"You, uh..."

In the car, Ren Suo, lying on the back seat relaxing his muscles, heard Zhao Huo trail off and asked, "If you have something to say, just spit it out."

It was nighttime now, and only the two of them were in the car. They could have left in the afternoon, but they were among the few Cultivators at the comic convention and had been spotted by Qiao Muyi. Consequently, the Tactical Bureau held them back for interrogation, and the back-and-forth dragged on until evening.

They had agreed to go for a seafood buffet tonight, but seeing Ren Suo looking half-dead, their group ended up at McDonald's for some burgers. Afterward, Zhao Huo drove Ren Suo home.

"...Never mind, it's nothing."

Zhao Huo had wanted to ask what happened to Ren Suo's daughter, who seemed to have disappeared, but on second thought, he felt it wasn't his place to ask. Having a daughter implied there was a mother. After all, Ren Suo didn't have a uterus, so it was impossible for him to have conjured a daughter out of thin air. With the daughter absent, she might have been taken away by her mother. As for why Ren Suo would be separated from his daughter... Although Zhao Huo didn't like watching domestic melodramas, the girls he knew unfortunately did. Thus influenced, he could somewhat imagine a high school youth story for Ren Suo, a 'sorrow turning into a river' kind of tragedy. Of course, Zhao Huo had also considered that perhaps their relationship wasn't father-daughter, but he quickly dismissed the idea. If they were childhood sweethearts, wouldn't the difference between them be too obvious? If they were relatives, the sheer joy at their reunion couldn't be faked. Without a very deep Bond Relationship, how could that little girl show such an expression to Ren Suo? Ren Suo wasn't exactly a celebrity everyone fawned over. So, if they weren't father and daughter, they could possibly be foster father and daughter... Why is this getting more and more dramatic?

In the end, Ren Suo still went home alone. Zhao Huo let out a light sigh and comforted him, "Let it go, Ren Suo, it's all in the past."

Ren Suo glanced at Zhao Huo in the driver's seat. What is this fool prattling on about, speaking in riddles? He thought. So, he activated his 'Desire Detection' Ability and went along with the conversation, "Yeah, it's all in the past. Zhao Huo, hand me a can of Coke."

"Call me dad." Zhao Huo's fiancée had gifted him this luxury car, which came with a built-in fridge.

"Son, grab a Coke for Grandpa."

"Get it yourself."

"If I could move, I'd have made you treat me to that seafood buffet."

"Then you'll just have to make do with swallowing your saliva. I need to drive safely."

Zhao Huo's Desire Resonance was: 'Has a sister, has a daughter, a winner in life. Isolate him.'

...This resonance is so hard to understand. I guess I really need the Listening Headphones to comprehend a fool's Desire Resonance.

Ren Suo clicked his tongue. He wasn't actually thirsty, he thought; it was just that at times like this, he needed a cold Coke to cool down.

Ren Suo had brought the unseen threads of Destiny to a perfect conclusion.

Ren Suo lay on the backseat, finally having time to organize his gains from the past few days.

Without the game console at hand, Ren Suo could now only check the changes in his Bond Abilities.

First off, the new Bonds.

"Little Jiu, Level 1 Bond, Bond Ability 'Enchanting Sound and Illusory Fragrance': Slightly enhances vocal charm and illusory body fragrance, possessing a certain resistance to similar abilities. The effect of 'Enchanting Sound and Illusory Fragrance' will gradually weaken on the same individual."

Zhao Huo and the others saying Ren Suo's voice sounded good just now was probably due to the influence of this Bond Ability.

As a Nine-Tailed Fox, Little Jiu possessed an extremely formidable charm ability—it could even be said that her ability to live so comfortably in New York was entirely reliant on this charm. Ren Suo doubted Little Jiu would go hunting there.

A Level 1 Bond could at most grant Ren Suo a 'slight enhancement,' and the description specifically noted that 'the effect will gradually weaken on the same individual,' indicating that for now, this Bond was little more than a decorative extra.

Zhao Huo seemed to have become immune to this effect, apparently because they had chatted too much that afternoon.

Next were the Bonds that Ren Suo and others had advanced during the night of the attack, eight days prior.

Since they were all Bonds with old acquaintances, Ren Suo hadn't been in a hurry to check them at the time, figuring the effects would be similar.

However, upon checking now, Ren Suo discovered that the Bonds with Qiao Muyi and Bai Ji had actually jumped two levels!

