167: Chapter 167 He Must Love You Very Much

Looking at the identical Chen You before her, Hill rarely showed a fleeting moment of confusion in her eyes.

"Function?" she repeated, her gaze lingering on the clone's eyes for a moment.

"The laws of the Source Realm are just and ancient. When you, Warrior, meet the conditions, the corresponding authority and guidance will naturally reveal themselves to you."

What she said was watertight, meaning nothing at all.

The clone Chen You said expressionlessly: "Then, give a preview, what is the next function?"

This style of relentlessly digging to the bottom of things made Hill fall silent for a moment.

She seemed to be searching some ancient knowledge base, or perhaps evaluating whether Chen You's behavior warranted a 'spoiler'.

After a few seconds, she slowly spoke: "When your level reaches 30, you will gain an opportunity capable of changing your destiny."

"We call it—the Destiny System."

Destiny System?

Chen You's heart stirred slightly.

Just hearing the name suggested it was no ordinary thing.

He was currently level 20, only a little short of 21, but level 30 was still a long way off.

Based on the experience curve in the Source Realm, the experience required for these ten levels was probably an astronomical figure.

"Destruction Mode" was currently the fastest known way to level up, but he could only run it once a day.

He had already cleared the Destruction Mode for the [Tomb of Thousand Lights], and he was already over-leveled for the [Wailing Valley].

"Are there any other dungeons near Thousand Light City?" the clone Chen You continued to ask.

"Yes," Hill nodded.

"There is indeed another dungeon west of Thousand Light City."

"But the entrance there is sealed by a strange power, requiring the completion of a specific prerequisite quest to unlock it."

Chen You frowned. Another quest.

He hated these winding, indirect things the most.

"Can't I just pay money instead of doing quests?"

Hill's lips seemed to twitch, as if she wanted to smile but held it back: "Warrior, some ancient laws of the Source Realm cannot be overcome by money, even by gods."

Fine.

The clone Chen You's mind raced as he quickly planned.

"Besides this one, are there any other options? Ones that don't require doing quests."

"There are," Hill raised her hand, and a light screen unfolded before the two of them, displaying a massive map of the Source Realm.

However, since Chen You hadn't explored it yet, he couldn't make out anything.

"The nearest open dungeon to Thousand Light City is approximately two thousand three hundred kilometers away in a straight line."

"Recommended level is 35 to 40."

Two thousand three hundred kilometers.

At the full speed of the yuhuang sword, including spirit energy consumption and recovery, it should only take a little over ten minutes to arrive.

But a level 35 dungeon...

He was level 20 now. Even with all his trump cards, trying to activate "Destruction Mode" would probably still be too risky.

He couldn't take the chance.

On the main body's side, the medicinal effects of the immortal grade qi gathering pill were still taking effect, and his spirit energy was steadily increasing.

In about two more hours, he should break through the bottleneck and reach the sixth layer of Qi Refining.

At that time, his strength would certainly leap forward qualitatively.

By then, challenging that level 35 dungeon would give him a much greater chance of success.

So, these two hours would be perfectly used to complete the current key-opening quest.

Maximize efficiency.

"What is the key-opening quest?" the clone asked.

Hill tapped her fingertip, and a quest notification appeared on Chen You's system panel.

[Side Quest: He Must Love You So Much]

"..."

Seeing this name, both the clone and the main body felt an inexplicable pang in their hearts.

Based on his understanding of these types of games, behind such a literary and sentimental name lay ninety percent melodrama and the remaining ten percent pure poison.

Opening the map, besides the quest icon deliverable at the City Lord's Mansion, there were over ten other quest icons available to accept in Thousand Light City.

The clone Chen You quickly scanned them and soon found the location for the quest [He Must Love You So Much].

Without another word, he turned and left.

"Auto-pathfinding."

With a summons, the giant, adorable-looking rabbit mount appeared out of thin air, landing on the plaza in front of the Supreme Tower, causing a wave of quiet gasps from the surrounding players.

The clone leaped onto it with fluid motion.

...

Wangting Tower, Thousand Light City's most famous teahouse.

This recently appeared scene, coupled with the opera performance, was very popular among players from other worlds.

Although it was nighttime, the teahouse was completely full, the noise of the crowd somehow suppressed by a strange atmosphere.

Everyone's gaze, intentionally or unintentionally, drifted towards the ancient, antique stage in the center of the teahouse.

Chen You rode the Big White Rabbit to the entrance, then dismissed the rabbit and stepped into the teahouse in one stride.

A mixed aroma of high-grade tea fragrance, sweet pastry scent, and faint sandalwood rushed to meet him.

His eyes swept around and landed directly on the stage.

A woman dressed in a light cyan opera costume was singing a mournful solo.

Her figure was graceful, and her flowing sleeves moved as if she were a weak willow swaying in the wind.

Her face was covered in exquisite stage makeup, concealing her true appearance.

Only her pair of eyes, like autumn water, revealed an unresolvable sorrow and misery as they darted around.

Her singing style was not any school of traditional opera from the real world, yet it possessed an infectious power that struck directly at the heart.

"...A person in a painting, the moon in the water, a flower in a mirror blooming for a moment."

"Your promise, my fate, wrongly given away a lifetime of youthful splendor."

"He must, love you so, so much..."

The singing was like weeping and complaining, as if taking a broken heart, crushing it, grinding it to dust, and then scattering it bit by bit into the ears of the listeners.

The surrounding tea patrons were completely engrossed, and some emotional female players even had reddened eyes.

What a scene of literary melancholy and sorrow.

Chen You, however, felt nothing.

He was simply observing the woman on stage according to the quest guidance.

It was her.

Chen You found an empty seat near the edge, ordered the cheapest pot of clear tea, and waited quietly.

He wasn't here to listen to the opera; he was here to go through the motions.

Based on past experience, quest NPCs like this would either wait for her to finish singing or cause some unexpected trouble midway, allowing him to 'shout out against injustice upon seeing it'.

The song ended, the lingering sound echoing.

The woman finished her movement, her long water sleeves drooping, breathing slightly, and bowed deeply to the audience.

"Bravo!"

"Sing another one!"

"Reward! A huge reward!"

After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and applause erupted instantly.

Copper coins and fresh flowers were thrown onto the stage like rain by the excited audience.

The woman, however, merely bowed in thanks and did not pick up the money; a teahouse attendant came forward to collect it.

Her sorrowful eyes swept across the entire hall, seemingly searching for something.

Finally, she listlessly lowered her eyelids.

Chen You watched quietly, not rushing forward to trigger the dialogue.

He was wondering if there was any special method to break the routine in this scenario.

The Source Realm should not have had scenes with this kind of classical Huaxia element before.

This design of a teahouse stage was most likely updated synchronously due to his appearance.

This meant there was a high probability of a hidden plot sequence exclusive to him being designed!