Caelus crossed one arm over his chest, pinching his chin with his other hand as he watched the figure clad in dark blue silk with great interest.
"What a coincidence!"
After helping Tingyun recover her memories and awaken her consciousness, Caelus didn't linger on Ruan Mei's research vessel.
After all, the purpose of Ruan Mei's trip was the Herta Space Station, to adjust and upgrade the Simulated Universe.
Later, when he went to test the Simulated Universe, he would naturally see Ruan Mei again. They could discuss the matter of him being her lab assistant and research subject in detail then.
Just as he had asked Herta for a Herta puppet, Caelus wondered if he should ask Ruan Mei for one of her "slices" to serve as an untouchable enforcer.
As for the little foxian Tingyun, she was currently in a state of highly-praised AFK slumber. Ruan Mei didn't have any highly compatible ancient beast genes for her on hand at the moment.
Although low-compatibility genes could be used, it would just be a matter of how much power she could master later on, which Ruan Mei didn't mind.
But Caelus, operating on the principle of being a kept man who still calls the shots, figured the stronger, the better. So, he asked Ruan Mei to look for more suitable ancient beast genes.
Finding the remains of ancient beasts was no difficult task for a genius. The word was already out; all they had to do now was wait for clues about Tingyun's upgrade materials.
Caelus checked with Herta on his phone about the fusion progress of the Xuanyuan Sword, Ruoshui, and the Water God Orb. Evidently, not even Herta's efficiency was that ridiculous.
Caelus seriously suspected Herta was engrossed in her research and planned to upgrade his sword only after she was more or less done studying it.
But, whatever.
That old crone Herta had said that once the enhancement was successful, she would have Asta use the IPC's Galaxy Express to deliver the sword to the Luofu.
In that case, Caelus had no need to return to the Herta Space Station.
With Ruan Mei's help, Caelus returned directly to the Luofu.
Back on the Express, after greeting Sister Himeko who was on duty, Caelus planned to head straight for the Quench-Dust Hostel to meet up with everyone.
When he opened the "Unethical Map" to call a starskiff, he noticed he was closer to Li Sushang and Bailu's location. Caelus thought he might as well go and get acquainted with his AI stunt double first.
It would save Li Sushang from getting too shocked later when she arrived in this world and found Moon Shade lying naked in her arms.
He set his destination to the district where Moon Shade was. After arriving, Caelus used the connection between them to cross over from the shadow world.
He never expected to make an accidental discovery—Jingliu!
Caelus stuck his hands in his pockets and leisurely followed Jingliu.
Many passersby were gathering to watch the excitement, so even Caelus following Jingliu didn't seem out of place.
"I remember Jingliu not being the type to enjoy crowds, and she has no interest in acrobatics. So, there can only be one reason she's here."
Caelus narrowed his eyes.
Jingliu had sensed Li Sushang's Taixu sword intent.
Stand users are drawn to one another, and so are peerless swordmasters.
Jingliu approached the encircling crowd, and Caelus entered from a different angle.
His view shifted from her back to her front, and Caelus saw the shimmering golden light on Jingliu's chest. He opened his narrowed eyes.
A treasure chest!
In the center of the area, walled off by people, Guinaifen was leaning on her hammer, panting from exhaustion and wiping away sweat.
"Phew... Finally... Hah... It finally broke!"
She had used every ounce of her strength to finally smash the stone slab.
Of course, the only reason Guinaifen could break it was that Caelus had seen Jingliu appear, prompting Moon Shade and Li Sushang to withdraw their formless protective energy. Otherwise, Guinaifen could have swung until she collapsed from exhaustion and still not broken it.
The audience members looked at each other. At first, some thought Guinaifen was worried about her friend and wasn't using her full strength.
Later, anyone who wasn't blind could see the streamer was using every last bit of her strength.
The ferocious strikes made many people unable to watch. Many women, in particular, felt their chests tighten, experiencing phantom pains in their breasts.
Yet the young woman under the stone slab didn't make a single sound and even wore a smile, as if the hammer bigger than her head was just a gentle spring breeze.
"Bravo!"
"Beautiful!"
After a brief silence, the first clap was like a spark landing on a powder keg, instantly igniting the atmosphere.
Thunderous applause erupted all around, whistles accompanying the cheers. People shouted and praised, tossing Strale into a copper basin:
"That was amazing!"
"Miss Sushang is truly the genius rookie of the Cloud Knights!"
"So strong! So powerful!"
Amidst the lively crowd, the atmosphere in one spot felt a couple of degrees colder than its surroundings. Jingliu's attention was fixed from beginning to end on the young woman rising from the long table.
She hadn't removed her blindfold and couldn't see the other's face, but she could 'hear' many things, and more importantly, she could perceive that ethereal sword intent.
It wasn't until Jingliu heard the audience's cheers that a rare, peculiar expression appeared on her face.
"Miss Sushang..."
Jingliu had no memory of this name. What was important wasn't the name, but the title 'Cloud Knight rookie'...
A Cloud Knight rookie, my ass!
How could a young woman possessing a sword intent that even she, the former Sword Champion of the Luofu, couldn't comprehend possibly be a rookie!
Jing Yuan is making a grandmaster of the sword arts serve as a common Cloud Knight grunt?
Jingliu felt that his Mara-struck condition must be even more severe than her own!
Should I go and slash Jing Yuan a few times before executing my plan?
To knock some sense into him?
While Jingliu was lost in thought, Guinaifen, in the center of it all, was overcome with joy and surprise.
Such a thunderous ovation was a rare sight in her acrobatic career!
Especially hearing the clinking of Strale falling into the basin and seeing the gifts popping up on her phone screen. Although it couldn't compare to top-tier streamers, it far exceeded her usual income.
"Thanks, everyone in the fam~!"