"Qiao Muyi, Level 3 Bond, Bond Ability 'Demon King's Descent': Receives negative emotions; Derived Ability 'Imperial Edict': Can consume negative emotions to reinforce the effects of subsequent spells (Attack/Move/Healing/Strengthening, etc.), enhancing up to a maximum of 50%, consuming varying amounts of negative emotions depending on the spell's Spiritual Energy consumption."

Ren Suo instantly remembered Qiao Muyi during the night of the attack. She had used only very basic Second-Tier Spells throughout the entire confrontation. Yet, her spell effects were not inferior to those of other strong-affinity Cultivators and Awakening Monks. Throughout the battle, Qiao Muyi hadn't been prominent, but she stood unwavering like a rock in a torrent. She was everywhere, putting out fires, and together with Bai Ji and the others, she had staunchly resisted the assassins' relentless waves of attacks.

It was likely through an effect similar to the Derived Ability 'Imperial Edict' that her Second-Tier Spells could still threaten those elite foreign assassins in such high-intensity combat.

"Bai Ji, Level 3 Bond, Bond Ability 'Ice Age': Able to manipulate frost using Spiritual Energy."

The description of Bai Ji's Bond Ability showed no changes, similar to Yu Kuangtu's. However, as Ren Suo faintly sensed it in the car, he found that he could condense the water vapor in the air more quickly; it was indeed an improvement.

The Bonds with Bai Ji and Qiao Muyi had only been Level 1 before. Having them rise directly to Level 3 after the night of the attack was indeed a pleasant surprise for Ren Suo. But when he saw Dong Chengling's Bond, he understood that this was his most important gain of the past few days—

"Dong Chengling, Level 4 Bond, Bond Ability 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart': Teleport 40 meters (starting and landing point must be within the same dimension); if your surface density (skin, hair, etc.) is less than the average density at the landing point, teleportation cannot occur. Cooldown time 5 hours, no cost. Derived Ability 'Flicker': For the next 10 seconds, you can use 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart' an unlimited number of times without cooldown. After use, this Bond Ability will enter a full 44-day cooldown (neither Player nor game character can use it) until the cooldown ends or the Bond is upgraded, which unlocks it again."

Dong Chengling's Bond had been Level 3 before, so advancing to Level 4 was to be expected.

Since Qiao Muyi's 'Demon King's Descent' had gained a Derived Ability, it wasn't surprising for Dong Chengling's 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart' to also have one—but this ability had immense tactical value!

In most games requiring combat, 10 seconds of unlimited teleportation basically equated to 10 seconds of invincibility. In reality, with 10 seconds of unlimited teleportation, Ren Suo could definitely cross Lianjiang City District in 10 seconds, spanning over twenty kilometers—as long as he wasn't afraid of getting embedded in a rock.

Although it required a 44-day cooldown after one use, it was much more affordable than using 'Rippling Spring Sounds'—truly an ace ability that could turn the tides!

'If I use this ability, wouldn't I be able to suffer less?' Such a thought popped into Ren Suo's mind, but he immediately cast it aside. He had to fight three Pallbearers. He couldn't run forever; at best, he could only use 'Flicker' to replace one use of the 'Self-harm Quick Kill Style'. Besides, even if he could turn back time, Ren Suo likely wouldn't be willing to use this ability to deal with the Pallbearers—it was too wasteful! This ability was too extravagant for him!

When Ren Suo was using 'Mage's Death-Defying Feather,' he already had trouble reacting in time, and that was with directional Explosive Speed Teleportation.

If it were a true high-frequency 'Flicker,' Ren Suo would need at least a second just to regain his sense of direction and another second to launch an attack. After a few flickers, ten seconds would have passed.

Some fantasy characters are extremely fast, even capable of teleportation. When they appear on screen, audiences are usually just impressed by their speed. However, their true strengths actually lie in their reflex speed, muscle response, and determination. Being able to accurately strike targets while moving at high speeds—that's the real challenge of high-speed solo combat.

Like Dong Chengling during the night of the attack, who could only retreat far away immediately after one strike. This was because consecutive teleportations placed too high a demand on reflexes, though the first strike could be meticulously prepared.

Even Dong Chengling, a Talented Awakener, couldn't manage consecutive teleportation attacks for now. Ren Suo certainly wouldn't be so arrogant as to think he could. Such crude work should be left to game characters.

