Chapter 217: Bernadette

Looking at the near-blank Phantom Realm before him, Chumen's mouth twitched slightly. "Too monotonous."

He tapped a finger lightly, and the power of Creation permeated the entire Phantom Realm.

Many dreams with fairy-tale qualities transformed into reality, falling into the still-barren Phantom Realm.

Beyond that, Chumen also manifested certain fairy tales from his own memories, forming a fairy-tale town.

This included classics like "The Little Match Girl" and "Little Red Riding Hood."

Of course, they were all happy endings; for instance, the little match girl arrived in the Phantom Realm in the final glow of her matches and saw her grandmother, while Little Red Riding Hood blew the hungry wolf away with a gun before it could eat her grandmother.

What stood out was an absurd and unreasonable fairy-tale Fantasy.

Such fairy tales were more in keeping with the essence of the Phantom Realm.

"Still not enough. A Phantom Realm this big should have more splendor."

In the Phantom Realm, space and time have no meaning; it shares some extremely similar characteristics with the Spirit World and the Astral World, such as abstraction.

It is just that the Phantom Realm is connected to everyone's subconscious and has a substantial link to the Real World, manifesting in the form of dreams.

Chumen wanted to make the Phantom Realm more colorful and diverse, turning it into a true reflection of the world.

But this could not be rushed; Chumen stepped out of the Phantom Realm, having wandered in the Collective Subconscious Sea and created the Phantom Realm for a period during which over three years had passed in the outside world.

"Hmm?" Chumen seemed to sense something, took a step, and arrived in an exquisite garden.

"Oh!" A milky, high-pitched exclamation rang out. Chumen looked down to see a little girl only as tall as his knees collide with his leg and fall to the ground.

This girl had fluffy chestnut-colored long hair, tender white skin, and large eyes flickering beneath long eyelashes.

She wore a luxurious, exquisite cake dress and a delicate, tiny sapphire crown on her head.

She did not cry when she fell; instead, she sat on the soft grass, trying her best to lift her head to see Chumen's appearance clearly.

Chumen squatted down, looking at this cute little girl, feeling joy in his heart.

"Who are you? Why are you in my garden? And appearing with a 'pop'?" The little girl was clearly a bit aggrieved and angry, pouting as she asked.

"You can call me Uncle, Huang Beibei." Chumen extended his right hand and lightly tapped the little girl's tender white cheek.

"Eh? You call me Beibei too?" The little girl's large eyes blinked, looking at Chumen. "Only Papa calls me Beibei."

"Beibei?" Roselle walked into the garden and saw Chumen and the fallen Bernadette.

"Papa!" Bernadette nimbly climbed up from the ground and charged toward Roselle with her short legs.

"Ugh!" Roselle scooped Bernadette up and spun her around gently.

"This uncle called me Beibei too!" Bernadette hugged Roselle's neck affectionately, turning around to point at Chumen.

"He is Papa's good friend, and also your Uncle Chumen."

"Oh," Bernadette looked at Chumen and took the initiative to reach out to him. "Then Uncle, can you give me a hug?"

Roselle was somewhat astonished; his daughter was adapting too quickly.

"Sure!" Chumen smiled and snatched Bernadette from Roselle's arms.

"Uncle smells so good, like a strawberry-flavored little cake!" Bernadette shouted excitedly.

"Is that your favorite flavor?" Chumen asked.

"Yes, I also like coconut flavor, chocolate flavor..." Bernadette spoke slower and slower, her nose twitching slightly as she smelled a similar scent on Chumen, seemingly becoming somewhat intoxicated by that deliciousness.

"..." A death stare from Roselle.

"Haha." Chumen laughed heartily; here, what stood out was that wishes could come true.

And such a little girl, with an extremely pure mind, could receive the clearest feedback from Chumen.

Bernadette could have whatever she wanted.

Chumen placed Bernadette on the small swing in the garden, while he sat on a chair to the side with Roselle.

"You're so popular with children?" Roselle couldn't help but ask.

"This is Dream," Chumen explained, gently pushing the swing.

"Was that commotion today caused by you?" Roselle was thoughtful, then asked about this matter.

"Yes." Chumen did not deny it. "I created a world, a world that is illusory yet real, similar to the Spirit World and the Astral World."

Roselle's eyes shook, and his breathing quickened slightly.

A few years had passed; he was now a Sequence 3 "Mystery Scholar," and with the channel of the "Twilight Hermit Order," his understanding of the mysterious world was much deeper.

"I came here to ask you to 'join'."

"You want me to work for you? Don't even think about it!" Roselle refused subconsciously.

He, Roselle, would never work for anyone in this life!

"..." Chumen's mouth curled. "Not even an Angel, yet you want to be my employee?"

Roselle's expression stiffened; the Sequence 3 Characteristic he advanced with was obtained through the "Twilight Hermit Order," but his Sequence 2 "Knowledge Instructor" Characteristic was actually already in place.

That was the "gift money" Chumen had given him, so as long as he digested his current Sequence 3 Potion, he could seamlessly become an Angel.

But he hadn't become one yet.

Not being an Angel yet, he indeed lacked some confidence when speaking in front of Chumen.

"Besides... becoming an Angel, do you want to go even further?" Chumen asked suddenly.

"What?!" This time, Roselle truly couldn't sit still.

No matter how unwilling he was, he clearly knew that an Angel was likely his limit.

According to his knowledge, the "Hermit" Pathway and the "Perfecter" Pathway both had True Gods hanging over them in the Astral World.

The path ahead was blocked; he had even spent years accepting this fact, but now...

"Papa!" Bernadette jumped off the swing and threw herself into Roselle's arms; as his little comfort, she made Roselle calm down instantly.

Roselle held Bernadette in his arms, stroking his daughter's tender white hands, before looking at the calm-faced Chumen and saying softly, "As far as I know, there are no suitable positions left above."

"Yes, the twenty-two God's Pathways are already very difficult to advance further in, and your superiors have blocked the way," Chumen agreed.

"Then the opportunity you speak of comes from outside the God's Pathway?" Roselle said thoughtfully, "Like your 'Dream'?"

It was obvious that the 'Dream' Pathway was outside the twenty-two God's Pathways.

And what was even more peculiar was that, until now, Roselle had not seen even a single material or formula for the 'Dream' Pathway.

"The Gift System cannot become a True God." Chumen denied this speculation of Roselle's.

Unless a Unique is dug out from a Gifted, it is impossible for a True God of the Gift Pathway to appear.