Forge a path to success

A gunshot rang out. Two heads exploded like smashed watermelons, splattering red and white matter across the table and the filthy walls. The headless corpses swayed, the man pulled away the milk glass, and the bodies, losing their support, collapsed to the ground. A few scattered screams followed.

Means nothing.

The milk was dirty. He was about to ask the bartender to get him a new glass. Another man sat down at the table, stepped over the two headless corpses on the floor, and placed a fresh glass of milk on the blood-stained table.

“Try it,” said the man with short black hair. “It’s an import from the city of Thorns, and it goes very well with the local mint tea.”

He took a bite. "Not bad."

"I'm so glad to have satisfied you, legendary gunslinger."

"Saxes".

"I am Wu He, a talisman master," the black-haired man introduced himself, dressed in a dark blue naval uniform. "I received a message about a 'stone seed' on a small dust island."

Interesting. The stone itself poses no threat; it's far from the emperor's reach, and the Ancient Tree Council behind it is powerless to interfere. But once this information leaks out, many profit-seekers will inevitably set off. This is a bloody competition; the other party is after him to kill, his old profession.

"Trying to poach?"

"The purpose is confidential. I want to take a gamble." Wu He handed him a piece of crystal. "I know you have plenty of wealth and pearls. Consider this a deposit to show your sincerity."

Shaks made no move.

"You know my rules."

“If you don’t find it interesting, then the deal can be cancelled at any time, I have no objection.” Wu He laughed heartily. “Take a look at the deposit, I think you’ll like it.”

Shakes pointed at the crystal, and a flood of information rushed into his mind. Countless fluorescent blue lines sharpened, curved, and spliced ​​together to form a rounded, almost circular, outline of the machine. The point he focused on magnified with his will, revealing the exquisite and neat internal structure beneath the armor in minute detail.

The Path of Floating Light, Point 4, the blueprint for the Boundary-Opening Wheel.

“Produced by the C·E·W Research Institute of Dustless Land, model number VV987, the latest model launched this year. It features a double-layer structure design, and the deposit is for the outer layer design.” Wu He crossed his hands. “The only better ones are their own-use models or imperial products. If I had that ability, I wouldn’t need to hunt for stone seeds.”

The number was disgusting, but that wasn't the point. Sarkies finished his milk and reached for his employer.

“Shax Ibn Ould”.

"Wu He. It's a pleasure doing business with you."

"The nearest ship will depart in ten minutes."

Wu He magically produced two tickets: "You have five minutes to pack your bags."

As he carried the equipment on his back, Shakes realized he was smiling. Life was finally starting to get interesting.

The cruiser "Circulation" arrived in Golden Leaf City at 16:32 Standard Time of the Dust Realm, anchoring at the city's, or rather, the only port on Dust Island. This ship departed from Dragon City, stopping at several important hubs including Thousand Days City, Dustless Land, and Paradise of Seeking Fun, passing through 176 medium-sized Dust Islands and 312 small Dust Islands, making it the busiest route on the current sea chart. The sailors boasted that a year on this ship was equivalent to one adventure to the Mysterious Realm of Senluo.

Qingye didn't believe the sailors' nonsense. She knew that even if all those obscure little places were bundled together, they couldn't compare to her hometown, let alone the Senluo Secret Realm. The resurrected Ancient Dragon City was probably struggling with the lack of communication within the Secret Realm, which was why they prioritized using this route. Their ultimate goal was likely to gather elite troops to break through the front lines and restore communication with Longquan Township... or at least unite with the Jingsha City-State.

“With the divine kingdom on the verge of destruction, there is no hope of success,” she muttered to herself. “Unless Wushuang successfully ascends… but given that legend’s situation, it wouldn’t be surprising if he did something.”

"Miss, it's about time to head back to your cabin!" the old sailor called out to her from afar. "We're about to cross the border!"

"Thanks, grandpa. I'll get off here!"

"?! But the ship is already—"

Before the words were even finished, the girl had already leaped lightly off the deck. She stood on the sea with only her feet, the two swords crossed behind her gleaming in the sunlight. The demons of the shallow waters greedily pounced, but she drew her swords and slashed away at their afterimages, running alone towards the harbor, her figure fluttering like a butterfly.

