This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 268 Friendship lasts forever
Facing the even more excited Yang Wuji, Xiang Feng patted the young man on the shoulder and explained to Nie Weiyang, who was looking at him with surprise in the distance, "The transfer order has come down. I'm coming to Gushi to be Commander He's deputy."

Nie Weiyang laughed too. He strode towards Xiang Feng, and the two strolled off to the side, arm in arm, to catch up. Behind them, a group of dumbfounded young people tried to eavesdrop, but were stopped and dragged away one by one by Yang Wuji, who was full of confidentiality rules.

On the other side, Li Duo was cheerfully greeting several classmates and friends. She was leading a group of children in playing "Eagle Catches Chicks," and she was naturally the eagle.

"Hey, Miss Li, why have you turned into an eagle?" Her classmates laughed and teased her.

Faced with this good-natured teasing, Li Duo confidently raised her chin and said, "A Danque is a bird too! What's wrong with me, a divine bird, cosplaying as an eagle?!"

At the ends of her fiery red hair burned clusters of warm flames, which danced and flowed naturally through the air, causing no harm to others.

Clearly, her control over flames had reached a transcendent level, which caught the attention of Han Jiangxue, who was not far away.

But outside everyone's notice, Bai Yu's figure moved silently through the crowd like a ghost.

As he passed by, Nie Weiyang glanced at him casually and noticed that the food tray in the assassin's hand was piled high with various meats and fruits.

Nie Weiyang smiled and continued catching up with Xiang Feng beside him.

Naturally, they didn't mention any classified information, only talking about the past, present, and future. Looking at these familiar faces, he felt a surge of emotion.

Many of those here today, especially his close comrades, have already experienced the effect of [Pioneer Inspiration].
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[[Pioneer's Calling·All Souls Know]-
I trust and righteousness, and I reciprocate with courtesy.
When you truly and completely identify with someone, you will gain a 10% bonus to the recovery speed of any one of their combat resources, effective during combat.

The combat resource is locked as: [Health]
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Yes, the number of people who trust him, like Xiang Feng and the people of Langcheng, is growing. And over time, they are gradually spreading throughout China.

This invisible network of trust, fed back to him through the connection of [Pioneer's Call], transformed into an even more powerful recovery ability, making him practically a bug in battle.

Conversely, this power also protects those who trust him, giving them a glimmer of hope in dire situations.

If he intends to maximize this effect, the most efficient way might be to deliberately cultivate a cult of personality, attracting followers with power and favor.

Given the sheer size of the human population, he could easily become the most difficult being to kill on this planet.

But the consequences of doing so are obvious—the emergence of a 'god among men' who is known to everyone and wields such influence... what it would give rise to would probably be the most fanatical and distorted spontaneous religion in human history.

Unlike cults like the Star God Cult and the Return Sect, believing in him can truly save your life in critical moments. As long as you place your trust in Nie Weiyang, you can genuinely receive a boost to your life points.

And Nie Weiyang doesn't ask them to do anything that crosses the line...

The allure and cohesion of such a good thing are unmatched by cults.

But Nie Weiyang never considered this path.

Reason and intuition both told him that it was a wrong path leading to the abyss, where he and the humans caught up in this fanatical worship might ultimately lose themselves and become mental monsters. And if he were to take this path, it would inevitably shake the fragile order of the new world, which was not the outcome he desired.

As the banquet progressed into its later stages, Yi Jian arrived in a flurry of activity and immediately joined in boasting about Nie Weiyang's achievements, speaking with even more excitement than the person in question himself.

Han Jiangxue reappeared near the end of the banquet, still dressed in a cold and aloof manner, though a patch of her clothing was burned off. Meanwhile, Li Duo, who had mysteriously disappeared with her earlier, found Yang Wuji with a smile, humming a song as she took his hand; her usually warm hand was now icy cold.

As Yang Wuji put her hand into his pocket, his pupils dilated in shock: "So happy? You won? That was Han Jiangxue!" "Can't I be happy just because I didn't win?" Li Duo retorted with a grin.

Yang Wuji became cautious for a moment: "I'm just curious about why you're so happy..."

"Because it's a holiday today, I'm with you." Li Duo's smile remained unchanged.

"Heh." "Tch." "Hmph." "Tsk." "Cough..." The young people who had been chatting all around dispersed, having actually been listening intently for quite some time.

Beside them, several children pointed and giggled at Yang Wuji and Li Duo. Yang Wuji blushed and was about to turn away, but Li Duo boldly grabbed him and openly kissed him on the cheek.

After the banquet, Russell sent the children to bed.

Surprisingly, everyone Nie Weiyang knew—Liang Zhenduan, He Kang, Xiang Feng, Yi Jian, Han Jiangxue, Yang Wuji, Li Duo, Bai Yu, an old Taoist priest who swaggered around in sunglasses, and even You Yan, whom he didn't know very well, several astronomers, and the city's top scholars—all tacitly stayed behind and sat around the campfire lit in the center of the camp.

At this moment, the most brilliant minds and warriors in the entire Central Continent have gathered together in this fairytale camp that guards the hope for the future.

The atmosphere was relaxed and harmonious, with everyone discussing the improving situation and sharing interesting anecdotes from their respective fields.

After Xiang Feng and Yi Jian chatted for a while, they mentioned that Nie Weiyang would soon be traveling again.

Liang Zhenduan suddenly clapped his hands, attracting everyone's attention.

"With Lao Nie gone, who knows when we'll be able to meet again?" Liang Zhenduan looked at Nie Weiyang with blessings in his eyes and said loudly, "He's leaving, and those of us who stayed behind don't have anything better to give him."

"How about...we sing him a song together?"

Liang Zhenduan's suggestion caused a moment of silence around the campfire, followed by a chorus of approval.

"Which song should we sing?" Yi Jian asked with great interest.

Someone suggested the poem "Farewell," but it was immediately rejected: "'Tonight's parting dream is cold'? That's too melancholic. He's going to pave the way, not that he's never coming back!"

Someone mentioned "Parting at Pingju" again, and He Kang shook his head: "'As long as we once had it'? This tune... it sounds like we'll never see him again. It's bad luck."

In the end, the experienced Leung Chun-tuan made the decision: "Let's go with 'Auld Lang Syne'! Everyone is familiar with the melody, and the lyrics are suitable—'Long live friendship!'"

This decision was unanimously approved by everyone.

Sitting next to Liang Zhenduan, You Yan cleared her throat, and a clear, captivating voice flowed from it, prompting soft responses from the crowd. There were no elaborate arrangements, only genuine emotions flowing through the melody:

How can one forget old friends?

How could one not harbor such thoughts?
How can we forget old friends?

"Auld Lang Syne"

(End of this chapter)