“Do you think I should break through to the Second Rank now?”
Lin Xing, who had already bought breakfast and returned, sat at the table and hesitantly consulted with Lumiya and Little Green.
“Lingering Cloud sent me a Green Bubble message the day before yesterday, saying he’s about to break through to the Second Rank too, and he asked when I would.”
“Didn’t Lingering Cloud and his Little Jade and Little Ink say you should go over to their place when you’re about to break through? They said they’d get you another SSS-rank Beast?”
Lumiya put down her steamed bun and looked at Lin Xing with confusion.
‘Is this guy stupid? He has a guaranteed SSS-rank Beast waiting, and yet he wants to rely on a lottery?’
‘He can’t still be counting on me as his lucky charm, can he? Aside from Little Green, I haven’t saved anything else… probably?’
“Lingering Cloud was probably just joking. How could anyone let someone else use an SSS-rank Token? Something that incredibly expensive should obviously be kept for personal use.”
Lin Xing took the bun Lumiya had put down and explained with a grin, ignoring her dissatisfied gaze.
“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Hmm… Lingering Cloud’s family is quite famous in… Yu City. It would be nice to go to… Yu City for some fun. We didn’t get to play much at the seaside this time!”
Lumiya glanced at him, quickly stuffing the remaining buns into her mouth.
Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster, and she grumbled unclearly about her regrets from the beach trip.
Even Little Green chimed in.
“Exactly! Trouble just had to pick that time to show up! It’s so annoying! I haven’t had enough fun yet!”
Lumiya gulped down the rest of the soy milk, remembering the terrified and reverent look Little Jade gave her when the competition was almost over.
‘Hmm, did she recognize me?’
‘A Qilin… which family’s Qilin is that? I haven’t seen that little thing before, have I?’
Lumiya searched through her memories but found nothing. She was certain she had never met that little creature.
‘Did her elders warn her? Then she must be a core member of the race. Lingering Cloud actually managed to trick a Beast like that? As expected of The World’s original protagonist.’
‘But those old Qilins are really willing to sell their young for a bit of luck.’
Lumiya gave up on thinking and snatched the portion of shrimp dumplings in front of Little Green.
Little Green had specifically saved those for last! She was planning to enjoy them slowly at the end!
“My shrimp dumplings!”
Little Green realized what happened. Looking at the half-empty dumpling plate, she pouted and reached out to snatch them back.
Lumiya held the plate high, dodging back while stuffing the dumplings into her mouth. The two of them immediately started a ruckus.
Lin Xing looked at the energetic pair and shook his head helplessly, but he couldn’t help a small smile.
He reached out and pushed his untouched plate of shrimp dumplings toward Little Green.
Little Green’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Lin Xing.
She turned to make a face at Lumiya before happily digging into her dumplings.
In the end, the group decided to head to Yu City.
Just as Lumiya said, it would be good even if it was just for fun!
No sooner said than done! They booked tickets for that evening, went back to their rooms to catch some extra sleep, and set off on time!
Yu City.
Large Public Magic Transmission Channel.
Lin Xing’s group slowly walked out.
“I told you we should have bought tickets for the night! That way, we could see Yu City’s special night scenery as soon as we arrived and head straight to a hotpot restaurant for an authentic spicy beef tallow pot!”
Lumiya stood with her hands on her hips, her cheeks puffed out as she complained, her voice full of longing for delicious food.
“Exactly! We just finished lunch, and it’s too early for a late-night snack. We don’t even have an excuse to eat hotpot now!”
Little Green nodded, following closely behind Lumiya. Little Green had already been trained by Lumiya into a fellow foodie.
Feeling the chattering coming from both his left and right, Lin Xing rubbed his temples, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
This was the first time he felt that having two beautiful girls around wasn’t entirely a pleasure…
“Alright, alright, I beg you two to spare me! When we were buying the tickets, you clearly said ‘anything is fine’!”
Lin Xing pressed his palms together and pleaded for mercy, his face full of helpless smiles.
“What do you mean ‘agreed’? I did say anything was fine, but couldn’t you have been a bit more thoughtful?”
Lumiya’s eyes were clearly full of mischief.
“My fault, my fault. I was wrong. Let me contact Lingering Cloud first. He said on the way that he’d come to welcome us! Stop teasing me for now…”
Lin Xing knew perfectly well that Lumiya was just bored and teasing him, so he quickly begged for forgiveness.
Just as he took out his phone to contact Lingering Cloud, he heard a familiar voice nearby.
“Lin Xing! Over here!”
The three turned to look and saw Lingering Cloud wearing a Taoist robe, waving his hand as he ran toward them.
Beside him were two small figures, one white and one black — Little Jade and Little Ink.
When Little Jade saw Lumiya, her body visibly stiffened.
Her eyes were filled with a desperate desire to cling to her, and she proactively approached Lumiya.
Little Ink, on the other hand, ran joyfully toward Little Green. The two of them were on very good terms!
“I’ve finally been looking forward to your arrival!”
Lingering Cloud ran up to the three and enthusiastically patted Lin Xing’s shoulder.
“Dinner is on me tonight. Order whatever you want! Let me take you to the hotel to drop off your luggage first!”
As he spoke, he enthusiastically took the suitcase from Lin Xing’s hand and led the way out.
Little Jade followed closely at Lumiya’s feet, her short legs moving fast.
Every now and then, she rubbed her head against Lumiya’s trouser leg.
The clingy behavior made even Lingering Cloud a bit jealous.
He quickly complained to Lin Xing.
“How many times has Little Jade even met Lumiya? I feel like she’s about to abandon me!! You better keep Lumiya under control!”
“I can’t control her — ” Lin Xing threw up his hands, indicating he was helpless.
The group chatted and laughed as they reached the parking lot. Lingering Cloud drove a hovercar, carrying everyone toward the hotel.
On the way, Lingering Cloud suddenly remembered something and said to Lin Xing.
“By the way, Lin Xing, regarding the Second Rank breakthrough, I’ve already prepared the venue and some supplementary potions! Once you’ve rested, we can start. Your SSS-rank Token is ready too!”
Lin Xing was stunned for a moment. Surprised, he quickly refused.
“No, no, I thought you were just saying that. An SSS-rank Token is far too precious!”
Lingering Cloud smiled and waved his hand.
“Hey, just take it! This was our family’s decision, a gesture of friendship toward you. Besides, with Lumiya here, maybe there will even be an unexpected surprise during the breakthrough!”
Lumiya raised an eyebrow upon hearing her name. ‘Does this guy Lingering Cloud know something too?’
“What surprise could I possibly bring? Bringing Lin Xing good luck?” she asked.
Lingering Cloud chuckled and didn’t say more, only blinking mysteriously.
Little Jade looked up at Lumiya, her small face full of admiration, as if she knew something but didn’t dare speak.
Only Lin Xing was completely confused.
‘Could it be that when I contracted Little Green, the fact that I patted Lumiya’s head a couple of times was known by them?’
‘Was I going to be teased for that too? Is that a crime?’
‘It shouldn’t be, right?’