"So he's a heartless person." The old sailor pulled down his hat. "An enviable talent..."

Two white lines stretched across the sea, one in front of the other. The dragon boat was setting sail in the distance, while Qingye drew her sword as she approached. She brandished her sword to repel the demons and gracefully flipped onto the harbor like a gymnast... but upon landing, her toes tripped over a white stone, and she nearly fell headfirst to the ground.

"Whoa!" Qingye narrowly regained her balance. "Thank goodness, I almost tipped over... Seriously, with such a huge rock here, doesn't anyone take care of this port?!"

But when she looked down, the stones were gone, and the harbor floor was smooth, a testament to the hard work of the ground crew. She looked up and saw the water train leaving the harbor. The train in this small town had only eight stops, cycling back and forth on an oval track. Ten minutes later, it stopped at the next station, where the white stone appeared unnoticed, positioned by the window of the police station opposite the station.

Opposite the wall was the interrogation room, where two policemen looked annoyed, and a middle-aged man with grayish-blue skin sat at the table with his head down.

"You are suspected of being linked to three burglaries and one murder. Under the Circular Channel Act, we have the right to take measures against you..."

"I just crave warmth," the man mumbled, "something...something that can warm me...something real..."

Frost spread from his feet and climbed up the officers' legs.

"temperature."

Thirty seconds later, a massive amount of ice erupted, turning the Golden Leaf City Police Department into an iceberg. A man, weeping uncontrollably, emerged from the icy aura; his tears had frozen into frost.

A block away from the police station, a square-faced monk lowered the curtains. A magic circle, drawn in thick shadows, filled the room as he opened the "Requiem for the Soul."

“Hear my call. Lord of Nightmares, Remnant of War, Lord of Billions of Demons…” Bernfar uttered a series of revered names, “Vansarar, the City of Nightmares.”

The shadow array rapidly contracted towards its center, instantly giving the flattened shadow shape and thickness, forming the head of a ferocious beast resembling a hunting dog. The demon's mouth opened at a painful angle, its upper jaw seemingly broken off and twisted backward, forming an opening resembling a flower petal. Amorphous shadows flowed out, transforming into a savage silhouette.

"...A Bone-Prayer monk?" The shadow was incredulous, then erupted in fury. "Who gave you the audacity to summon me! You should at least have found a priest!!!"

Shadows. Darkness. Shadows. Countless dark colors surged forth, encroaching on reality, and a surge of rage slammed Bernhard against the wall. His expression remained unchanged as he closed his book: "I am a senior monk."

"Even if you are favored by the gods, you are still a worthless piece of trash!!" Vansalar roared.

“I bring you news of a martial arts practitioner,” Bernfar said neither humbly nor arrogantly. “He defeated an immortal machine with skillful hands. Now he has become a Bone Mage.”

The surge of rage abruptly ceased, the shadows casting countless question marks, curiosity becoming the dominant emotion. Vansalar, taking human form, understood the whole story upon hearing it.

"Ah. Interesting. If what you say is true, then fate has become a deadlock. Eternal Time determined that he would die at the hands of Point 2, and now... haha... no Point 2 can kill him anymore." Vansalal began to mock, "What a masterpiece! I've lost count of how many legends this funeral procession has created! Isn't that what your stupid fate is all about? Declaring a death sentence on a lively person and then waiting for them to struggle out and then taking them down, it's the biggest suicide show in the world of motion!"

Compared to the one created by the Spiral Tower, Bernhard thought, all the miscalculations of Eternal Time were as insignificant as dust.

“There is no other possibility but you,” he said.

“This is certainly interesting.” Vansalar tended to its shadowy nails. “Say something else, and I’ll give you a good death.”

“His friend was a Disciplined Knight,” Bernfar said. “I think he was the last Disciplined Knight.”

In an instant, the room fell silent.

