh, by the way, Caesar is Macallan—Pompey's son. He's your nephew."

Lao Tang clutched his head with both hands, face filled with disbelief.

"Do dragon kings all have a thing for having human babies now?!"

"You've all lost your minds!"

"Shut up, you guy who's spent twenty years in an open country and still can't get a girlfriend."

Chu Zihang always sees things through to the end—even as a male host, he wouldn't just disappear without notice.

After all, it was the Blue Whale who took them in.

He held a farewell ceremony in advance, then performed a sword technique show, bowed deeply amid fans' tears and shouts, marking the end of "Ukyo," the flower-like male host.

Then came Caesar's exit performance.

Frenzied fans threw fistfuls of cash, desperate to keep the man, but he walked straight back without looking, following the corridor to his room to pack his personal belongings.

He didn't have much luggage—just some clothes.

He turned on the faucet and began washing champagne off his body.

Last night, he and Caesar arrived at the Michelin three-star restaurant, only to find two half-breeds fighting in the street—and all of them were half-breeds who had mastered Blood Surge.

Normally, they should've found a hidden spot to observe and try to contact the school.

But Chu Zihang charged out directly, activating Fourth-Degree Blood Surge and rushing toward the god riding the eight-legged steed.

The being on the eight-legged steed removed his mask—revealing the face of Chu Tianjiao.

"Stop!"

"I'm your father!"

Then both sides withdrew, leaving Chu Zihang and Caesar stunned.

Until Anger stepped out of the restaurant and led them away.

Splash—

The cold tap water slightly calmed Chu Zihang's mood.

He had no time now to worry about Caesar's father's identity — his own father had already returned, and that was a headache for Caesar himself to deal with.

The problem now laid before his eyes was…

Lu Mingfei…

"If you too are a dragon…"

He turned off the faucet, grabbed a Mao Jin from the side, wiped the water droplets from his body, and changed into clean clothes.

Knock knock knock

The sound of knocking came at that moment; Chu Zihang turned the door handle and opened the room door.

"……"

Before him stood a grinning young man waving at him — unlike his usual messy, slovenly image, he was wearing a fitted, ornate outfit, and his hair had been styled.

Behind him were two more people, one of whom… was the deity that had appeared in his mind…

The God of Light, Su Lin.

"Long time no see, senior brother." Old Lu greeted Chu Zihang.

"Come in." Chu Zihang walked toward the inside of the room.

The few of them closed the room door.

"Who are you?" Chu Zihang asked.

"Lu Mingfei, of course. Senior brother, you don't recognize me?" Old Lu said, spreading his arms.

"The Lu Mingfei I know doesn't have the same look in his eyes as you." Chu Zihang said.

"Eh?!" Old Lu said, feigning surprise. "Looks like my longing-for-senior-brother gaze has been found out. Come here, little brother, give me a hug."

"Er, forget it." Old Lu caught the strange look in Su Lin's eyes and still managed to restrain himself.

"You wouldn't in some worlds…" Su Lin still couldn't help asking a line.

He seriously suspected that this old dragon, in some worldline, was playing at crossdressing and marrying into a family.

"I've been straight for a million years!"

"Oh."

Chu Zihang asked Old Lu, "What did you come find me for?"

"We've come to wake Jörmungandr up." Old Lu said.

He snapped his fingers in his hand, and the surrounding space began to shake violently, rippling.

Before Chu Zihang could react, in an instant, the group had arrived at a school playground.

The light of the setting sun spilled across the campus; in the orange-yellow autumn, red maple leaves drifted down on the wind.

"Shilan Middle School?" Chu Zihang looked at the scene, somewhat puzzled.

Old Lu pointed at the basketball court over there, and the group looked over.

There, a young Chu Zihang was playing basketball, and on the stands sat a girl.

Chu Zihang could hardly believe it — clearly he had already killed that girl, that Long Wang; he had clearly killed her himself. The blade had torn through the dragon scales, cutting into her heart. He still remembered those cold scales and scalding fresh blood, and also…

That face from his memories.

The light of the setting sun fell on the stands of the basketball court, dyeing the world red. A girl sat on a plastic chair, wearing a turtleneck wool sweater on top, a school uniform skirt below, and a pair of brown ladies' leather boots on her feet. She quietly watched Chu Zihang over here, her smile blooming like a flower.

