Volume 3: Deep Blue Sea
“I am curious, which one is stronger now, Little Dumpling or Ye Qian?”
“To be honest, I don’t understand Shu Xun’s strength. After all, except for the swing just now, I haven’t seen Shu Xun in battle. But my intuition tells me that Ye Qian should be stronger.”
“My head is tangled. I completely can’t understand why a pot of stones can turn into such a terrifying weapon. Is it because of the ore or the valley? Has anyone figured it out?”
“As for the appearance of the weapon, it is definitely not solely created by the environment. Think about the scene just now, at least it is related to Shu Xun, the valley, the mist, those brightly lit peculiar large graphics, unknown ore, and the pot, even the sudden change in weather. The most reasonable speculation I can think of is that there is a unique energy in this time and space, and Shu Xun has skillfully mastered and used this energy to strengthen himself and the use of tools.”
“Upstairs is right!”
In the live broadcast room, regarding Shu Xun’s various behaviors that don’t conform to science and logic, viewers are speculating endlessly, but most people attribute the reasons to this unknown magical time and space. After all, besides this, they can’t guess any other reasons.
The strong doubts from before have also disappeared. Shu Xun’s casual stone-shattering action just now shocked countless people. If Shu Xun’s awakened bloodline was of a powerful combat race, it would be understandable. Using modified weapons to enhance abilities could indeed achieve such effects and destructive power. However, Shu Xun awakened as what seemed to be a cute furry mouse. Apart from the impressive digging speed, its attacking power is not high.
In the end, everyone could only explain all this as a blessing in disguise. Shu Xun did indeed enter another dimension due to a system glitch, leading to his solitary survival for twenty years. However, this undeveloped dimension also rewarded Shu Xun with unimaginable returns. Besides abundant material resources, it also underwent some form of enhancement and modification on Shu Xun’s body, causing a qualitative leap in his strength.
Indeed, in this interstellar era where the cultivation path is unknown, such an explanation is the most reasonable speculation. To some extent, this explanation is entirely correct.
In the game world, Shu Xun has already flown thousands of miles away at an extremely high speed. In this vast and boundless world, the concept of constraints seems to have completely disappeared. Amidst the astonished gazes of everyone, Shu Xun’s speed becomes faster and faster, to the point where his shadow is nearly impossible to catch.
Shu Xun has now entered the late growth stage, equivalent to a Golden Core realm cultivator. Apart from insufficient combat experience, Shu Xun’s cultivation is genuine, and due to the richness of spiritual energy, it is very stable. This is the world’s feedback to Shu Xun, to the extent that one could say the entire world is nurturing his growth, the entire spacetime is dedicating itself to him.
After flying for nearly two hours, Shu Xun has left the continent where he was previously and even crossed a vast blue sea.
Such scenes have been experienced by Shu Xun countless times over the twenty years, traversing one continent after another, crossing numerous oceans, yet never reaching the end of the world. From the initial amazement to now, Shu Xun has become indifferent.
But this time, in the moment of crossing this sea, Shu Xun felt a change while flying through the air – a profound and earth-shaking change.
The most obvious change is the scenery beneath his feet. The once vast and lively landscape turned into a desolate wasteland. While Shu Xun had traversed deserts in this world before, the current scenery is different. The land beneath his feet is uniformly gray-black, presenting a peculiar sense of chaos as if the creator had not yet had the chance to paint this area with vibrant colors.
In addition to the changes in the environment, there has also been a shift in the concentration of spiritual energy in the air. The dense spiritual energy here is in a state of chaos, seemingly yet to form an orderly flow and circulation, existing in a chaotic and primordial state as if the world is just beginning.
This gray zone extends far, far away, with no end in sight. Shu Xun slowed down his speed, contemplating whether he had truly reached the edge of the world or if this gray continent was a unique ecological environment in this world.
The peculiar environment has also caught the attention of the live broadcast audience. The lifeless and gray scenery contrasts starkly with the vibrant vitality seen earlier, making it impossible to ignore.
“How could such an environment appear on a life-bearing planet? What kind of world is this?”
“Indeed, this environment is too similar to inorganic planets, a complete wasteland with no signs of life.”
“If it weren’t for the vast blue ocean behind, I would almost think Little Dumpling had once again traveled through space. Why does the situation in this spacetime suddenly feel strange?”
“I can’t figure it out at all. I don’t know what Little Dumpling is thinking. Unfortunately, Little Dumpling is always alone. I’ve seldom heard Little Dumpling speak.”
High above the sky, Shu Xun hovered in place and then descended slowly, ultimately landing on this peculiar gray continent. Bending down to pick up the loose gray soil, feeling its extremely light weight in his hands. The fine soil scattered like dust between his fingers, flowing like a waterfall and gently falling back to the ground. Such soil is entirely unsuitable for plant growth, and it has high fluidity. Although Shu Xun is standing on the ground, the soil beneath his feet is almost unable to support him. Shu Xun relies entirely on spiritual energy to keep his body in a state as light as a feather. Nevertheless, deep footprints are left with every step, indicating just how soft the soil is.
After confirming the absence of any life around, Shu Xun once again soared on his sword, flying high above and then rapidly heading forward. The once vibrant blue color behind him quickly disappeared from view, leaving only a chaotic gray darkness. Even the color of the sky soon faded, turning into the same gray hue. In an instant, everyone felt a strong sense of disorientation – a world where the distinction between heaven and earth is blurred, boundaries are unclear, and everything has returned to a state before the birth of life.