The shadowy tendrils converged towards the center, gathering within the corpse of the demon. The blurry shadow solidified, and a pair of black hands tore apart the demon's skin. Vansalal stepped out of the summoning circle, transforming into a blurry humanoid figure, holding a dark, unremarkable telephone.

"Olek! It's me. Send a clone of yourself; there's a good show for you."

He put down the phone and patted Bernfa's cheek.

“Very good.” Vansalar was delighted. “You don’t have to die.”

"From now on, I will take over this matter."

There will be a break from October 10.1st to 8th. A short break will follow. Wishing everyone a happy holiday in advance!

Explanation of the seasonal migration of terrestrial spotted seals

Hello everyone, I'd like to introduce you to the spotted seal.

The spotted seal is a mammal belonging to the family Phocidae, genus Seuss. It has a stout, spindle-shaped body; a round head, large eyes, and a short, broad snout; its webbed limbs are covered in fur, and its inner toe is longer than its outer toe on its forelimbs. It measures approximately 1.2–2 meters in length and weighs about 100 kilograms. It feeds on fish and cephalopods, such as squid and octopus. When on land, it can only crawl slowly, like a large worm, relying on the incline of its forelimbs and upper body. This slow, stumbling movement is described above by Baidu Encyclopedia.

About five years ago, because I met most of the above descriptions, I was secretly identified as a rare terrestrial spotted seal and entitled to Atlantis-1 level protected wildlife subsidies. After being recognized by the organization, I considered myself a superior species and was confident that I would henceforth live an ideal life of eating and sleeping, sleeping and eating, being fed when I woke up, and having someone to keep me company when I fell asleep.

However, life is unpredictable, and things don't always go as planned. The official Atlantis assessment doesn't reflect well on him in his current environment. Therefore, after graduating from the main training ground, the spotted seal, for the sake of survival, had to take off his training uniform and don work clothes, disguising himself as a slightly larger shrimp. During the day, he devoted himself to reports, rambling reports, platitudes, and pointless research documents—work that was crucial to his basic survival needs, such as unimpeded eating and limited sleeping space. At night, he diligently fantasized and typed in front of the computer, trying to create short stories for everyone's amusement in exchange for this month's special allowance for terrestrial spotted seals.

This kind of life has lasted for more than a year. Although it is mentally and physically exhausting, and there is no beautiful girl caretaker in the foreseeable future who will descend from the sky with a great mission to lead me to the Crimson Lotus Emperor ν machine to save the world, it will continue unless something unexpected happens.

However, during a recent nighttime cruise on the ocean, I was suddenly given a divine revelation by the great ocean sage, who told me that between October 10.1st and 10.8th, a warm ocean current carrying a large number of nutrient-rich fish and cephalopods would flow past the western part of my continent.

This divine revelation plunged me into deep hesitation and bewilderment. If I were to follow the ocean currents, I could feast to my heart's content, which would undoubtedly be a powerful release from the pressure I had accumulated over the past year, fully guaranteeing my enthusiasm for creating entertainment stories in the future. However, spotted seals have simple brain structures and cannot multitask. If I were to embark on a food-hunting journey, I would not be able to write while feasting, thus affecting the seal allowance I would receive the following month. This would undoubtedly be a heavy blow to my food budget for the next month.

However, upon reflection, I realized that my current stories are filled with images of squid, octopus, eels, and other fish and cephalopods. If I could feast on them in the ocean currents, my future descriptions of them would be much more vivid and engaging, delighting readers and undoubtedly increasing my seal allowance. From that moment on, feasting was no longer just about eating and drinking; it became a path to abundant and glorious material for the spotted seal clan.

Just then, my workplace, where I worked under the guise of being a shrimp during the day, generously granted me a statutory holiday, allowing me to legitimately escape my workspace. I realized this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one I couldn't let slip by. So, I made up my mind, packed my bags, and, together with two or three seafood enthusiast friends, embarked on a seafood-hunting adventure.

Considering that this trip has a significant impact on improving the quality of the work by up to 1%, we are hereby informing our readers that the book will be temporarily suspended from October 10.1st to October 10.8th. We hope for your full support, understanding, respect and encouragement.

