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Qiyu has always been a man of action.

He said he was going to talk to the teacher and told Dan Xingyu to do as he pleased, then really left him to his own devices.

Dan Xingyu watched as he sat cross-legged beneath the Tree of Life, a book appearing in his hand. He opened it.

A faint green glow flashed by, and the person under the tree had already closed his eyes. Wait, is he really just going to ignore me completely? 

Dan Xingyu tiptoed over to him, crouched down, and stared at him.

“Qiyu? My Lord?” he called out softly, curiously.

The man sitting cross-legged beneath the tree seemed to have entered the kind of “meditative trance” described in martial arts and xianxia novels. This was the first time Dan Xingyu had ever observed a local from such a close distance without being disturbed.

His gaze slowly traced the man’s sharp, defined jawline, resting on his pale, thin lips before pausing for a moment. 

People often say that those with thin lips are cold-hearted—that’s a lie. This local guy is clearly so sweet.

Looking up further, his gaze settled on Qiyu’s long, sweeping eyelashes.

Jet-black and thick, they stood out strikingly against his cool, pale skin, making one’s heart flutter. By the time he realized what he was doing, his fingers had already brushed upward.

Dan Xingyu:“……”

He jumped to his feet, feeling like he might actually be a bit of a pervert. 

What kind of normal person would play with their friend’s eyelashes while he’s asleep?! 

“You just left me here without a word— aren’t you afraid I’ll get a wild idea?” he said menacingly. “Next time, I’ll secretly steal your books”

Qiyu was clearly oblivious to the rich inner monologue unfolding in his friend’s mind. He was smoothly pulled into the elf teacher’s mental space.

This time, he found exactly what he was looking for; as soon as he entered, he saw Teacher Aegnor.

The teacher was sitting in a small pavilion, with a pot of steaming tea on the table.

“Sit down.”

Qiyu obediently sat down across from him and asked eagerly, “Teacher Aegnor, was it you who came to our aid in the Royal City of Ophelia?” 

“Is that so?” The elf replied in a faint, indifferent tone, “Could just any tom, dick, or harry threaten a student of mine?”

Although he was already ninety-nine percent certain in his heart, actually hearing the person admit it—filling in that final one percent—still made Qiyu very excited.

“You’re truly amazing.” The child’s eyes sparkled with unabashed admiration and awe. 

It had been a long time since the elf had felt such unvarnished emotion; it was a rare experience, and he found himself somewhat taken aback. 

His gaze swept over Qiyu’s entire body, and he changed the subject: “Your outfit in Ophelia was actually quite presentable.” 

Qiyu realized the elf teacher was referring to his disguise as an elf, and a hint of unease washed over him.

Since Aegnor was able to come to his aid when he was in danger, he must have seen him disguised as an elf.

He answered honestly, “I received a request saying the duke’s youngest daughter wanted to meet an elf. But since I don’t know any other elves besides you, I had no choice but to come myself.”

“I’m not blaming you at all.” The elf seemed to understand his personality well, thinking that if he didn’t put it plainly, he might not even get it. He added, “It suits you perfectly.” 

Sure enough, upon hearing this, Qiyu visibly let out a sigh of relief.

He nodded in full agreement: “Yes, yes. Even when I look in the mirror, I feel like I’ve become more expensive.”

“More refined?” What a strange way to describe it.

Qiyu immediately looked down, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and praised it repeatedly: “It smells so good.” 

The elf glanced at him, pretending not to notice that he was playing dumb. 

Qiyu let out a sigh of relief, cradled the teacup, and asked the other question that had been on his mind: “Teacher Aegnor, when we were surrounded by those people earlier, I didn’t think you’d step in. If you’d helped us tear the teleportation scroll, we would’ve been able to escape successfully, right?”

He truly had a lot of faith in the survival game.

But today, for the first time, he’d witnessed just how formidable those powerful figures were.

As soon as he returned, he began to worry: If we encountered someone exceptionally powerful—like a magic saint like Aegnor, who can even seal off space—would the teleportation scrolls become unusable?

“Don’t overthink it.” Although he had personally taught Qiyu how to create a mental barrier, he was now unable to read his thoughts. But his feelings were plain as day.

“As for that scroll, no one can stop it for now.” 

Qiyu felt relieved.

He sensed that his elf teacher seemed to be in a particularly good mood today. 

So he boldly asked him, “Teacher, was the Star Forest really home to the elves in the past? Since I’ve been out here, everyone says the elves haven’t shown themselves to humans in a very, very long time. So where do you elves live now?”

He didn’t get an answer.

Not only did he not get an answer, but he also got a tap on the head.

The silver-haired elf said coldly, “Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t.” 

Qiyu played it safe: “Oh.” 

It seemed there were no shortcuts to be taken. 

The elf said indifferently, “Since you’re here today, you might as well take a class.” 

Qiyu’s eyes lit up: “Sure!”

Immediately afterward, he heard a remark: “Clearly, my teaching isn’t intense enough—you still have enough energy left to seek out Karen for lessons.” 

Qiyu:?

He answered honestly: “Actually, it’s not that the intensity isn’t enough—I’ve just been really busy lately. It took me a long time to squeeze in some time for Teacher Karen’s magic array class.” 

