Forge a path to success

But this isn't something they should be worrying about at their level. Chu Hengkong gave up thinking and said instead, "But he seems to have a strong sense of responsibility. I think that Chongming guy... wouldn't do something like ignoring the affairs of Shura Island."

Van der's eyes widened like light bulbs.

"Oh, you're talking to him about responsibility? I'm begging you, please tell him to stop being so responsible! Do you even know what that bastard Chongming has done?!"

"I'm all ears."

Vande slapped his milk tea bottle: "He single-handedly stormed the Spiral Tower, severely wounded the Sorcerer Supreme, and reduced the Four Gods of Collapse to only two, including Vansalal; he infiltrated the Imperial Capital alone and fought the Emperor to a draw, almost leading to a second battle in the Heavenly Prison; further on, he broke into the Second Abyss, slashing Eternal Time under the guise of the Funeral God, leaving the entire Funeral procession in disarray; the Holy Son of the Cradle of Oblivion was slaughtered to the point of not daring to show his face, and he killed all the Illusion Demons in the Sea of ​​Illusions except for Olek!"

"After the Heart-Broken Master attained enlightenment, it became almost impossible to see the true forms of high-level heretics in the Submerged Realm. Anyone who dared to show their face would be instantly killed with a swift blade!" Fan De said. "In the past few hundred years, even the old man who was used to doing things personally has started using avatars. Our own righteous gods don't dare to go out much. They're all preparing for war in their hometowns, afraid that this murderous bastard might accidentally cause a major second war and break out on the spot."

"Holy crap," Chu Hengkong said.

"Commander Chongming is so brave, so has Blood Plains been smashed to pieces by now?" Gulibo asked expectantly.

"You're overthinking it. Chongming was just as awesome in the wilderness. His problem isn't limited by his strength; he used the loophole of the Mist Man to sneak into the Heavenly Prison. Within the rules, he can't affect reality." Vande waved his tentacle. "So, when he gets to the Blood Plains, he'll probably just be directing his former graduates to beat up the heretics, continuing to be his ace commander. Whether he wins or loses, he won't disappear. Anyway, there's only one clone in the Heavenly Prison. If there's a channel to transfer power in, he can continue to exist... um..."

Vande coiled his tentacles, seemingly lost in thought.

"The Lord of the Broken Heart disappears for a short period after each great battle, and everyone used to think he was recuperating. But now... do you think he's recharging his clone in the Heavenly Prison...?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, and Shaks concluded, "Leaving aside the fact that he simply doesn't have the time to govern, his personality makes him absolutely unsuitable to be a good leader."

Jie An rubbed his hands together and said sincerely, "I think it's not necessarily a bad thing for the Destiny Master of the Broken Heart to leave the island... One island suffers, but countless families are happy."

"That's too selfless. Go tell Xiaoye that." Vande sneered.

"Oh dear, I dare not offend her. Detective, you should go instead," Jie An shouted. "Detective, be careful on the way, don't take off like a flock of angels!"

"Enjoying the benefits of the 4-point particle early isn't so bad."

Chu Hengkong slowly rose to his feet, his overcoat billowing uncomfortably behind him. He had no choice but to tear off half of it, revealing a withered black wing emerging from his right back, like a skeletal hand pointing towards the sky. As he walked, the bone claws sliced ​​through the air, creating a wailing sound like ghosts wailing.

The Nightmare King was, after all, the most wicked god; even victory came at the cost of encountering him. In their final battle, the single wing, a symbol of despair, pierced deeply into his back, becoming an inseparable foreign object ever since.

After examining him, Youyou concluded that there was nothing seriously wrong for the time being. After all, if his messy body had any problems, it would have exploded long ago. The fact that he could move meant that he was still functioning. Youyou believed that this was a curse placed by an evil god, while Chu Hengkong felt that it was a "gift" from the other party.

Vansalar's character dictates that if you defeat him, you will inevitably be rewarded, whether you want to accept it or not.

"He'll still be a scoundrel even after he dies," he said.

He stretched his back muscles, and the Deathwing contracted into a thin "shadow," like a tattoo branded onto his back. He put his coat back on and walked from headquarters to his dormitory. The team members saluted him, whispering behind his back about the new, much-discussed legend.

For his own safety, Ji Qiufeng did not announce the Grand Detective's achievement of breaking through the Heavenly Prison, only saying that he had returned from an adventure. But nothing stays secret forever, and news of the Wilderness's breakthrough quickly spread throughout the world. Although people did not know what the Heavenly Prison and the Wilderness were, they knew that this was a great feat that benefited the world, so they discussed and celebrated.

