44: Between the illusions of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Bailu Academy

The Ying Zhou plank road.

A carriage stopped by the roadside. Wang Xuan leaned against the carriage, a frost sword and a wine gourd at his waist, looking like a wandering hero. A sleepy, yawning Little Tiger was perched on his shoulder.

Su Jun would occasionally discover new and interesting things by the roadside, curiously looking left and right ahead.

As for the driver's seat, it was occupied by a malicious Su Zhan.

He stared at his happy grand-niece, muttering maliciously:

"Maiden! Keep going forward, for ahead lies the abyss!"

"Hmm?" Wang Xuan turned to glance at Su Zhan, wondering why this person had suddenly become so eccentric.

However, according to the AFK behavior logic set by Qin Chuan, he had no objection to it.

"Have we entered Ying Zhou?"

Su Zhan nodded and said, "Yes, Wang Xuan, why did you come here to test your sword against the world? Although it's densely populated, most people here are scholars. It's quite unwise to seek martial arts advancement here. But it's good that you came."

"I naturally have my reasons."

"...Jun'er, get in the carriage, let's go!"

Above the Ying Zhou city gate tower.

Qin Chuan stood at a high vantage point, looking out into the distance.

With a feather fan and a silk scarf, people around him secretly observed him, but no one dared to disturb him.

"What is Chen Gongzi doing here?"

"Perhaps he's contemplating matters of national concern?"

"I wonder if we'll hear a poem today that will be sung for a thousand generations."

Qin Chuan turned a deaf ear to the discussions around him and continued to wait silently.

Ever since he received news that another Wang Xuan had arrived, he had been waiting here, just to see how the character switching and control worked.

After a long while, yellow sand billowed, and the sound of horse hooves gradually rose.

A carriage swayed as it approached, and from afar, exclamations could be heard from within.

"Ah! Master, we've arrived in Ying Zhou!"

"Jun'er, be serious with me, or you'll be in for a rough time later."

Su Zhan's scolding came at the same time.

Qin Chuan didn't care about these things. Instead, he looked inside through the lifted curtain.

Inside the carriage, Wang Xuan appeared at just the right moment.

Chen Chuan and Wang Xuan, the two faced each other for an instant.

[Detection: Different reincarnated characters are in the same area. You can switch the main controlled character at any time and adjust the behavior logic of placed reincarnated characters.]

[Do you want to switch (adjust) the controlled character: Chen Chuan → Wang Xuan?]

"No."

After secretly shaking his head, Qin Chuan chose not to descend the city tower and simply watched as Wang Xuan and the other two entered the city.

At this moment, there were too many people and too many eyes, making it not a good place to study their relationship.

Return home, and wait!

As the sun set, nearing dusk, in Huangyun Tower by West Lake in Ying Zhou.

A dust-covered young man walked in from outside the door. The waiter stepped forward to greet him.

"Oh ~ This gentleman is a new face, how many of you? What would you like? Our humble establishment's dishes are superb, and we even have du kang wine directly supplied from Xinghua Village, what do you think..."

"Pre-arranged, White Cloud Pavilion."

As soon as these words were spoken, the waiter immediately dared not be presumptuous.

He stepped forward to lead the way, saying, "So it's the young boss's guest, please follow me quickly, sir."

On the top floor of Huangyun Tower, Qin Chuan was silently looking at the menu in front of him, calculating the resources he currently controlled.

Seeing the waiter lead Wang Xuan in, he waved his hand and said:

"Go down, and don't disturb me without my command."

"Alright, young boss."

After the waiter left, the two people in the room stared at each other, with no communication.

Qin Chuan's feeling at this moment was very strange: his perspective could jump back and forth between two different viewpoints.

"Hello, hello."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

After playing for a while, it felt like playing chess against himself, incredibly boring.

He didn't bother with any pleasantries and immediately pulled out the Bamboo Forest Map.

"To wander the world, one needs money. Wang Xuan, take these five hundred gold coins first!"

"This Qingfeng Sword..."

"Too light, too small... I'll keep it myself."

"Celestial Change Treatise, these original poetry manuscripts, should I try? Oh, can't use them..."

After the two (one?) completed the basic resource integration, Qin Chuan stared at something in the Bamboo Forest Map and fell into deep thought.

— Main World · Martial Arts Tournament Souvenir.

