The time displayed on the Survival Panel was 4:00 a.m. 

Qiyu wasn’t the least bit sleepy. He swept his mental energy across his domain; all his subjects were resting.

He took another look at his spiritual realm, which contained only a large tree with a treehouse atop it, and below, a circle of grass.

He instinctively shaped his spiritual realm according to his preferences, but that was as far as he could go—at his current level of cultivation, this was the limit. Thinking of Aegnor’s spiritual realm, which seemed to stretch endlessly—well, that gave him yet another reason to train harder.

He walked to the edge of the territory.

As if sensing his arrival, the demon vine—which had been displaying the “Resting” status—began to rustle softly. A small tendril reached out and waved at him in a playful, affectionate manner. 

Qiyu whispered, “It’s okay, go back to sleep.”

Only then did the little tendril slowly retract.

Qiyu gazed at the dense darkness beyond the territory. Perhaps it was because he’d advanced to a Four Star Mage—he felt a bit full of himself. He released a bit of his mental energy and tentatively extended it outward.

…And that was it.

He lost all connection with that thread of mental energy instantly.

The mental energy he’d sent out seemed to have been completely swallowed up by the darkness. 

Qiyu was silent for a moment, then turned and left.

Survival game—you’re right, the darkness is dangerous; never get too close. 

He took out the “Bow of Idelan” from his backpack. 

The silver bow, which looked simple and elegant in daylight, now emitted a faint, silvery glow in the dim light—a glow only visible in the dim surroundings. It resembled a crescent moon.

Qiyu, whose primary aesthetic preference was anything “sparkly,” looked at it and liked it even more. 

Qiyu finished memorizing the entire *Basic Archery* within his elf teacher’s mental space. 

He found an open space and used Wood Magic to create a “target.” Then, just as described in *Basic Archery*, he drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

It’s strange, really.

He was skilled with many different kinds of weapons. These “proficiencies” were mostly honed through his struggles in the post-apocalyptic world. But the bow and arrow were not among them.

After systematically learning hand-to-hand combat from the Butler, his close-quarters combat skills had likely improved somewhat, but the Butler had never taught him archery.

For him, this was likely a completely unfamiliar field.

Yet as his hands gripped the longbow and his fingertips touched the arrow, he felt an inexplicable sense of delight and pleasure. 

His body seemed to instinctively know how to use them in the most correct posture, and he intuitively channeled his mental energy into the arrow. 

He released the arrow.

The arrow shot like a meteor, tracing a brilliant trail of light through the dim night. It hit the bullseye. 

The “target,” fashioned from magic, clearly couldn’t withstand the attack; it shattered instantly, reverting to its original magical form. Qiyu stared in awe at the arrow for a moment, then looked down at his hand gripping the longbow.

I really am a genius. He nodded to himself with delight—his first time using a bow and arrow, and he was already this accurate. Moreover, he couldn’t help but admire the Bow of Idelan in his hands.

Archery is really fun.

Even though it was clearly his first time, he had already fully grasped the charm of this weapon. Magic surged, and several targets sprang up from the ground once more.

He started by hitting them one by one, then gradually began drawing the bow further back to shoot from a greater distance.

The moment the sky suddenly brightened, the abrupt change in light stung Qiyu’s eyes, causing him to instinctively shut them.

As his fingers relaxed, three Star Arrows flew from his hand.

Boom.

The three plant targets shattered instantly.

Qiyu exhaled softly and, without hesitation… picked up the communication orb and sent a message to God Has No Form. It’s dawn—time to get up. 

The communication orb connected instantly. To his surprise, God Has No Form’s voice sounded full of energy—not at all like someone who had just woken up. Qiyu asked him, “You didn’t sleep either, God Has No Form?” 

Dan Xingyu was silent for a moment, then said earnestly, “Promise me, Qiyu. While we’re talking, please call me by my name, okay?” 

He hadn’t thought anything was off when he chose his ID, but being called “God Has No Form” so earnestly still made him feel a little awkward. 

This was only because a local was calling him by name so earnestly; if it had been anyone else, Dan Xingyu felt they both would have burst out laughing. Qiyu: “Oh, okay, Dan Xingyu.”

Dan Xingyu: “Hmm, I couldn’t quite fall asleep last night… Were you up too?”

He realized that Qiyu had used the word “also.”

Qiyu spoke honestly: “I was looking at that crowd… of people in Ophelia’s Royal City yesterday, so I couldn’t sleep.” 

“Me too!” Dan Xingyu was both surprised and delighted. What could be happier than having a best friend who’s always on the same wavelength as him? 

Now he could say it without any hesitation: “That group of people really fired me up—I trained all night last night.” “What a coincidence,” Qiyu said. “Me too.” 

A smile involuntarily spread across Dan Xingyu’s face: “Hmm, let’s get back to the topic at hand. What did you call me about?”

“Call?”