Chu Hengkong smiled and responded, slowly walking back to the dormitory building. Looking at the familiar city, he suddenly felt as if he were wandering in a dream, as if from another world.

Here, there is sunshine, blue skies, the hustle and bustle of the city, and the warmth of everyday life. This familiar city is so beautiful it's almost unreal; it's not the reality etched in his heart. The reality is corpses and blood, curses and the black moon, irreversible tragedy and inescapable death…

It is the never-ending "second" in the realm of motion.

He instinctively gripped the hilt of his knife, his muscles tensing involuntarily. In a daze, he saw the sky shrouded in darkness, the resurrected souls rising again from the mist, the wind sounding like the smirk of a demon king. You should wake up; a new test is about to begin—

He was suddenly enveloped in a soft, warm embrace; the gentle heat was like a flame, driving away the darkness and chill from his body. Chu Hengkong released the hilt of his sword and awkwardly called out, "Hey!"

"You look so cold, so I'll warm you up a bit~" Qingxia said with a smile, "You won't be cold if we hug each other!"

While he was troubled by the illusion, Qingxia quietly slipped behind him and hugged him. After transforming to point 4, she was no longer a centaur, but she was still a young woman. Standing at 2.1 meters tall, she easily enveloped Chu Hengkong.

Chu Hengkong gave up struggling and sighed, "Do you have to be this tall?"

“This height is the most convenient for fighting,” Qingxia said, nuzzling his hair with her chin. “Besides, I like the feeling of looking down at you.”

"You're full of selfish thoughts." Chu Hengkong smiled wryly. "Thanks, let me go. Did I assign you a room?"

"Little Snake said this building has many rooms, I can pick any one." Qingxia pointed to a familiar window, "I chose that room~"

"No, that's my room."

"Yes, yes, I did it on purpose." Qingxia nodded.

"No, I said no, you're moving to the next room."

"What?!" Qingxia exclaimed in surprise, "Does this mean I have to rob Ji Huaisu's house...?!"

"It's your skill to be able to snatch it."

"Yes, sir." Qingxia bowed in a mock manner. "Qingxia, brave warrior, go and conquer the monster castle. I'm off!"

Qingxia spread her wings and slipped through the knight's window. Chu Hengkong waited patiently for a few seconds, and was delighted to hear his partner's scream, along with a series of clanging and clattering noises.

The warriors of the settlement were settled in the swamp. These reclusive old folks adapted well to the magical land, praising the delicious tea and mushrooms, and feeling right at home sitting under the trees. Qingxia went back and forth between the central swamp several times to handle the check-in procedures, busying herself until she finally fulfilled her grandfather's request.

She is exceptionally relaxed now; perhaps this is the first day she has been free of responsibility since she became sensible.

"Mr. Chu, you look so happy," Qingye said. "Men really do like curvy women!"

Miss Canxin poked her head out from above the door, looking like an oversized yellow bat. Chu Hengkong casually tossed a spirit missile over, and the giant bat swooped down, proudly puffing out its chest: "But Miss Qingye, I'm a mature, voluptuous woman now! What do you think?"

At this moment, Qingye was a well-developed female college student; the side effects of the Time Reversal Technique had made her nearly two years older. The tight-fitting clothes that were custom-made for Qingye as a high school student were now quite strained and looked like they were in great danger of collapsing under the excessive pressure.

Chu Hengkong took a look carefully and nodded repeatedly: "Impressive, she's just as good as your sister Huaisu."

"Wow, why are you so hesitant with everyone else but act all serious and mature with me...?" Qingye cried, "It's not fair! It's not fair! I want to blush and my heart race too! I want a hug too~"

"okay."

Chu Hengkong reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently stroking the girl's long hair. Qingye shook her head contentedly, then suddenly froze, her face turning red from her chin to the roots of her ears.

"Huh...huh? Huh huh huh huh huh huh?!" Qingye stammered.

"Didn't you ask for it yourself?" Chu Hengkong laughed. "Afterwards, ask Youyou to help adjust your body. It's not a good thing for your appearance and spirit to not match. Since you're still a high school student, don't act like an adult."

"Okay, okay."

"Get some rest and don't worry too much about Chongming." Chu Hengkong patted her head. "I'll teach you the Huangtian Style when I have time."

"Thank you, thank you..." Qingye's voice was barely audible.

Chu Hengkong released the girl and happily walked up the stairs. Qing Ye slid down the stairs to the doorway like a mollusk, her eyes turning into mosquito coils from the chaos.