In other words: Virtual World login device.

"Can this thing be used here?"

Qin Chuan quickly made a decision: try it!

Immediately, 'Wang Xuan' put on the login device, while 'Chen Chuan' watched from the side.

Soon, a blue light appeared, circling around Wang Xuan.

It works!

Just as Qin Chuan's eyes were wide with anticipation, an alarm sounded from the login device.

"Beep, no complete soul detected, unable to log into the current world's Virtual World..."

Complete soul?

Yes, Wang Xuan was currently just a placed character, essentially just a split thought of Qin Chuan's mind. So, what about the main consciousness?

Thinking of this, Qin Chuan no longer hesitated.

He controlled Chen Chuan's body, took the login device in his hand, and had Wang Xuan stand guard on the side.

"Log in!"

Login device:

"Detecting login area: Human Path Area"

"Confirming civilization status 'Confucian Main Civilization - Great Zhou'"

"Querying user level identity..."

"Query results are as follows: Chen Chuan, courtesy name Wen Yuan, from the Chen family of Ying Zhou, a scholar."

"Please select login area —

[Jixia Academy (Entry test not passed)]

[National Academy (Official rank not met)]

[Yingtian Academy: Minimum entry level requirement (Recommended Man)]

[Sword Pavilion (Refuses Confucian scholars to enter)]

[White Deer Academy: Allowed to enter (Minimum scholarly achievement requirement: Scholar).]

"Do you want to enter White Deer Academy?"

Qin Chuan: ???

There are so many places to enter!

But... what's with this unique sense of detachment!

In a trance, Qin Chuan finally understood —

Entering this kind of virtual universe from the Main World, it's sci-fi in a way.

But... the feudal dynasty style of the Great Zhou is really out of place.

Moreover, looking at the Main World's civilization, which seems to be struggling, it appears they can only afford a 'Virtual Divine Land' by selling everything they own.

But the Great Zhou, good heavens!

How many did they buy!

However, it was precisely because of this that Qin Chuan's curiosity was completely piqued.

"Enter White Deer Academy!"

With a thought, just like when Qin Chuan entered the Virtual World in the Main World.

The light and shadows before his eyes suddenly changed, and a scene of clear mountains and beautiful waters appeared before him.

Three mountains surrounded it, with a river flowing through the middle. There was no noise of the marketplace, but the beauty of spring water.

Directly ahead, a white deer stood before the academy's gate tower.

Noticing Qin Chuan's gaze, the white deer actually spoke in human language.

"Oh? After many years, there is actually a scholar carrying vast righteousness who has come. It is indeed rare. Are you here to seek knowledge?"

Qin Chuan quickly composed himself: "This Senior White Deer, I have stumbled into this place by mistake. May I ask you to introduce it to me?"

"That is natural."

The white deer took elegant steps, walking step by step to Qin Chuan's side.

It said crisply, "This place is the foundation accumulated by the Former Sage since the chaotic era for the prosperity of our Confucian Way, to provide a stepping stone for future scholars."

"Then now..."

Qin Chuan couldn't help but ask — he looked around and saw it was empty, not at all like there were people there.

The white deer sighed, "Now... I don't know what happened, but fewer and fewer students come to study, and among the four academies, only White Deer remains. I don't know how much longer I can sustain it..."

No wonder Qin Chuan had never heard of this place within the Great Zhou's territory.

Where did that so-called Former Sage go?

After speaking, it looked up at Qin Chuan.

"Are you here to seek knowledge?"

"Naturally!"

Qin Chuan answered without hesitation.

— Having entered a treasure mountain, how could one return empty-handed?

White Deer: "Very good! Sit on my back, and I will take you on a tour of this academy..."

"This, wouldn't be very appropriate..."

Although he said so, Qin Chuan's movements were not slow at all.

He unhesitatingly climbed onto the White Deer's back, sitting sideways as they moved forward.

The White Deer slowly introduced the academy to Qin Chuan —

"This is the Pavilion of Sages, this is the lecture hall..."

"If you are confident in your knowledge, you can go to the lecture hall to take an examination. If you rank among the best, you will receive rewards..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Chuan sensed something was off.

"Ranking? How many students are there in the academy?"

"...Currently, just you."

(PS: The next chapter will be a bit late, I'm stuck. I'll try to write it earlier tomorrow and aim for three chapters.)