Chen Meng and Markosius looked behind them to see Guizhong waving cheerfully as she bounced toward them.
Chen Meng's gaze gradually dropped until it landed on Guizhong's bare feet.
"Markosius, why do you think Guizhong likes walking around barefoot?" Chen Meng asked, eyes fixed on her soles, wondering if walking like that hurt.
Markosius paused, visibly taken aback by the question.
"Hmm… I'm not sure. You could just ask her."
Guizhong had reached them by then and sat down on the stone bench. Markosius served her a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of her.
"Guizhong, have a taste. Breakfast was made by Chen Meng."
"Chen Meng made it? Let me try."
Guizhong picked up the bowl and started eating.
"Mm, it's delicious."
With her verdict given, Guizhong quietly focused on eating.
Meanwhile, Markosius and Chen Meng sipped their tea and chatted idly. (People in that era must've drunk tea, right? They couldn't have just drunk hot water all the time.)
After finishing breakfast, Guizhong joined them for tea and small talk.
Chen Meng, still curious, finally asked his question.
"Guizhong, I've always been curious—why do you like walking barefoot? And doesn't it hurt?"
The tea Guizhong had just sipped came spraying out of her mouth. Markosius swiftly dodged the near-miss.
"Cough, cough… I… uh…"
It was clear Guizhong's CPU had overheated from the question.
Literally overheated—her face was flushed red.
"Phew~ Chen Meng, I'm the Archon of Dust. I like the feeling of the earth beneath my feet. And no, it doesn't hurt!"
Guizhong let out a breath and explained.
"Guizhong, when are we going to spar?"
Chen Meng nodded, took a sip of tea, and smoothly changed the subject.
Guizhong thought for a moment before replying.
"Morax said he's coming over. Let's wait until he gets here."
The three fell into silence, quietly waiting for Morax's arrival.
After a while, Morax appeared before them.
"Morax, you're finally here! We've been waiting forever!"
Guizhong waved when she saw him.
Morax nodded and sat down at the stone table, pouring himself a cup of tea.
Setting down his teacup, Morax conjured a glowing golden orb in his hand and explained:
"This is a space I created for your duel. Chen Meng, Guizhong—you'll spar inside."
As he finished speaking, the glowing orb in Morax's hand expanded and enveloped all four of them.
The brightness made Chen Meng shut his eyes. When he opened them again, he found himself inside a special realm. (Think Liyue domain-style space.)
Chen Meng pondered a bit and then asked,
"So… why did this stone table come in here too?"
Looking at the table before him, he took another sip of tea.
"Can't watch a match without tea,"
Morax replied as he mysteriously pulled out some tea leaves and began brewing.
Markosius and Guizhong simply waited for the tea to finish brewing—they were clearly used to this.
Silence settled over the scene…
While the tea brewed, Chen Meng entered his system space.
'System, lottery.'
A lottery interface appeared in front of him, and he tapped "Ten Draws."
Chen Meng stared blankly as ten black glowing orbs appeared in front of him—and a cloth in his hand.
'System, what's this?'
"This is the upgraded lottery method. The host just needs to use the cloth to wipe the black orbs."
Following the system's instructions, Chen Meng began wiping the orbs.
The first revealed a blue glow. Chen Meng looked at it and muttered,
'Why do I feel absolutely nothing seeing this blue light?'
"It must be Jiu Jiu Jiu's fault!"
Eight blues, one purple. Only one orb left.
Chen Meng took a deep breath and wiped it.
Golden light!
In the end, Chen Meng drew:– Four Fillet Blade– Four Matsutake Meat Rolls– Fashion Design and Production– Purification
"All items have been placed in your backpack."
"Ding-dong! Weapon advancement detected. Would the host like to proceed?"
'Advance.'
Chen Meng replied. Upon hearing this, the system began the weapon upgrade.
"Fillet Blade has advanced to Tier 5."
"Congratulations, host! Achievement unlocked: 'Max Level' – Reward: Enhanced Authority Power."
"Congratulations, host! You are now a Lesser Archon."
'System, open panel.'
[Host: Chen Meng][Authority: Authority of Dreams (Fragmented)][Weapon: Fillet Blade (Tier 5), Xiaomeng Flute][Companions: None][Skills: Control, Illusion][Talents: Basic Cooking, Basic Mechanisms, Basic Music Arts, Weapon Mastery, Fashion Design and Production (Locked), Purification (Locked)][Backpack: Clothes ×1, Sweet Flower Chicken ×3, Lottery Tickets ×8, Archon Authority Trial Card ×1, Matsutake Meat Rolls ×4]
{You might ask why there's no level system. That's because including levels makes it easier for things to fall apart later on ╮(＾▽＾)╭.}
'System, unlock Fashion Design and Production, and Purification.'
"Ding-dong! Congratulations, host, you've unlocked Fashion Design and Production and Purification."
[Fashion Design and Production: Upon unlocking, gain skills in clothing design, cutting, tailoring... (Who doesn't want to make their own beautiful outfits? Come on, become a fashion designer!!!)][Purification: Refined by the system, it can purify karma, wear and tear, physical and mental pollution... The strength of purification scales with host's strength. (System products—quality guaranteed! Become a healer, young one!!)]
'System, tell me the truth—was that last "evolution" really a serious upgrade?'
Chen Meng felt like the system was getting more and more unserious after the Purification unlock.
"Of course it was serious! What are you thinking?"
Chen Meng clearly didn't believe it at all, then exited the system space.
His consciousness returned to his body.
By then, Morax had finished brewing tea and poured cups for everyone.
Chen Meng picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Guizhong, let's begin."
He set down his cup and stepped into the open area near the stone table.
Chen Meng drew his Fillet Blade (Tier 5, maxed out).
Guizhong set her teacup down and turned to Morax.
"Morax, can I borrow the Dustbell for a bit?"
Without saying much, Morax handed it over.
Guizhong took the Dustbell and walked toward Chen Meng.
"Hmph hmph, Chen Meng, let me show you my mechanism arts!"
A cluster of floating Guizhong Machines appeared around her.
Chen Meng summoned his power to form an armor-like shield around his body, then looked toward Guizhong. The Dustbell hovered beside her, and the Guizhong Machines lined up behind, aiming directly at Chen Meng.
Morax stepped between the two and, after announcing the start of the match, returned to the stone table.
Immediately, the Guizhong Machines launched their attack—arrows flying toward Chen Meng like falling petals.
But just as the arrows were about to turn him into a porcupine, his figure vanished. The ground where he had stood was now littered with arrows.
The moment Chen Meng disappeared, Guizhong summoned a protective barrier and sealed the area around her.
Then—crack! Chen Meng reappeared behind Guizhong and destroyed one of the Guizhong Machines.
"So your target was my machines all along," Guizhong said from within the shield, turning to look at him.
Chen Meng replied calmly.
"Yeah. There were just too many of them—it'd be a pain otherwise."
The remaining machines launched another wave of attacks after spotting Chen Meng, but once again, his figure vanished.
Each time Chen Meng appeared and disappeared, another machine was destroyed.
Guizhong, meanwhile, just stood there watching silently, making no move to interfere.