Guinaifen spun around and stepped onto a long stool, her almond eyes smiling into two crescent moons, as she spoke auspicious words to the phone camera and the live audience.
Great! This is great!
Even though she didn't know what happened, the fact that the stone slab shattered normally meant there was nothing wrong with the slab itself. So the spectacular show must have been Shangshang's doing, right?
Next time, she could switch to an even bigger, more eye-catching sledgehammer!
Smash it with all her might, and her follower count would definitely skyrocket~!
In the crowd, just as Caelus was wondering how to open the treasure chest on Jingliu, a familiar and pleasant voice sounded in his mind, making him pause for a moment.
[Daily Quest: Is this the extent of your stunts? Rush forward and show these traditional streamers what a real new-generation hardcore stunt is.]
[Quest Reward: Receive 10–30 Crystals based on the intensity of the stunt.]
Caelus blinked in surprise. Another quest had popped up?
The previous quest was for Moon Shade, this one was for Caelus's main body.
Lucky!
My luck's pretty good today!
I have to do the quest. The goal is 30 Crystals. Let me think, what kind of stunt should I pull?
Caelus narrowed his eyes, staring at the golden light on Jingliu's chest.
I've got it!
Having made his decision, Caelus parted the crowd and walked straight into the performance area. Guinaifen thought it was a generous patron from the audience and, still standing on the stool, turned to offer some auspicious words.
But seeing the serious expression on the gray-haired young man's face and his profound posture with one hand behind his back, the smile on Guinaifen's face froze.
This doesn't look like someone who's about to tip, does it? And why does he look a little familiar... no, very familiar!
"Little Gui, the purity of your stunt is too low."
Like a grandmaster disappointed in a successor who failed to live up to expectations, Caelus slowly shook his head and sighed.
With these words, which sounded like he was crashing the party, the entire performance area instantly fell silent.
"Huh? Purity's too low?"
Hearing this, Guinaifen, who was still trying to remember where she'd seen Caelus, could no longer stand still. She tossed her confusion aside, "What are you talking about?"
Even though she couldn't remember who the familiar person was, she couldn't tolerate someone crashing her show like this, no matter how good-natured she was.
"Then why don't you show me and my fam what high purity looks like!"
"Alright!"
Caelus's expression was just like Stephen Chow hearing Fong Tong-Geng say 'Come and hit me then,' utterly crisp and decisive.
Then, Caelus scanned his surroundings, meeting the eyes of the people who had quieted down to watch the show. He feigned a searching posture before finally letting his gaze rest on Jingliu.
Under the watchful eyes of the many passersby and the livestream audience, Caelus strolled up to Jingliu and asked in a gentle and refined tone.
"May I be so bold as to ask for this young lady's name?"
Caelus's actions left the passersby and Guinaifen somewhat bewildered. Wasn't he supposed to be performing a high-purity stunt?
Why is he hitting on someone?
And hitting on a blind person?
Is he looking for an assistant?
Then he definitely shouldn't be picking a blind person, right?
Feeling more and more eyes fall upon her, Jingliu frowned slightly. She had wanted to avoid attracting attention, but this person had unexpectedly directed it all onto her.
However, because of Moon Shade's presence, Jingliu didn't want to leave just yet.
So, after a brief moment of thought, she gave her name.
"My name is Jingliu."
Her voice was like jade falling into a cold pool—clear, yet with a unique softness, not as icy as her appearance suggested.
Her name and most of her information had already been erased from the Luofu's records for being a "traitor," so not many people knew it. Giving her real name didn't matter.
Besides, on the vast Xianzhou, with its population of tens of billions, many people shared the same name.
"Jingliu, is it? What a beautiful name."
Caelus's impression of Jingliu was on the same level as his impression of Ruan Mei.
As everyone knows, white hair is super effective against the Chinese. The average Chinese person has a thing for white hair.
This preference is a tradition left by our ancestors in our DNA and culture.
In the eyes of the ancients, the color white represented purity and longevity. Look no further than the myths, where immortals always have white hair and youthful faces, and pure-as-ice-and-jade fairies are clad in flowing white robes.
No one can resist the charm of white hair. If they can, just add red eyes. The significance of the color red in Shenzhou is self-evident.
The combination of the two is a finishing move that transcends "super effective"!
Caelus raised his arms high and shouted to the crowd:
"All eyes on me! Look at me! Look at me! I have an announcement to make!"
Even if Caelus hadn't made his declaration, everyone's eyes were already fixed on him anyway, waiting to see what kind of stunt the party crasher would pull.
In the center of everyone's attention, Caelus cleared his throat and began to chant with the passion and emotion of an aria:
"I... I really want to be Miss Jingliu's dog~"
In an instant, the entire crowd was stunned into dead silence.
Guinaifen: d(ŌдŌ 口)
The live and livestream audiences: Σ(°△°|||)
Jingliu: (´△｀) ?!
Caelus proudly puffed out his chest and continued his recitation under everyone's bewildered stares.
"But Miss Jingliu said she likes cats. I cried.
I know that I, being neither a dog nor a cat, am destined to cry, because I am actually a rat."
"I never dared to hope that Miss Jingliu could like me. I get it. Everyone likes cute little doggies or kitties. No one would like a damp, disease-ridden rat."
"But I still asked Miss Jingliu: 'Can I be your dog?'"
"I know I'm destined to never be a dog. But if she likes dogs, then I can always stay by her side and watch her, even if the one she's holding in her arms is always a dog."
Caelus gazed at Jingliu with an incredibly affectionate expression. He knelt on one knee with utmost reverence.
And in the instant Caelus knelt on one knee as if proposing, countless people remembered why he looked so familiar.
Isn't this the guy who proposed to his sister with a trash can!?
Jingliu equips Light Cone: Unspoken Silence.
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