Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A person’s transformation, more often than not, comes only after long torment.

Long Chi was no exception.

Originally, he had been nothing more than an unruly, ordinary youth.

Back then, less than two months after establishing his foundation, he had skipped straight past Golden Core and formed a Nascent Soul in one fell swoop. His cultivation speed could only be described as terrifying, and every set of physique data I uploaded broke the previous record.

Naturally, I was thrilled.

After all, if you wanted to be promoted by Cloud Heaven, everyone had to show results.

But when I stood beside him and faithfully uploaded the changes in his sample data from the backend…

When this future strongest under heaven sat before me, wreathed in clouds and mist, drenched in sweat…

When that sweat ran down the young man’s fair face, slid beneath his half-translucent robes, and I caught the head-on scent of youth on his breath…

I would always, despite myself, feel a flicker of dread.

This game was far too real.

So real that I found it difficult to detach myself and treat a living, breathing boy as nothing but data.

And so, when the boy once again cautiously tried to get close to me, I did not refuse. I let him tug at the corner of my sleeve, drawing out his voice as he wheedled, “Master, just keep me company for one night, okay? Please?”

“…Get lost.”

“Aiya, I meant keep me company for a night of moon-gazing!” He blinked at me innocently. “Master, what were you thinking?”

I was speechless.

The next instant, he had already grabbed my arm and dragged me high into the air.

While I sat on the roof eaves with my hands tucked into my sleeves, looking every bit the old fogey as I admired the moon, the young man held up a jar of fine wine and drank freely from it. After draining the jar, he wiped his lips and let out a grand sigh toward the distant vault of heaven. “Master, in the past, I merely drifted along from day to day. Only now do I understand that the universe is boundless, and there are still so many mysteries waiting to be explored.”

“Now, even I have a wish I desperately want to fulfill.”

“What wish?”

“Naturally, to become an immortal couple with Master-”

“Straighten out that tongue of yours.”

He gave two dry laughs. “Naturally, like all men, to have the sun and moon above my head and mountains and rivers beneath my feet, and become the number one person under heaven. Haha!”

After he finished laughing, those clear eyes blinked lightly at me. “What about you, Master? What wish do you have?”

“Me?” I took a swig of wine too, my face numb. “Probably to get five social insurances and one housing fund after being promoted, weekends off, and preferably fifteen days of annual leave.”

“?”

Seeing his puzzled expression, I coughed lightly. “That’s Cloud Heaven’s promotion system. It’s fine if you don’t understand.”

“Oh, oh.”

The boy nodded, half understanding.

The two of us admired the moon in silence for a while. Then he suddenly reached out and poked me on the sly. “Then what kind of man does Master like?”

“I don’t have a man I like.”

“How is that possible?”

I smiled without answering, but in my heart, a hazy figure slowly surfaced.

It was a cold young man wearing a ceremonial crown, his beauty beyond compare, draped in a golden robe.

He was also the spiritual idol of all us citizens of Cloud Heaven. Unfortunately, I had only ever seen him on a screen.

Seeing me silently dazing off, the boy beside me suddenly reached out and pointed at the enormous moon. “I never used to think the moon was pretty. Maybe because Master is here today, even the Moon Goddess seems a little beautiful.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

The boy grinned, showing his teeth. “In the past, I always felt that this sky was so fake. I kept having the urge to break it open.”

“So, Master, what exactly is up there in the sky?”

I was startled by his words.

A mere data AI actually possessed senses this sharp?

Faced with his curious gaze, I forced down the panic in my heart and kept my tone as calm as ever.

“Once you break through to a higher realm, you can go up and see for yourself.”