If you have a different opinion, you can also pat the seal's belly, pat pat pat pat pat.

I also wish all readers of terrestrial primates, as well as those of unknown existence such as marine life, flying species, and alien species, a happy holiday.

Respectfully presented by Prince 2326, embarking on a feasting and drinking adventure.

Chapter 103 Improving the Practical Matching Mechanism

That night, the world was pure white.

In the boundless, endless, and vast pure white space stood a tiny figure. Chu Hengkong looked at it curiously for a while and said, "Mr. Ji, the rendering isn't keeping up."

"Wait a minute, this is the first time I've used this supernatural power..."

Several trees fell as the man spoke, and then a square gray stone building rose from the ground. An old dragon god statue with a long beard lay on the roof, its eyes as bright as the sun. In the blink of an eye, Chu Hengkong found himself in a courtyard with a strong Xianxia (fantasy martial arts) feel. Ji Qiufeng sat in a grand chair, leisurely fanning himself with a paper fan.

"As the Lord of Huilong City, I can partially utilize the power of Leisure, which is the ancient dragon clan's divine art of Dream Intervention. This art is one of the ancient dragon clan's signature techniques, possessing remarkable power in many aspects, including dream interpretation, divination, attack, and intimidation..."

"The last two applications are a bit strange. Were they developed by Uoyo itself?"

"Dream attacks are a means for the Dragon Gods to fight against the Black Moon, and the use of dream intimidation was indeed her invention." City Lord Ji showed a headache of pride. "This dream space is isolated from the outside world, and the flow of time is faster than outside. Now, Heng Kong, you should understand why I deliberately used this technique?"

Chu Hengkong was incredibly intelligent; he quickly realized what was going on: "Youyou forced you to intimidate me."

Ji Qiufeng picked up his fan and tapped him lightly.

“It’s easier to talk about this here. You brought back the letter from the Divine Tree Clan requesting help.”

“I suppose I should go,” Chu Hengkong nodded.

He had just been suffering from a headache due to the effects of the True Machine, and then he received a letter of appeal for help from the Senluo Divine Tree Clan. If this were merely a coincidence, it would be an extreme one. Without Ji Qiufeng needing to explain further, he knew this must be due to the influence of the so-called "Tide of Destiny" in the Submerged Realm. He would act for some predetermined reason, others would be drawn by his arrival, and more likely, both...

Fate is such an excessive thing; the more you engage with it, the more you become aware of its existence. Ji Qiufeng once said during his cultivation that many people, the more they cultivate, the more they feel their fate is predetermined, thus becoming deeply trapped in delusion and unable to break free; the more they try not to believe, the more obsessed they become. Chu Hengkong, however, had no opinion on this, or rather, he didn't really care at all.

Is this fate's arrangement, that they're not going to rescue their allies?

Is it really fate that's conspiring, so you're not going to get your spine treated?

The things he had to do wouldn't change because of this, and the movement of fate actually saved him time, so why not?

Ji Qiufeng once again revealed that expression he always wore after teaching him advanced techniques.

“Heng Kong, you have such a good mindset.” He sighed. “I know you’ve made up your mind, but there’s something I need to make clear first. This time, Youyou and I can’t help you.”

"Huilong City still needs your care, so of course I'll go." Chu Hengkong felt it was only natural.

Ji Qiufeng's expression turned serious: "This isn't just about Huilong City; it involves the very essence of the tides of destiny. You must remember this carefully."

Chu Hengkong was on high alert. Every time Ji Qiufeng said this, it meant that what he was about to say was extremely important. Forgetting even a single word of these words could be a matter of life and death.

"The tide of fate has a perfect, self-consistent matching mechanism," Ji Qiufeng said seriously.

"……what?"

"Repeat after me, 'matching mechanism'." Ji Qiufeng pronounced clearly, "Why do we use this term? Because it's very similar to the water curtain game you and Huaisu secretly played. The current will force you to face connected objects, but these connections are basically limited to the range of the same particle. The skillful hands of particle 1 often encounter the strange beasts of particle 1, and the worst that particle 2's shadow will encounter is the killing ghost of particle 2. This is the most common encounter in the current. This law has been widely confirmed by many ascendants in the Submerged Realm and can basically be regarded as a law."