Aegnor: “……”

“Oh? You like his classes so much? So eager to attend that you’d squeeze your way in?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t say I particularly like or dislike it.” Qiyu always answered his teacher’s questions honestly. “It’s mainly because I spent 150,000 gold coins on it. It’d be a total waste not to attend.” 

“……”

The teacher across from him, naturally taciturn, fell silent. 

Qiyu urged him, puzzled, “Teacher Aegnor, weren’t we supposed to be here for class?” 

“…Let’s go.”

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Dan Xingyu returned to the Golden Desert.

It was strange—he had clearly set up a constant-temperature magic array here, and the temperature was the same as in the local inhabitants’ territory. Yet it just didn’t feel as comfortable as over there. 

Dan Xingyu leisurely opened his survival panel and typed a “.” in the region chat. 

He began to enjoy the pleasures of a ruler. 

【Life Without a Phone Is Tough: Your Divine Majesty, you’ve finally appeared! This humble servant has been waiting patiently for quite some time!】 

【With My Retreat: The God has finally come to attend to official business—3,000 reputation points. You couldn’t possibly have just gone for a ride on a dragon outside, could you?】 

【Eternal Night: You’re teaming up with “I Love Survival Game”? After the racing extravaganza—you’ve really hit the jackpot.】 

【Grilled Wings with Extra Honey: I opened my resource point pack and got a small patch of forest! It’s not affected by sandstorms, won’t wither, and provides shade. Plus, it boosts territory comfort by 10 points! God, I hereby declare you the sole Godfather of our Server 88!】

Dan Xingyu went through all the compliments one by one. Feeling great.

He even took the time to reply to a few specific comments. 

【God Has No Form: @Eternal Night, you’re right—I was out exploring with a top-tier player. I only got to go out and explore because of him.】

【God Has No Form: @Eternal Night, it really feels great to ride someone’s coattails.】

【God Has No Form: @Eternal Night, it’s a real shame you can’t do the same】

【Eternal Night: …】

God Has No Form, you’re such a jerk!

After getting under everyone’s skin, he got down to business.

【God Has No Form: Let me talk a bit about what I learned.】

【God Has No Form: This reputation score basically requires us to leave our territory and explore areas inhabited by indigenous peoples, so they can recognize the Golden Desert. The more people who know, the higher the reputation points.】

Recalling some of what Qiyu had mentioned, he added:

【God Has No Form: I suspect that indigenous people who are particularly powerful or of high status receive a greater reputation bonus than ordinary people.】In addition, he shared some information from his divination regarding the Golden Desert.

【God Has No Form: We’ve come to the imperial capital of the Kaila Empire. Here, the Golden Desert is a region featured in a young adult fantasy adventure novel. Additionally, in the Ora Empire, there are some nursery rhymes related to the Golden Desert.】

【God Has No Form: In the region where we are, among the indigenous people, it’s very likely a fictional place from stories or folklore.】

【A Clumsy Guy: Enough with the talk—give us some updates, God. How did you guys leave your territory and come out here? Did you use some special method to farm reputation?】

【God Has No Form: Why do you think, until today, the Star Forest was the only one listed on the reputation rankings for so long?】

【God Has No Form: @AClumsyGuy. You open your mouth and immediately want to know the secrets of a top-tier player? Do you not even see your own face clearly when you look in the mirror?】

【Eternal Night: @AClumsyGuy, do we have to spoon-feed you and pull down your pants for you when you go to the bathroom?】

After saying this, God Has No Form checked the chats in his friends list and small group. 

There’s actually some good stuff in this small group:

【The Sun Rose From The West: @God Has No Form, God, I just encountered a wandering merchant today—check this out. Information: Random Region Exploration Blueprint.】

【The Sun Rose From The West: 10,000 Beast Crystals—that’s practically going to bankrupt me.】

【The Sun Rose From The West: Is this the item you guys are using?】

【God Has No Form: No, it’s the game’s own special item.】

【God Has No Form: I’d better add this: be very careful when exploring outside. Don’t assume you’re players and adopt a superior attitude. The native inhabitants of this world are far more powerful and dangerous than you can imagine.】

He posted this exact same message in the zone chat as well.

【God Has No Form: If possible, it’s best to bring a teleportation scroll. That way, you can return quickly if you encounter danger.】 As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed a notification light up in the “Friends” section of his interface.

It was a message from the local inhabitant.

After earning the “Mind-In-Sync” title, the two players’ profiles will automatically be pinned at the top of each other’s friend lists, and their messages will feature exclusive special effects. 

【I Love Survival Game: I just asked—teleportation scrolls are way more powerful than we thought. Even in a situation like today’s, where we were surrounded by powerful enemies, we could still escape.】

【God Has No Form: You’re back already?】

How long has it even been since you got here?

【I Love Survival Game: Time flows differently in the teacher’s spiritual realm.】 His head was already stuffed full of new teachings. 

On top of that, he’d memorized a copy of *Basic Archery* and was told to practice on his own when he got back. 

Dan Xingyu felt envious the moment he heard this.

【God Has No Form: So if you trained in the mental space, wouldn’t one day be equivalent to many days?】Qiyu had actually considered the same thing.

But the teacher had ruthlessly rejected the idea. 

【I Love Survival Game: The teacher said no.】

He guessed that the Survival Game must have imposed some kind of restriction.

The course is a reward that can be obtained from a treasure chest, so the teacher can instruct him in the spiritual realm. 

However, exploiting loopholes to cultivate without restriction is not allowed.