In addition, the normal version of 'Within Reach, Yet Worlds Apart' had its cooldown reduced from 10 hours to 5 hours, and the maximum teleportation distance had doubled. This also gave Ren Suo considerable anticipation—as long as he worked hard at it, sooner or later, he too could become someone who could run very fast!

Speaking of which, when 'My Life is Not Your Game' was uploaded, it seems the exclusive reward wasn't given to me immediately. They said something about it being 'in transit'... Could the Bond enhancements be my exclusive reward? Ren Suo mused.

Logically, upgrading three Bonds and acquiring a brand-new one was indeed a significant reward. However, Ren Suo couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. After all, he had earned these Bonds through painstaking efforts of showing off and acting cute. Moreover, he had almost completely exhausted 'Rippling Spring Sounds' in the process, truly paying a hefty price! What he truly wanted was a reward that required no effort at all!

He sighed inwardly and attempted to use 'Demon King's Descent - Imperial Edict' to enhance 'Pain-Relieving Therapy' on himself. The effect was indeed immediate—the soreness from muscle growth lessened significantly, but it would only last for a while.

A while was good enough. Ren Suo reckoned he would have to wait until tomorrow to get out of this condition, and Healing wouldn't speed up this process—he wasn't sick or in pain right now, just that his torn muscles were constantly healing.

"Ren Suo," Zhao Huo suddenly spoke up. "I saw a bit of the other two adventurers' combat at the comic convention."

"Hmm."

"They're much stronger than me."

"Of course."

"Even during the battle in the banquet hall a few days ago, I didn't play a key role. If not for Bai Ji, Dong Chengling, and the Fairy Palace Assassin, I might have only been able to escape." Zhao Huo's tone carried an indescribable quality.

"I'm not much different."

"You're a medic; it's different, it's different," Zhao Huo said. "And even you, the medic, are starting to work hard... Even people dumber than me are making an effort. It sort of got to me too..."

"If I weren't unable to move freely right now, I'd definitely take off my shoes and give you a good thrashing."

Zhao Huo chuckled. "Besides my Daily teaching, I need to make a plan for some serious Cultivation."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ren Suo responded noncommittally. "Make a plan? I get it. The kind of plan you stick to for the first day, but by the fifth day, it's gone with the wind, right?"

Zhao Huo didn't retort. "Anyway, this play was my final lingering attachment. Now that I have no regrets, it's time to keep up with the times."

"Ren Suo, you've been studying Ren Naiser. Do you know the purpose of the Fairy Palace and the World Tree?"

Ren Suo immediately shook his head. "No idea. But it should be... to protect world peace, right?"

"I think so too," Zhao Huo said. "The Earth seems very peaceful now, but it's only been about a year since the revival of Spiritual Energy. Yet in just that short year, Supernatural Organizations never seen before have appeared, along with Ren Naiser, capable of monitoring the entire world, deities, Secret Realms, and even Another World... What else will appear in the future? I don't know. Whether the Fairy Palace and the World Tree can defend this precious peace time and again, I don't know. What I can trust is only my own strength. I've practiced martial arts since I was young. Even though I knew I was no match against firearms, I've never given up—I don't want to be helpless when my loved ones face danger, no matter how weak or insignificant that strength might be. Now that there's an opportunity to wield supreme martial power, I will not let it slip by."

Zhao Huo grinned. "Besides... what boy doesn't dream of being a hero?"

Ren Suo guessed that Zhao Huo had been stimulated by the adventurers' combat footage. Those adventurers' fights prioritized special effects over actual results, always making them flashy and colorful, enough to make onlookers' spirits crumble—the gap between people was just too vast! Was it really okay for a max-level character with full epic gear to show off in front of us grunts like that?

"Keep it up! You have to protect your fiancée well!" Ren Suo encouraged.

"Yeah!"

"And Xiao Meng."

"Yeah."

"And Sun Shu."

"...Yeah."

Zhao Huo's Desire Resonance was: 'Malicious intent.' 'Let's beat him up.'

People's hearts are so treacherous, Ren Suo thought. I'm giving him good advice, and he actually wants to beat me up.

During their conversation, they had returned to Heavenly Lotus Academy. Zhao Huo got out of the car and asked, "Do you need my help?"

"I think I can walk a few steps." The enhanced 'Pain-Relieving Therapy' was indeed potent. Ren Suo felt he could manage, so he opened the car door and stepped out himself.

A sudden, lightning-like pain shot from his calf to his shoulder. Ren Suo's body went limp, and he was about to face-plant right where he stood.

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