Chapter 63: Chen Chang'an Wants to Strive Hard
He had grown stronger again...
Looking at the chessboard where she had only narrowly secured victory, Ji Hongli sighed in her heart.
If not for glimpsing a trace of the grandeur above the Saint Realm over the past few years, perhaps the one defeated today would have been herself.
In her mind surfaced the heroes of humanity from one hundred thousand years ago, yet not a single one possessed talent as unparalleled as the man before her.
Fortunately, he was not the enemy of the demon race, Ji Hongli thought.
On the other side, Chen Chang'an took a deep breath, finally suppressing the sting of his earlier loss at the game.
Forcing down the urge to immediately escape, he steadied his gaze upon Ji Hongli.
"Miss Ji, in truth... I came today for another matter."
Ji Hongli cast an inquiring look at him.
"It concerns Xingcai..." His voice was low and serious as he recalled Chen Xingcai's pair of large panda-like eyes. "Those books you gave her are still too early for her. She is still a child, easily lost in books, and her thinking can too easily be led astray."
He paused, his eyes showing a father's unique concern and earnestness. "I hope... you can promise me that from now on, you will no longer lend such books to Xingcai."
Ji Hongli was slightly startled.
She looked at the man who usually carried an air of casual indifference. She could sense the sincerity and care in his words.
A faint, indescribable feeling rose in Ji Hongli's heart.
So this is... what they call fatherly love?
Suddenly, a blurred figure flashed through her mind.
(From now on, you shall be called Ji Hongli, all right...)
She lowered her gaze, concealing the fleeting loneliness.
"Very well." She gently nodded, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "I promise you."
Chen Chang'an's tense shoulders finally relaxed, a trace of relief showing in his smile. "Thank you."
The atmosphere suddenly grew quiet.
"In that case, I shall take my leave first."
Having achieved his aim, Chen Chang'an felt at ease, finally casting aside the sting of defeat. Rising, he bid farewell.
Ji Hongli nodded slightly, her fingertips unconsciously caressing the edge of the chessboard.
Just as Chen Chang'an was about to vanish into the forest, she hesitated for a moment, then softly said, "Playing chess with you... was quite enjoyable."
Her voice was faint, even carrying a rare hint of shyness. "I hope we can play again next time."
With that, she turned into mist and disappeared without a trace.
Chen Chang'an, who had been in good spirits only a moment ago, was struck as if by lightning, his entire body frozen in place.
...
With a creak, the wooden door closed. Chen Chang'an leaned against it, sliding slowly down to sit on the floor.
He stared at his trembling palm, still carrying the lingering pressure from his game with Ji Hongli.
He had never expected that in the instant of parting, Ji Hongli could still deliver him a fatal blow.
She was mocking me, wasn't she?
It must be so!
Chen Chang'an's heart turned cold.
So disheartened, he could not even recall how he had walked back.
It all felt strangely familiar...
Yes, more than seventy years ago, on the day he encountered that black serpent—after crying out to the heavens and rushing outside, he had returned to this very room in the same way...
Outside the window came the sound of practice cries, "Hei-ha!" Wu Bo was instructing three youths in basic sword forms, while Chen Xingcai pouted, reluctantly repeating the monotonous footwork drills.
Painful memories surged endlessly...
This cannot go on any longer!
He suddenly felt a flash of sharp light in his eyes. Originally, after going out twice and accepting two Children of Fate as disciples, he had planned to lie low for a while.
But now, the game with Ji Hongli had once again stirred a grave sense of crisis within him!
To lie flat was inevitable!
But not now!
At present, the Children of Fate had yet to grow, and the peak experts of this world still hid in the shadows. This was the perfect chance for him to seize the time and strengthen himself!
If he waited until the later stage when even Saints were as common as dogs, he would no longer have the opportunity to strive even if he wished to!
Today's hardships were for the sake of lying flat in the future!
Taking a deep breath, he summoned the system panel. A pale-blue screen unfolded before his eyes.
The Pet System needed no explanation—this was the foundation for a life of lying flat and retirement in the future. But the locations of the other two Children of Fate were still unknown.
As for quickly improving his strength—
On the screen, the achievement entry [Youth's Journey] was shimmering faintly!
System prompt: Epic series achievement completed: Youth's Journey [2/4]
Youth's Journey (Part One): A promise with spring wine, riding the wind to send off the white wolf.
Youth's Journey (Part Two): A jade belt binding dark hair, guarding a journey of clouds across a thousand miles.
Completing the Youth's Journey series achievement rewarded a Foreign Jade (able to raise the level of one supreme immortal art).
This reward was undoubtedly the fastest means available to him at present to enhance his strength.
Chen Chang'an narrowed his eyes, recalling the two achievements he had previously triggered.
Beneath the seemingly random surface, there was actually an obvious pattern!
The poem Youth's Journey spoke precisely of gallant righteousness: aiding others in urgent need, keeping one's word as worth a thousand in gold, repaying grudges, and returning favors.
As long as he sought along this path, he was certain to trigger further achievements.
...
A moment later—
A dark shadow swiftly swept across the valley.
"Father?" Chen Xingcai suddenly halted her movements, puzzled as she looked toward the valley's exit.
But there, only falling leaves drifted down, as though the fleeting shadow just now had been nothing but an illusion.
Wu Bo's hand, stroking his beard, suddenly paused. A flash of sharp light flickered in his clouded eyes, but he quickly lowered his head.
...
Meanwhile, in a ruined temple thousands of miles away, Ji Lingxiu was hastily erasing all traces of her stay from the night before...
...
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