Chapter 76

In the end, Ou Xiaolu returned alone. He had left Aro in the mountains, allowing him to explore the forest and see if there were any undiscovered places, while also completing his routine patrol. It was more convenient for Ou Xiaolu to go back by himself.

As for Ou Xiaolu’s personal combat strength, there was little left to be said. With the Purple Gauze Robe in hand, he felt he could even contend with someone armed with a handgun. Not to mention, he had just succeeded in cultivating the Lung Meridian Golden Sandstorm Technique—though, for Ou Xiaolu, it would be more accurate to call it the Flying Sword of the Meridian Lungs.

Ou Xiaolu could sense that, though the two short swords brimmed with spiritual energy, it was not lasting. Each day, he needed to take out the swords and soak one in wine and the other in tea for thirty minutes each, allowing their spiritual energy to slowly accumulate.

Compared to Aro’s ability, which only required enough iron filings to grow, Ou Xiaolu’s progress was painfully slow. Still, nothing could dampen his own joy. He had already planned to deal with his daily tasks as soon as he woke up, making his life feel full and meaningful.

Most important of all were the three daily tasks. Even Aro knew what his tasks were, yet Ou Xiaolu still hadn’t received any notification about his own. Tasks were the best way to gain experience, after all, and he couldn’t rely on people showing up every day for him to kill. Therefore, completing tasks to gain experience had become a necessity.

Thinking of this, Ou Xiaolu decided to have the car drive elsewhere for a change. He’d been in Xinxian for quite some time but had never visited its liveliest districts.

Before the car reached Fifth Avenue, Ou Xiaolu suddenly told it to stop, instructing the autopilot to find a random place to park and not disturb him. Immediately, he entered a time-stop state and called for Booth.

“What’s happened? Why are you so anxious to find me?” Booth asked as soon as he appeared.

“I’ve run into some trouble—might need you to come and help,” said Ou Xiaolu.

“You want me to go over? How?”

“I’m your avatar; you can project yourself directly onto me,” Booth replied, too pressed for time to explain in detail.

“Project directly onto you? With my entire spirit?”

“Yes. Before you reach level five, this is the only way you can enter other worlds. All other methods require you to reach level five. Moreover, the body you project onto must be your avatar; if it’s just an ordinary character, your projection will destroy that character outright—even if it’s a main character,” Booth confirmed.

“What about sending Aro instead?”

“No, only your avatar can serve as your vessel. Only you have the authority to project,” Booth replied with certainty.

“Understood. If I project my entire spirit, what about my body?”

“Hide it somewhere safe. What I’m dealing with this time is very troublesome and might take two or three days. You’d best have Aro protect you.”

“Will you be able to hold out?” Ou Xiaolu asked.

“I can last one more hour.”

“All right, I’ll find Aro now. Take care of yourself,” Ou Xiaolu said, instructing the car to turn back. But at this hour, the outbound traffic from the city was heavy, and the car moved slowly.

Ou Xiaolu passed the time by browsing the Cross-World Game system interface, reviewing the details on spirit projection, and informing Aro of his situation.

The Cross-World Game system divided players into three tiers by level: before level five, all players were considered novices and couldn’t project into other worlds unless they had the power to break through space on their own. Players from level five to twenty were ordinary players; they could freely project into other worlds and send their avatars as well, either physically, spiritually, or by possessing their avatars or split bodies. Above level twenty were the elite players, who could even reincarnate in other worlds and later retrieve their original bodies.

Ou Xiaolu was now reading the instructions for pre-level-five temporary projection. As Booth had said, sometimes when an avatar encountered a problem it couldn’t handle, the true self was required. Such situations usually arose from attacks by a world’s consciousness or when something even avatars couldn’t handle was discovered.

From Booth’s words, it was clear he’d run into some serious trouble, which made Ou Xiaolu anxious.

The reason the Cross-World Game system forbade novices from projecting into other worlds was that their own abilities were insufficient, making accidents likely. If the true self died in another world, it would be the end.

Ou Xiaolu knew he wasn’t prepared for such a scenario.

He hesitated for a long time, only making up his mind after the car had left Xinxian. By then, Aro had already received his message and was waiting at the edge of the valley.

As soon as he saw the car approach, Aro leapt onto the roof and tapped on the door. The car, still in motion, opened the door for him, and Aro slipped inside.

Ou Xiaolu checked the time. “You’re just in time. There’s not much left—about five minutes before I have to project. This time, I’ll be projecting into my avatar. My real body will stay here. I’ll park by the villa; for the next few days, don’t go on patrol. Just guard my body. If anyone tries to approach, eliminate them.”

Aro, knowing the urgency, agreed without hesitation. “Don’t worry. With my strength, your safety is assured. But you need to be careful as well—return quickly. In two days, people from the Sun God Design Company will be coming. If they see your real body, things could get complicated.”

Ou Xiaolu nodded, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes.

Booth then signaled, sending a projection request to Ou Xiaolu.

He didn’t rush to enter, since he was still in the time-stop state and could carefully examine every detail of the projection process.

He noticed Booth was extremely tense, seemingly being pursued. The girl named Xiaoyou was clutching the Sun Coral Egg and following closely behind, both looking desperate.

Behind them were a dozen or so pursuers, dressed in strange long robes and wielding chopstick-length wooden wands. Their bodies flickered in and out of view, making for a terrifying sight.