"Mr. Ji, I want to clarify one thing first: Ji Huaisu dragged me to play the water screen games. I prefer to play single-player games myself."

"You seem to be having a lot of fun with Vande!" Ji Qiufeng waved his hand. "So far, I've only seen one Ascended user who almost broke the law, and he, as a skilled craftsman, encountered an Immortal Machine..."

"The Immortal Machine is an on-the-spot transformation. In fact, when I first arrived, it was just a soul container," Chu Hengkong said. "It conforms to the laws."

"You understand. This law becomes especially evident when you step into the currents of destiny—especially when using them to travel to other Dust Isles. If you were to leave the Senluo Secret Realm alone this time, the enemies you would face would not exceed a particle level of 3. But if I or Youyou were to go with you..."

Chu Hengkong's eye twitched: "So I'll be able to witness the battle of the 5th point?"

“You’ll be crushed by the aftershocks of the Fifth Mass Point War,” Ji Qiufeng corrected. “At that time, powerful beings of the same mass point will inevitably follow us, and the attraction of the tide of fate is not only based on rank, but also on ‘fate power.’ The skills you control, the relics you possess, the karma you bear, and even your undeveloped talents… all these factors will be taken into account. Do you understand what this means?”

Chu Hengkong realized the problem: "Is it a random match based on overall strength and background? What if you go out and immediately encounter a legendary heretic?"

“Or multiple ordinary external paths,” Ji Qiufeng said. “That’s why we rarely give you relics that exceed your current mass point. If you go out with a mass point of 2 and a mass point of 5, the trend might judge your destiny power as being in the mass point 5 category.”

"Cheng delivered vegetables to Hong Nie." Chu Hengkong felt a deep headache.

“Considering your bad luck, I think there’s a higher probability that it’s Legendary Point 5, or the Think Tank,” Ji Qiufeng laughed. “Now you should understand why Youyou is anxious.”

The matchmaking system makes it difficult for high-quality powerhouses to go out and "escort," and carrying high-quality relics also carries a high probability of being heavily penalized; a single offense of possessing a treasure can land one in the trap of heretics. If he wants to support the Senluo Divine Tree, he must leave the island alone with relics of no higher than quality 2.

The last person from the city to venture out of the island alone was Jie An's father, Jie Wen. Not to mention Youyou's concern, even Chu Hengkong himself felt it was unlikely to be successful.

"Now that this mechanism has been clearly understood, there must be ways to exploit loopholes."

"That's natural. How could you underestimate the wisdom of the beings in the turbulent realm?" Ji Qiufeng said with a smile. "The most exploitable loopholes are those 'without a point of mass'. Some races and strengths do not follow the path of ascension and do not have a point of mass. The current will guide them according to their general destiny, but the effect is naturally weaker than that of normal ascendants."

The three most representative forces among them are the Fallen, the Funeral Procession, and the Illusory Demons, which are also the three great heretical forces that are the root of all evil in the Fallen Realm…

Chu Hengkong became increasingly uneasy as he listened: "Wait, Mr. Ji? How did this loophole fall into the wrong hands?"

"The Abyss is the loophole of the world, and the heretical path is their home turf." Ji Qiufeng shook his fan. "Youyou and I have assessed your bad luck repeatedly, and we both believe that if you act alone this time, you will almost certainly encounter the heretical path of the Abyss. But if you go with that girl Huaisu... you will probably be able to participate in a super melee of the legendary heretical path of the Abyss. Aren't you looking forward to it?"

The assassin, eager to try, said, "To be honest, it is true."

"So you need to prepare quickly to avoid being crushed by heretics as soon as you get off the ship." Ji Qiufeng stood up from the armchair. "We also have ways to exploit loopholes. Highly efficient relics that are restricted to low-quality points, special races that also do not follow the path of ascension, and secret techniques that you are very familiar with, which can only be controlled by high-quality point powerhouses."