Chapter 24: The Promise, The Mount

The thought of having to face Yang Siyao in Perfect World starting tomorrow immediately soured Fu Chen’s mood.

He forced himself to think of other things, shifting his focus to summarizing the night’s events, the most significant of which was completing his profession awakening. Furthermore, during his previous tasks, he had not only raised "Dragon Manifestation" to the same maximum level he achieved in his past life, but he had also skillfully leveled up his remaining two skills, "Inch Strike" and "Tiger Pounce," to level 10 as well.

Once he confirmed that the mastery of his past life’s skills could be directly inherited, he became determined to learn more. Fu Chen secretly attempted to execute skills he had not yet learned in this life but had mastered in his previous one. He first thought of "Flowing Water" and "Swift Cloud Step," both of which required level 9 but lacked skill books. The former was an active offensive skill, while the latter was an active blessing skill that boosted speed.

The result of his attempt, however, left Fu Chen feeling extremely helpless. No matter how he circulated his internal energy or applied his techniques, he could not successfully execute these skills. This realization made him understand that he must first learn a skill in this life to then elevate its level using his past life’s mastery. He speculated that this was a rule of Perfect World: one could improve existing skills through talent and mastery, but one could not create skills out of thin air.

"Don't be too greedy; I should be content," Fu Chen consoled himself, later finding this to be perfectly reasonable. Otherwise, would he not be able to wield all martial arts skills by level 9? It was just a pity that after killing so many monsters, he hadn't looted the skill books for those two abilities.

Seeing that it was almost time to wake up for work, Fu Chen logged out of Perfect World.

In his rented room off-campus, Fu Chen woke up, stretched his body—which had been lying still for the entire night—and felt completely refreshed. He picked up his phone, and the screen displayed 38 unread messages from Yang Siyao. Fu Chen sneered, unlocked the screen, and quickly scanned the contents.

"There are so few people outside tonight, not lively at all. It would be better if you were here..."
"My best friend and I don't feel like being out anymore; we're heading back now..."
"Tired of binge-watching shows, I think I'll play a few rounds of Honor of Kings to change my mood..."
"I heard some high schoolers in the game talking about something online, I'm going to go check it out..."
"Yesterday morning you said you had an interesting dream; was it about Perfect World?"

"I regret not asking you directly at the time. You must have wanted to confirm the situation before telling me. Hehe, I feel so happy..."
"Getting ready to sleep now. You must call me the moment you wake up, okay? Love you, goodnight!"

After reading the messages, Fu Chen smiled. "Very good. You’ve already found the perfect excuse for me without me having to make one up. Just as I intended."

He immediately dialed a voice call to Yang Siyao. After a few rings, her sleepy voice came through: "Hello...?"

"Patience! Stop thinking about the past life, put aside the revenge for now!" Fu Chen reminded himself once more. He took a deep breath before speaking into the phone: "Not awake yet? I’m about to get up for work."

Yang Siyao instantly perked up, crying out, "No, no! Tell me first—is what you dreamed about the same thing people are talking about online?"

Fu Chen played dumb. "What does my dream have to do with the internet? But actually, I was planning on telling you about it today..."

He briefly explained the situation regarding Perfect World to her over the phone. Finally, he added, "I wasn't sure if those experiences were just dreams yesterday, so I didn't tell you."

"Hehe, I knew it!" Yang Siyao sounded certain. "I'm definitely going to sleep early tonight. I want to enter Perfect World to see it for myself, and more importantly, to find you."

Fu Chen feigned a laugh. "Sure, just make sure to add me as a friend once you get in, and ask me if you don't understand anything. You'll start at level 1, and since we won't be in the same location, we can't be together just yet. You'll need to level up first."

Yang Siyao’s mood dropped significantly. Disappointed, she asked, "Oh? Then when will I be able to be with you?"

"Leveling is fast at the beginning. It should take about two or three days, then we can meet up," Fu Chen replied dismissively.

Yang Siyao’s tone lightened. "Okay, it's a promise! Go to work now, and remember to eat well."

Fu Chen hung up the call, washed up, went out to eat, and worked through the day until evening. After dinner, he returned to his room, finished his chores, and lay down on his bed. He sent a message to Yang Siyao saying, "Find me once you enter Perfect World," and logged back into the game.

In Perfect World, at Sifang Village, Fu Chen had just arrived when he received a party invite from "Desolation." Upon joining, he found that in addition to Desolation, there were two other members: the sexy beauty "Zero Hour," whom he had guided the previous night, and a newcomer named "Lady Yu."

Qin Yumoku’s voice immediately echoed in his ears: "Red Dust, go to Xiayin Village to turn in your quests first. We'll rendezvous at Sifang Village later."

From the party channel came Zero Hour’s reluctant voice: "Are you even a sister? You’re leaving the moment a big shot arrives."

Qin Yumoku retorted without hesitation, "Didn't you say yourself that the cultivation points you receive decrease when I join the party?"

"Hehe, Sister Su Yao is just too lazy to fight monsters on her own," Lady Yu said, her voice crisp and playful.

Fu Chen had no interest in getting involved in the banter between the girls. He simply replied with a "Sure" and teleported to Xiayin Village to turn in the three quests he had completed that morning. After collecting the rewards, his current cultivation progress reached 55.4%, putting him within arm's reach of level 10.

With no quests left in Xiayin Village for now, Fu Chen returned to Sifang Village. Qin Yumoku was clearly keeping track of his movements and followed him back shortly after. The two checked for available quests in the village but found nothing. Having lived through this before, Fu Chen knew that level 9 quests were available from the Guard Captain at the intersection north of the village.

He suggested, "Since there are no quests here, let's go outside the village to grind for levels."

Qin Yumoku always followed Fu Chen's lead when it came to leveling and questing, so she had no objections. They left the village and encountered level 11 monsters, "Iron-Tailed Wildcats," in the northwest.

[Health: 860/860; Level 11, Iron-Tailed Wildcat; Gold, Accuracy 87%, Evasion 4%]

Fu Chen knew this type of monster relied on melee physical attacks, making it perfect for a novice martial artist to practice and familiarize themselves with their skills. He laid out the strategy: "Same as before—you take the lead, and I’ll provide support!"

"Understood!" Qin Yumoku replied crisply, charging at the nearest wildcat with a "Dragon Manifestation." Fu Chen followed behind but did not attack immediately; since his own strikes were wide-sweeping, it wouldn't help his teammate practice her skills. He waited patiently for Qin Yumoku to cycle through her three skills before finishing the monster off with a single "Dragon Manifestation."

For killing a level 11 monster, both of them received a reward of "52 Cultivation and 30 Essence." Because the party had a "freak" like Fu Chen with maxed-out skills, their efficiency was incredibly high, averaging one monster every ten seconds.

Four minutes later, a characteristic white light rose around Qin Yumoku; she had reached level 10.

"Red Dust, I just received a notification saying I can get my own mount!"