Dan Xingyu casually covered for him: “Back in my hometown, there’s a device similar to a communication orb—I like to call it a ‘phone.’” 

Qiyu understood immediately; in the post-apocalyptic world, there was a similar device called a “communicator.” However, they were in very short supply, and only a few people in the base owned one.

After the base was destroyed, he never saw one again. 

He remembered that he’d meant to share some good news with his best friend: “Dan Xingyu, I’ve advanced to a four-star mage.”

“Really?” Dan Xingyu’s voice came through, filled with admiration. “That’s so impressive!”

“Then I’ll have to work even harder,” Dan Xingyu said with a touch of envy. “You’re always one step ahead of me.”

Qiyu smiled smugly and shared his second piece of good news: “I’ve mastered Basic Archery.”

“What do you mean, basic swordsmanship?” Dan Xingyu didn’t catch on at first; his mind had wandered elsewhere. “Do you want to learn swordsmanship? I can teach you.” 

His actual job title is “Swordsman.”

“You misunderstood—it’s not that kind of swordplay.”

Qiyu found it a bit hard to explain: “Come see me, and I’ll demonstrate it for you… Never mind, I’ll come to you.” As it happened, he hadn’t been to Dan Xingyu’s territory yet. 

Dan Xingyu was taken aback: “You’re coming to my place?”

He instinctively glanced around, his mind frantically searching for any places in his territory that might not be suitable for visitors. After a moment’s thought, he concluded it was fine.

His palace shimmered with light—magnificent and grand—and should certainly appeal to the local residents’ tastes. Plus, since he lived alone, it was neither cluttered nor dirty.

He hadn’t even slept last night, so there wasn’t even a risk of the blankets being unmade! 

Qiyu: “Okay! Wait for me a moment.”

He needed to prepare a gift for the house call.

Dan Xingyu: “Okay.”

He hung up the phone, scanned the contents of his backpack, and decisively opened the group chat.

【God Has No Form: Is everyone up yet? @All Members.】 

【With My Retreat: Er Shen, what’s up so early? Aren’t you going to Server 01 to grind today?】 

As everyone knows, Er Shen has been dropping by Server 01 quite often lately.

【God Has No Form: I’m not going to Server 01 today—the gaming pro are coming over to my place.】

【God Has No Form: Hurry up! Do you guys have any good stuff to entertain guests with? Bring it out right away to show your respect to your gaming dad.】

【With My Retreat: Holy crap! Our dear godfather is coming? Hold on, let me check my inventory.】No one else was chatting in the group.

But God Has No Form soon received a huge pile of gifts from friends. After accepting them all, he laughed in disbelief.

Things like an “elegant fruit platter,” “snack mystery boxes,” and “huge artistic sculptures”—fine, whatever. 

“Bizarre sofa,” “antique oil painting,” and—what on earth is a “professional maid outfit”? 

【The Future Is Long: Well, now that our Big Dad’s here, you’d better make sure to take good care of him so we can climb his coattails even better in the future.】

【The Sun Rose From the West: Er Shen, the happiness of our Server 88 depends on your performance. Please make sure the game’s big shot feels the passion of Server 88!】

【God Has No Form: Hah, given my relationship with him, why would I need all this nonsense?】

He knew he couldn’t count on this bunch of jerks. 

He hurried to take a shower, changed his clothes, and then tidied up the living room.

Around the same time, Qiyu’s request arrived.

Qiyu had also taken a shower; after all, it’s only polite to be clean when visiting someone’s home.

He even went out of his way to put on a different set of mage robes he hadn’t worn yet—an outfit that had been approved by his elven teacher, so he figured he couldn’t go wrong no matter where he went. 

The gift he prepared for God Has No Form was a basket of chilled pastries. 

Perhaps it really was a case of minds connecting, because he also popped over to the 01 Survival Squad to ask what kind of gift would be appropriate to bring when visiting a friend’s home. 

Knowing they had a teleportation gate, everyone in the world knew exactly which friend he was going to visit. 

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: If I’m not mistaken, Server 88 is in the desert?】

【I Love Survival Game: Yes.】

【Need A Little Money To Save Me: Oh my gosh, boss, you guys are already so close, and you’re still going out of your way to prepare a gift to bring over? That’s way too formal, isn’t it?】

【Tranquility Yields Transcendence: Haha, it’s just friendship among kids. When you go to a good friend’s house to hang out, there’s no need to be too formal—just bring a small gift that’s useful and not too expensive.】

Qiyu used plant magic to conjure a beautiful basket of flowers.

Using ice magic, he carved the shape of a Candle Jade Lotus at the bottom. He piled plenty of strawberries and cherries around it—he’d discovered the other day that frozen fruit tasted really good.

Then, he carefully arranged the pretty little desserts he’d found in the treasure chest earlier—the ones he’d been too reluctant to eat. 19 He’d been thinking all along that he wanted to save them for a special occasion. 

Today was just the right day.