Chapter 537

Outside the long pavilion, amid the crowd, a thousand lanterns of the night market illuminated the Dragon.

Spending money to buy traffic works; though no one knows what actual return the investment ratio of Bei Wu Zhenxian will yield, at least this place is the liveliest in all of Tiancheng.

From dawn to dusk, twenty-four hours straight, matches rage everywhere with rivers of blood, round after round—truly a hundred schools contending, a thousand flowers blooming.

"What are the odds on Donghuang Taiyi of the Yin-Yang School? Fine, I'm betting on the one opposite him—Zhongli." Su Lin tucked away a pile of lottery tickets and arrived at the edge of the arena, at a VIP viewing seat in a phase-space.

"Big Su Ge, isn't that you from another timeline?" Li Huowang sighed. "You look exactly the same."

"You're going back to retake your gaokao this year, and don't you dare ask Stark to cheat for you." Su Lin shoved Li Huowang's head aside, revealing a gap like a window through which the outside could be observed.

A man and a woman walked ahead; behind them, Luo Xiaoying stared around curiously, glancing here and there, sharply contrasting with the two elderly figures ahead, whose bodies and minds were nearly decayed, their faces calm.

"Do you know, Huowang? When it comes to family relationships, you must handle them well—just like you, Bai Lingmiao, Xiao Na, and the two gods as your younger siblings."

Su Lin, speaking as one who had been there, warned: "Look at his facial features—his romantic troubles have already reached the point of no return."

"Big Su Ge, I can't read facial features."

Li Huowang picked up a Turkish kebab he'd bought on the street, took a bite—the barbecue master named Hannibal was quite skilled, but the owner named Will kept insisting he must eat normal meat; the two argued endlessly over meat choices.

What's normal or not about meat? As long as it tastes good.

"You don't need to read facial features—I can." Su Lin said. "Have I ever told you about his current emotional problems?"

"No." Li Huowang had only heard vague rumors from others.

His contact with Su Tuoni had been limited to once, when he took Zhao Shuangdian to the French restaurant.

"Previously, a particularly powerful fortune-teller gave him a reading—he's got emotional issues."

Su Lin shook his head, speaking with solemn gravity:

"The lingering problem of polygamy—he has a red-inked confidante who might come from the future of another worldline, coming here solely to escape the bloody end of a harem war."

It might hurt at first, maybe two cleavers will appear on his kidneys, but it doesn't matter—when you act out the story, I'll be the audience. Su Lin has a bright future.

"Isn't that your red-inked confidante, Big Su Ge?" Li Huowang exclaimed.

Su Lin slapped Li Huowang's head. "Mine? His!"

"Oh, his—I forgot you already have Sister Yi Leina."

Li Huowang nodded, rubbing his head in apology. "I always say love should be focused—I only like one person, just different versions."

Since last time they tasted a bit of the sweetness of Creation Gold, the Confused Siming group led by Yi Donglai had frequently urged Li Huowang to create opportunities for Zhao Shuangdian and Su Lin to spend time together.

Never mind that this operation felt like selling off a daughter—Ba Nanxu was constantly leading several Confused Siming members, scheming daily to stab Yi Donglai in the back.

Li Huowang nearly felt that after sending off Fusheng Tian, the world would again be destroyed by Confused Siming's internal strife.

Of course, Li Huowang couldn't understand what Zhao Shuangdian herself was thinking—every time he answered her call, the first few words were always: "Ask Doctor Su if he's free today."

Crack—hum.

Li Huowang was thinking he'd advise Yi Donglai later—he'd give him half the Creation Gold he got later, and keep the other half for Big Su Ge—when suddenly he heard what sounded like a blade being drawn.

"Big Su Ge, why are you drawing your sword?" Li Huowang asked, bewildered.

Su Lin held the Azure Jade Void Sword aloft with both hands; its azure blade reflected half his cold, stern face.

"Damn Zuo Wang Dao."

"It's not as bustling as our old trading zones, but occasionally coming out for a breath of fresh air isn't bad." Luo Shengying linked arms with Su Tuoni.

"Why are there so many characters from films and TV here?" Su Tuoni glanced around. "I've seen people with similar or even identical information before, but there are far too many here."

"So what? Even girls from the 2D world have appeared in reality."

Luo Shengying smiled brightly, like a flower dyed crimson by the evening sky.

She grabbed Luo Xiaoying and pulled her close, closed the camera app she'd been using, and opened her phone's gallery—with Luo Xiaoying staring blankly.

She scrolled through several categories until she found one labeled "My Cook's CP." Clicking it revealed images of 2D handsome men, some from Chinese manhua BL.

"Logically, at this stage, the two of them should share many common interests and topics—games and anime, for instance. I distanced myself from all that after university, when suitors kept forcing conversations to annoy me."

Luo Xiaoying scrolled further to another album titled "My Waifu." Inside were several pictures of a beautiful girl dressed in a black long robe and a triangular hat.

Riding a broomstick, holding a wand, or sticking close to other beautiful girls.

"Go find Makaba and Patrick Star and play somewhere else, little dummy." Luo Shengying patted Luo Xiaoying's cheek, then handed her some pocket money—her frown instantly melted.

Instantly, Luo Xiaoying's annoyance dissolved like ice, and she dashed off to buy things.

