Chapter 38 â Let Me See Who Dares
The one who spoke was Daoist Qingxuan.
Li Qingran met Daoist Qingxuanâs gaze with cold indifference and said icily, âI, Li Qingran, am innocent!â
For a brief moment, the entire square before the grand hall fell into silence. Everyone stared at Li Qingran in shock.
Where did she get the audacity to defy a Nascent Soul cultivator?!
To most disciples in the sect, an elder like Daoist Qingxuan was a revered figure, an existence akin to the natural order itself. Whether he was right or wrong didn't matterâhis word was law, and they were to obey without question.
If something seemed unjust, there were ways to explain it later. But to directly confront a Nascent Soul cultivator like this? That was nothing short of courting death.
Forget about authorityâabsolute power was the real law here.
If a Nascent Soul cultivator wanted to suppress you with his cultivation level, what could you do about it?
In the end, in the cultivation world, strength ruled above all.
Sect Master Wu Duantian shook his head and sighed. âLi Qingran has a commendable temperament. Even under Elder Qingxuanâs pressure, she remains composed. But sheâs too rigidâunyielding things tend to break. Sheâs not suited for survival in the cultivation worldâŠâ
âInnocent?!â Daoist Qingxuan let out a furious laugh. âYou dare defy your elders? That alone is an unforgivable crime! Kneel before me!â
Boom!
A terrifying pressure crashed down upon Li Qingran.
Even as she gritted her teeth and resisted, she was still being forced down, inch by inch, about to kneel. But at that moment, a gentle force rose up to support her knees. It spread through her entire body, allowing her to withstand Daoist Qingxuanâs oppressive might.
Itâs himâŠ
Li Qingranâs heart warmed. As expected, he had arrived.
But there were seven Nascent Soul cultivators in Qingyun Sect, along with over a dozen Core Formation cultivators. If he stepped in for her, wouldnât he be in danger?
She relied on him, yet she constantly worried for his safety.
Iâve troubled you again, SeniorâŠ
ăItâs nothing.ă
A cold voice whispered in her ear.
ăAs long as Iâm here, who dares to humiliate you?!ă
In the game, Chen Huaiâan was awe-inspiring.
Outside the game, Chen Huaiâan was utterly dumbfounded.
Ten minutes earlierâ
Just as Li Qingran stepped into the grand hall, a flood of notification windows popped up on Chen Huaiâanâs screen, just as he had expected.
ăYou have triggered Main Quest 1.0: Help Li Qingran sever ties with Chixiao Peak and survive this crisis. (This mission is extremely difficult. If you fail, your Virtual Girlfriend, Li Qingran, will remain at Chixiao Peak and ultimately perish in the sectâs dungeon.)ă
ăPlease create your game character!ă
Chen Huaiâanâs mouth twitched.
Unbelievable.
He had already spent over a hundred thousand yuan on this game, and only now did it let him create a character?
If this damn game hadnât popped up this window, he wouldnât have even known he could make a character! He had thought his character was just some formless mass of Spiritual Qiâor worse, just a pair of floating hands.
âLet me see whatâs going on here!â
Chen Huaiâan opened the character creation panel and found that the customization options were quite limitedâhe could only make minor adjustments to his current appearance. Luckily, he looked decent enough. After a few tweaks, he actually had a bit of an immortal aura.
He scrolled to the hairstyle section.
His hand froze.
ăLimited-Time Offer â Celestial Flowing White Hair: Wuxian. One-time purchase, permanent use! Only „998! Take home a top-tier white-haired style today!ă
ââŠWhat the f***.â
Chen Huaiâanâs expression became incredibly complex.
He had assumed the game wouldnât push microtransactions here, but it didnât even bother pretending otherwise.
There were over a hundred white-haired styles available.
And not just white hairâthere were golden, red, silver, and thousands of different hairstyles!
The so-called "limited-time" white hair was actually the cheapest option. It looked suspiciously similar to Wei Wuxianâs ponytail, except bleached white.
He tried it on.
Absolutely stunning.
â998⊠not bad. Way cheaper than those 9998 ones. Iâll buy it.â
Chen Huaiâan shook his head. As a devoted fan of white-haired characters, some sacrifices had to be made. Fortunately, he was wealthy now, so this amount was nothing.
Next up: outfits.
Without purchasing an outfit, heâd be stuck in the default burlap robeânot exactly the look of a grandmaster. Heâd barely look better than a beggar on the streets.
He needed to buy a proper robe!
After careful selection, he chose a black Daoist robeâ"Dijun"âwith gold dragon embroidery on the cuffs. Price: „3,988, another limited-time offer.
The other Daoist robes all cost over „10,000, and some with special abilities were in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. Some even required Spirit Stones for purchase, though he had no idea how that worked. He couldnât afford those anyway.
Now that he had a stylish outfit and flowing white hair, his character finally looked impressive. But compared to the Nascent Soul old monsters in the sect hall, who were covered in dazzling treasures, he still fell short.
Thatâs where the next microtransaction came in.
ăAura Effectsă
Dragon Ancestorâs Protection â Gain a divine dragonâs blessing. When entering a scene, a dragon leads the way, surrounding you with awe-inspiring might.
(Single-Day Pass: „9,988 / Monthly: „288,888 / Yearly: „3 million / Permanent: „3 billion.)
Golden Crow Chasing the Sun â Erupt with blazing solar radiance upon entry.
(Single-Day: „8,888 / Monthly: „250,000 / Yearly: „2.08 million / Permanent: „2.5 billion.)
âŠ
1999. Dragon Ancestorâs Seal â Summon a black dragonâs phantom. Todayâs special price: „99.8
(Original price: „998/day).
Chen Huaiâan: ââŠâ
After a long pause, he chose the Dragon Ancestorâs Sealâthe best bang for his buck.
As soon as he equipped it, a five-clawed black dragonâs shadow coiled around his character.
Not quite the full Dragon Ancestorâs Protection, but „99.8? A steal.
Besides, he was up against a Nascent Soul cultivator, not a bunch of Grand Immortals.
No need to go overboard.
There were more expensive things ahead.
Finally, the main eventâcultivation boost.
Instantly reach Nascent Soul Peak â „660 million / One-day trial „88,000
Instantly reach Fusion Realm Peak â „1.88 billion / One-day trial „188,000
If this were beforeâespecially before his last hospital visitâhe would have scoffed at these ridiculous prices and cursed out the game developers.
But now?
He simply chuckled and clicked Nascent Soul Peak â One-Day Trial.
„188,000 vanished from his bank account.
His character erupted in divine radiance, an overwhelming presence sweeping across the game.
Right at that moment, Daoist Qingxuanâs enraged voice echoed:
âKneel before me!â
Kneel?
Make Li Qingran kneel?
HehâŠ
Chen Huaiâan pressed his Communication Talisman and let out a cold laugh.
âAs long as Iâm here, let me see who dares?!â