"Didn't expect you to come back to life, Brother Norton." Jörmungandr smiled, her fair-as-lotus-root arm propped against her thigh, her palm propping up her chin. "Li Shixiong Lu's made it big and still hasn't forgotten this little junior sister of his — I'm so touched."

"iamyourfather." Old Lu intoned.

Jörmungandr's expression stiffened, her complexion turning a bit unnatural.

"This guy is your husband?" Old Tang swept a glance at Jörmungandr, pointed at Chu Zihang, and said, "A tender calf eating old grass, are you?"

Jörmungandr's face fell; she cast a cold glance at Chu Zihang and said, utterly unconcerned:

"He created a girl named Xia Mi. I was merely playing the role he created, to achieve my own purpose."

"Look at this human, trapping himself inside an illusory shadow, stuck in that cage."

"Too bad you all showed up — otherwise one day I would have crushed his consciousness and broken free from his body."

Her tone brimmed with mockery and arrogance. "Consider yourself lucky, Li Shixiong Chu."

Chu Zihang stayed silent, merely staring at her.

Su Lin leaned his head close to Old Lu's ear, putting on a look of whispering, but his voice was audible to everyone present: "I told you her mouth is harder than an alchemical weapon, and you wouldn't believe me. This girl doesn't know that in 2023 the tsundere archetype fell out of the meta."

Old Lu covered his mouth with his hand, glanced at Jörmungandr, and said, "Cut her some slack — she even deceives herself, so in front of outsiders she has to act tougher, or she'd lose face."

Su Lin shook his head and said, "Teacher Daye really falls for the 'play hard to get' routine."

He took out a book from the projection of history.

Su Lin flipped open the book and showed it to Old Lu. "Look at this passage — one moment it says she won't jump onto his ship, and the next it says we're all people on the same boat."

Old Tang also curiously leaned his head over.

The three of them rustled and shuffled there, flipping through the book. Old Tang's comically expressive brows kept twitching, and he would lift his head every so often, looking at Jörmungandr with eyes that mingled pity and mockery.

The mental world was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Tokyo time, 11 p. m.

An emergency meeting was convened.

"Chu Zihang has gone missing." Ange said to Lu Mingze. "And it's just been confirmed that the Long Wang of Earth and Mountains, Jörmungandr, has revived — our scouts saw her on that floating island."

"Most likely my little sister dragged him off. Small matter — don't bother me while I'm picking up girls at the bar." Pompeii rose, utterly unconcerned, wanting to leave, but was stopped by Chu Tianjiao.

"Explain yourself to me clearly!" Chu Tianjiao's eyes fixed on Pompeii in a deadly stare.

He had only just emerged from the controlled state not long ago, and was a day away from reuniting with his son — and now his son was gone, and it was connected to the revived Long Wang of Earth and Mountains?!

Like Ange, sitting at the same table with a Long Wang did not mean abandoning the conflicts and grudges of the past — it was only to face a more powerful enemy.

In fact, the world was changing too fast; he couldn't even muster the thought of fighting that Supreme One — the pie that fellow had drawn up actually suited his tastes quite well.

But work is like that—even if you don't like it, you still have to do it.

"Why is she grabbing my son?!" Chu Tianjiao suppressed the unease in his heart; the only people he cared about were his ex-wife and his son.

"Why? Why~ indeed~." Pompeii sneered twice. "Who in all of Kassel doesn't know she's your son's girlfriend?"

"You can't possibly not know your son is dating a Long Wang, can you? Otherwise did you think your son could kill her on his own real ability?"

Like a bolt from the blue, he stared blankly at Angers.

Angers hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

This kid is that wild?!

"So." Yuan Zhisheng said to the people of Kassel Academy: "The three special envoys you dispatched to the branch are an incomplete Sovereign, the Long Wang's boyfriend, and the Long Wang's son?"

"It's a coincidence." Angers said earnestly.

The people of Snake-Eight Families had cold sweat pouring down their backs.

These weren't special envoys here to inspect work at all—they were practically three nuclear bombs delivered to this side.

3,600 words, still one more chapter. Wait till I get back to the dorm, I'll wrap up the Dragon Clan arc within this week. I'll do my best to update more and write the story out completely.