Su Tuoni: "Um… maybe you could tell her that the one from that day was actually—"

Luo Shengying tilted her head.

"Did your future boyfriend steal your 2D waifu, or did your 2D waifu steal your future boyfriend? If you'd actually paired up with Zhongli back then, her half-rotted brain might've even shipped it."

Ship what, sis?!

How insane was your immature self?

Su Tuoni's face turned green, but seeing the amusement in Luo Shengying's eyes, he knew she was teasing him.

Yet, upon careful thought, something here felt off.

First, the girl should have no interest in men.

Second, though their interaction pattern was odd, calling them a couple still felt like something was missing.

Third, and most importantly—that bastard whose sense of humor was inexplicably more twisted than mine absolutely wouldn't—

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Su Tuoni turned to see a man with a noble, handsome face, his expression shifting, clutching a copy of Records of the Three Kingdoms, gritting his teeth: "Brothers fighting for power? The Three Kingdoms all falling to the Sima clan?!"

"Your Majesty, if I hadn't learned these truths, why would I have concealed them from you?" A young man in imperial robes, surrounded by armored soldiers, looked utterly defeated yet suddenly adopted a defiant expression:

"Cao Cao, I know you are a demon from beyond the heavens, and I know my Han Dynasty will ultimately perish—so I secretly built my own power through Tiancheng, to kill or to cut me, do as you please—I will never abandon the people of the Starry Han!"

"It's tragic—I was so cautious, yet still had trusted men under your control. Had the prize for this tournament not been so generous, you'd never have negotiated with me."

The noble-faced man heard this, crushed the Records of the Three Kingdoms in his hands, unleashing terrifying energy that ground the pages to dust: "Your Majesty, don't believe these lies!"

At that moment, an old man nearby screamed, clutching his head: "Oh no! This is an ancient Western Jin dynasty rubbing! Chenghe! Someone's causing trouble!!!"

"Dad, can't you just let me pick out a few pieces of furniture in peace?"

From the antique furniture store next door, a deep, powerful voice suddenly rang out.

Everyone was startled to find a muscular man standing at the door, holding a flowerpot; his aura had completely merged with the surroundings, leaving no trace for anyone to detect.

"Mr., I believe you owe me compensation."

Cao Cao stared at Jackie Chan for several seconds, sensing that the man holding the flowerpot was linked to the aura spreading from the furniture store behind him—his strength was clearly weak, yet an inexplicable atmosphere emanated from him.

"I was impolite."

Cao Cao left a jade signet ring inside the man's flowerpot, then walked with Emperor Xian of Han and the armored soldiers toward a distant battlefield arena.

"Demon King."

After this interruption, Su Tuoni, whose face had twisted with envy moments before, gently slapped his cheeks a few times, looking refreshed as he strolled arm-in-arm with his girl.

During this time, several immortal cultivators wearing silver face masks and dressed in elegant robes bowed to him.

"Master Sanzang."

Su Tuoni stopped walking and frowned where he stood.

"They're probably addressing another you," Luo Shengying said, holding a newspaper nostalgically:

"When will you stop using fake names everywhere? I remember you once used names like Ye Fan and Xiao Yan to go to other universes and cause chaos."

"It's not about that," Su Tuoni said, watching the backs of the cultivators, his eyes shimmering with multicolored light. "Their origin is nearly identical, yet their cultivation methods and soul qualities differ."

"The cultivators of Great Vow Heaven? Their origins should be exactly the same—there shouldn't be any distinction," Luo Shengying said.

"Their origin aura also differs from the Lord of Great Vow Heaven," Su Tuoni shook his head. "Who cares? That troublesome bastard is dead beyond resurrection—sliced apart His Great Vow Dream with one sword."

"And then you shattered too," Luo Shengying murmured.

"Shuhang, stay at your Ye Brother's guild tonight—I've sent Ru Hua to fetch the sacred spring from the forbidden zone to brew tea for you, Shuhang, come quick."

"Shuhang, Brother Xiao has prepared a pill to refine your spiritual energy—you won't have to worry about advancing too fast anymore. Look at you, you're already nearing fifth rank."

"Shuhang, Weigong Shilang just acquired a legendary kitchen set and, with Master Liu at Ju Xia Lou, has prepared several banquets for you and the Dao friends in Group Ninezhou No. 1."

"Shuhang, this Daoist has just realized you're destined to be one with the Buddha—you're clearly a natural martial genius. Here, I have a Nirvana-level Buddha Palm scripture."

"Shuhang…" "Shuhang…" "Shuhang, young friend…" "Big Brother Song…"

Gulp.

Song Shuhang looked up at the sky, trembling all over; despite the bitter cold, he felt warmth spreading through his body, tears welling up uncontrollably.

"Can I go home, Elder Bai?"

"Didn't you say you'd take me somewhere fun?"

Wrapped in a black robe, his handsome face the only part visible, he lay atop a jet-black flying sword radiating endless darkness, smiling warmly: "Are you teasing me?"

Song Shuhang felt his whole body growing weak.

After taking a deep breath, he shakily pulled out a belt embedded with coins and medals shaped like a resurrection artifact, and wrapped it around his waist.

Song Shuhang's aura shifted instantly; he looked solemnly at Elder Bai Two, his gaze and spiritual resolve now firm: "This way, please."

Elder Bai Two: "."

Is this some kind of transformation ritual?

(End of Chapter)