What, what happened? It was just a casual teasing, but he actually hugged me?! And he seemed completely at ease with it?!

Could it be that Mr. Chu is actually a super carnivore who doesn't match his appearance... and she just awakened a beast?! No, no, the worst thing is that I was actually a tiny bit tempted just now, what am I going to do?!

Qingye clutched her head, letting out a silent scream. Qingxia, who had just been driven out of the window, was shocked to see this: "What kind of external attack is this! Don't be afraid, Xiaoye, I'm coming to save you!"

"No way! Don't come near me like that, you're soaking wet!!"

Chu Hengkong entered his long-unused dormitory room, spent some time ventilating it, and tended to his potted plants. The plants from the swamp were still growing vigorously. He placed the potted plants on the windowsill, turned around and walked out of the room, just in time to run into Ji Huaisu, who had finished cleaning.

“My room was quite clean,” Ji Huaisu said in despair, “until a wild horse flew in through the window while I was cleaning, and crashed headfirst into the bucket of water onto my bed.”

“That sounds really exciting,” Chu Hengkong said.

"You're not allowed to laugh! I'm telling you, you're not allowed to laugh! I'm going to get angry! I'm really angry!"

They went up to the rooftop and sat side by side on the edge. The girls were still playing and laughing downstairs, their voices carried far by the breeze. Sunlight streamed down from the azure sky, casting a golden glow over the streets of Huilong City.

They all felt that the day was exceptionally good, so they simply lay down and quietly gazed at the sky.

"This is wonderful," Chu Hengkong said. "It's a perfect afternoon for daydreaming."

"You used to daydream too?" Ji Huaisu yawned.

“I wouldn’t have done that before. But I’m starting to think about it now.” Chu Hengkong squinted. “I think I could lie here all afternoon and do nothing… I can do that tomorrow too… If I get really bored, I can go for a walk on the street.”

"Come on, don't you box?"

"I won't be boxing." Chu Hengkong smiled. "I might not be boxing for the next week."

Ji Huaisu was so startled that she sat up abruptly, almost falling off the roof: "What kind of pollution is this? It's so serious?!"

Chu Hengkong stretched lazily and slowly raised his arm. Ji Huaisu pulled him up impatiently.

“In the past, I was used to doing meaningful things. Meaningless time would make me feel very…empty. It felt like I was wasting my time and life,” Chu Hengkong said. “But after all this time and doing so many meaningful things, I have a different perspective.”

He recalled the Nightmare King's emotions—his dreams, his frustrations, his anger, and his unwavering persistence that had persisted for millennia.

“Meaning, like ability, has its limits.” Chu Hengkong said thoughtfully, “Ultimately, a person can only hold meaning that is commensurate with their own mental capacity. Stuffing too much meaning into one’s heart will accelerate the wear and tear on the vessel of the self.”

"Even a child knows that too much of a good thing is bad. Congratulations, Chief Inspector, your common sense has finally reached the level of a junior high school student!" Ji Huaisu said lazily.

“You see things very clearly, but too much of a good thing is bad.” Chu Hengkong laughed. “I think only an omnipotent god can devote all his energy to the ‘meaning’ of fighting or saving people. Humans cannot become prisoners of meaning. Not everything has to be meaningful. What matters is whether we are satisfied and happy.”

"So, you're going to slack off openly and legitimately?"

"Isn't it good to take a break every now and then?"

"What exactly do you mean by 'slacking off'?"

"Daydreaming, hiking, swimming, fishing, playing video games, or..."

Chu Hengkong reached out and took her arm.

How about we go on a date this weekend?

Ji Huaisu rolled her eyes and leaned against her partner's shoulder, half-heartedly.

"If they have a good attitude, it's not out of the question..."

The story of despair has come to an end.

Leaving behind the foggy past, the young people return to the present.

The future remains fraught with peril, and the road ahead is shrouded in mystery.

However, those who live in the present will not repeat the same mistakes.

Learn resilience from setbacks, and find light in the darkness.

With love and courage, let's take a step towards a bright tomorrow.

Seeking hope.

(The Desperate Wilderness Arc, End)

(Volume 2, end)

(Volume 4 is finished. There will be a three-week break. Serialization will resume on April 7th.)

Reflections and Summary of Volume 1523 (Suspension until April 7)

第1.5+2+3卷反思与总结（休刊至4月7日）

Holy crap, that's it.

This is what I wrote after typing the last word.