This unchanging and boundless environment persisted for quite a long time. Even with Shu Xun’s current speed, he flew for nearly eight hours. In the real world, the time in the live broadcast room showed eight o’clock in the evening, and Shu Xun’s daily broadcast interruption was scheduled for nine o’clock.
Such an endlessly uniform gray color easily evokes negative emotions: impatience, fatigue, confusion, and even panic, especially in a high-speed moving state. Nevertheless, Shu Xun’s live audience persevered until now. Daily companionship seemed to have become a habit, whether in tranquility or monotony, serenity or hopelessness. There is always someone silently accompanying you when you least expect it.
As time passed second by second, in this chaotic world seemingly without the distinction of day and night, the vision remained unclear but not dark. Shu Xun, relying on his strong sense of direction, continued to fly in one direction.
Suddenly, a faint illusion of fireflies appeared in the distant night sky. The feeble glow seemed as if it would extinguish in the next second. Shu Xun’s black pupils finally showed a slight fluctuation, and he swiftly headed toward the light.
In one moment of high-speed flight, as if breaking through a certain boundary, the chaotic aura surrounding him disappeared in an instant. The air around him cleared, immersed again in a crystal-clear atmosphere. However, the spiritual energy in the air noticeably weakened, significantly different from the previous richness.
Between the vast expanse of heaven and earth, everything returned to normal. The sky was adorned with stars, scattered like chess pieces, and a bright moon hung in the sky, its moonlight clear and cold as water. Under the night sky, mountains and hills appeared vaguely, varying in height. A river, reflecting shimmering ripples of light, meandered across the land, cutting through the earth. The mountains and waters, shrouded in the night, were tranquil like a painting, even enveloped in a thin layer of hazy mist.
After more than eight hours of high-speed flight, Shu Xun finally traversed the peculiar and eerie gray continent, returning to what seemed like the normal world.
Standing at the edge of the gray continent, observing the two vastly different worlds, Shu Xun furrowed his brows, as if contemplating something. Big Bliss who had been quietly perched on Shu Xun’s shoulder seemed to sense something. It suddenly flapped its wings and took flight, circling Shu Xun twice. With a flash of light, Big Bliss transformed into the little dumpling, almost resembling Shu Xun’s childhood state, albeit slightly larger. Its wings, spread wide, were much larger than an adult’s hand, and its height was around ten centimeters. Pointing with its chubby fingers, Big Bliss indicated the direction ahead. “Sensed the direction of Little Bliss,” it said before flying ahead.
A wave of surprise swept through the live broadcast room. Indeed, in the twenty years, not only Shu Xun had grown; the companion Blue Butterfly, who depended on Shu Xun for survival, had also been growing. In these two decades, Big Bliss had transformed into a humanoid form and, though seldom speaking, acted like an elder during Shu Xun’s adventures. Despite its stubborn appearance, it always had a soft heart, even inheriting Shu Xun’s culinary talent and intimidating knife skills.
Shu Xun snapped out of his contemplation, watching Big Bliss joyfully flying ahead. He slightly curled his lips, and in the live broadcast room, there was an audible sound of people swallowing saliva. After years of solitary survival, Shu Xun’s expression had been consistently serene, almost in a gently polished state, but this sudden smile truly caught everyone’s attention.
Following the direction of Big Bliss, Shu Xun soared on his sword. Over the years, Shu Xun had tried countless methods to establish contact with the world he had once known. Unexpectedly, today brought such a surprise. After twenty years, he wondered how the expressionless person from before looked now. Would he need to address him as ‘uncle’ when they meet again? Thinking about this, the curve of his lips became more pronounced, and his speed increased.
However, not long after flying forward, Big Bliss stopped in its tracks. Due to their mutual understanding, Shu Xun felt Big Bliss’s confusion. Soon, he also understood the source of Big Bliss’s confusion. In the left-front direction, a large expanse of light appeared. It was not natural light but the familiar city lights—a modern city that Shu Xun was very accustomed to!
Shock echoed in everyone’s hearts. On this seemingly entirely primitive planet, a thoroughly modern city suddenly appeared. How could this not be astonishing?
The live broadcast room exploded.
“What’s going on? It feels like I’ve been in a state of confusion all day!”
“What kind of world is this!!! It’s challenging my perspective!”
“I feel like my worldview has been constantly refreshed today. First, it was Shu Xun’s entirely unscientific behavior, then a chaotic continent, and now a modern city. Maybe there’s a loophole in the live broadcast room!”
“Terrifying! Doesn’t anyone find this city looks somewhat familiar?”
After this statement, the live broadcast room fell into a long silence, followed by a frenzy of messages.
“Ahh! Suddenly terrified! Why does this city look so much like Micro City!”
“I suddenly feel so cold, as if I’ve fallen into a bottomless abyss. What’s going on?”
“So, it must be a loophole in the live broadcast room! Otherwise, why would this happen? It feels like my hair is standing on end!”
Translator’s corner:
Regarding Shu Xun living for 20 years, I think it was really just 20 days. The time flowed differently in the dimension. 1 day is equal to 1 year in the place where Shu Xun was transported. Thus, Shu Xun lived for 20 years but really just 20 days for the interstellar people outside the game.