Holy crap, finally finished writing! That was really tough. Prince2326, you did a great job!

Let's indulge ourselves for a moment and then return to our usual review and reflection phase.

This volume is the longest I've ever written, and naturally, it exposes the most problems. The narrative pacing, plot twists, and character development all have their flaws, especially with so many characters, making it relatively difficult to make each one "likable." However, the biggest, most obvious, and most urgent problem to address is, as you can probably see, the story structure and style.

In FGO, there's a famous meme called "Chakhedis Pyramid Himeji Castle," a hilarious building that's unprecedented and unlikely to be replicated. Its structure consists of a Western-style castle topped with a pyramid, and then a Japanese-style castle on top of that pyramid. The design is incredibly simple yet visually striking, guaranteed to infuriate your designer friends. Our second volume can be described as a super-sized Chakhedis Castle, perfectly stacked three stories high—the foundation being my poor brain.

This kind of thing might make people laugh in a comedy episode, but it's really a bit much to see in a serious story. So why did it turn out like this in Volume 2?

Because the first sentence of my outline is written like this:

This volume consists of several short and medium-length stories, maintaining a lighthearted and playful comedic style, striving to create a sense of exploration and excitement in a vast world.

You can laugh now, because I'm laughing too.

Yes, readers who have read the first volume's author's note may remember that this book was initially intended to be an infinite flow novel, with the plan being that Dragon City would be the main base, and from the second volume onwards, the protagonist would be adventuring on various Dust Islands—but it turns out that I simply couldn't write an infinite flow novel!

The core of the Infinite Flow genre is the ingeniously designed mini-dungeons and the continuous rewards. It unravels the world view from multiple angles, such as props, abilities, and the progression of strength, and brings a constant sense of reward. However, as a seasoned otaku who talks a lot of nonsense and goes around in circles, I simply cannot handle the so-called "short dungeons" except for humorous and daily life episodes. The main story is at least a medium-length story.

So everyone saw Yingshi Town, the "small opening chapter" of Volume Two. In my original plan, Yingshi Town only needed about 10 chapters to end, but in reality it took about 30 chapters... Not to mention the subsequent Golden Leaf City and Wilderness, the small chapter became a medium chapter, and the medium chapter became a large chapter again, so that the story that should have been strung together like pearls became a large illegal building.

I had actually realized similar problems when I was writing the outline for Volume Two, so I hastily cut out a large number of planned subplots and focused on developing the essential "main story" elements. However, this resulted in the entire second volume being entirely about the main storyline, with no breathing room between stories, turning the narrative into a marathon with no time to spare. Both the characters and the reader were on edge, making the reading experience tiring and tedious.

This problem began to emerge in the early stages of the Desperate Wilderness arc and was fully exposed during the Battle of Vaklo. In the outline, the transition to the Wilderness after the events of Golden Leaf City was supposed to be an unexpected twist, resolving the foreshadowing of Vansalal's summoning to Golden Leaf City and piquing the reader's interest. However, in reality, the chaotic battle in Golden Leaf City was already a substantial "main course," and by the time Olek's spirit fragment entered the fray, both the readers' and the characters' fatigue levels were nearly exhausted.

The abrupt transition to the wilderness without a moment's respite is like eating a whole roasted lamb after a roast suckling pig—regardless of the quality of the food, the relentless, high-intensity story creates a significant sense of nausea. I was fed up, annoyed, wondering when it would end. Was Volume Two going to continue indefinitely? This weariness affected me, causing the narrative pacing of the opening of *Desperate Wilderness* to falter. Only after the Battle of Vaklo ended and the story shifted to the settlement, finally allowing for a much-needed respite, did the story truly begin its proper course.

As for issues such as battle arrangements and character development, they can all be seen as a chain reaction caused by structural imbalance. This major structural imbalance makes it impossible to analyze from the perspective of a single character or plot point; therefore, we will examine each story individually.

Yingshi Town Chapter

The opening chapter of Yingshi Town... I feel that this is the story where my own experience and the readers' perception differed the most since I started writing...

To be honest, I was extremely dissatisfied and tormented when I was serializing it because I felt that my writing was a bit too weak (sad).

Because the entire outline for Volume Two was a mess, the story of Yingshi Town was drastically cut, the number of characters was reduced by half, and the enemies, apart from the Immortal Machines, weren't well-developed. This meant that if I went straight to the main storyline, the story would end very quickly. However, to support the characters and the background, I needed a corresponding amount of space, so, given my severe writing difficulties and lack of good ideas, I chose…