Chapter 113: Building a Circle of Friends
Chapter 113: Building a Circle of Friends
[Your friend: Merchant Li Zhao and Bank Manager Mi Hong talked about you. Bank Manager Mi Hong agreed with your friend Merchant Li Zhao’s statement. Bank Manager Mi Hong’s favorability towards you increased by 10. Current favorability: 1 star.]
[You added a friend: Bank Manager Mi Hong.]
“Damn, what’s up with Li Zhao lately? He talks about me with people every day and has already hooked me up with more than ten friends.”
Chen Xiyi looked at the refreshed Game Log. It wasn’t the first time, nor was it the first friend he had added. Ever since he “fished up” Li Zhao two months ago, the number had been growing steadily, and almost every conversation led to a new friend, most of whom started with 1-star favorability.
That wasn’t all—when friends talked to each other, both of their favorability levels rose.
Moreover, these friends would then talk to strangers about him. Although they weren’t as effective as Li Zhao, they still managed to increase favorability.
Chen Xiyi was utterly stunned. He hadn’t expected 4-star favorability to be this terrifying, forcefully creating a whole new circle of friends for him.
He didn’t even know who these people were, but seeing the steadily rising favorability, he couldn’t help but feel impressed.
“Truly, people are different. Back when I ‘fished up’ Lü Xian, not even a single point of favorability increased. But Li Zhao? He basically built a friend network for me.”
Chen Xiyi wondered: if things kept expanding at this rate, wouldn’t he be surrounded by friends everywhere after staying for a year or two?
The problem was, these friends didn’t seem particularly useful—they only helped expand his influence.
“But Li Zhao seems to be doing quite well. Not only has his title changed, but even the people he interacts with now have titles like ‘manager’ or ‘supervisor.’ Is it because of that administrative skill?”
Chen Xiyi thought: talent is talent, able to shine and thrive anywhere. Even after suffering a major setback, Li Zhao quickly bounced back.
If it were Chen Xiyi, he definitely wouldn’t have that kind of ability.
Although friends weren’t particularly useful, they at least provided additional channels for information. After all, when others talked about him, he could gain some extra insights… probably.
After casually reeling in his line, Chen Xiyi looked disgustedly at what was hanging from the Fishing Rod.
[You used the Fishing Rod to fish and caught a rotting corpse.]
“I don’t know where the fighting is, but so many people have died. I catch one every single day. This is just ridiculous.” He stuffed it into his Inventory, feeling somewhat helpless.
Lately, he had been catching corpses—not only corpses but also various monsters and demons, like Water Ghosts, mountain spirits, Tiger Demons, and even Chang Ghosts.
He could understand Water Ghosts, but mountain spirits, Tiger Demons, and Chang Ghosts? Those clearly seemed like land-dwelling creatures. How did he manage to fish them out of the water?
Later, he found out that these two were drinking by the river when Chen Xiyi’s Fishing Rod suddenly hooked onto the back of their necks. Before they could struggle, Chen Xiyi had already reeled them in.
To this, Chen Xiyi could only say: who drinks water with half their body immersed? Especially the Tiger Demon—don’t tigers usually drink by lapping water with their tongues?
Chen Xiyi then beat them up and tossed them into a carriage to join the Water Monkey.
For this, he had specifically cleared out one carriage to serve as a zoo.
He had to admit, this bug was quite useful. The Water Monkey, placed in the carriage and stored in the Inventory, remained as lively and fresh as when it was first put in, even after two months. The preservation function left Chen Xiyi amazed.
Because of this, Chen Xiyi also realized how unreliable this fishing method was. Although he was fishing, what he caught was all kinds of random stuff.
Luckily, in this world, the cultivation system made the Qi Refiner profession overpowered. These monsters and demons weren’t even a match for a beginner Qi Refiner like Chen Xiyi. But if he were in a xianxia world with Dragon Kings or demon kings, what if he accidentally hooked some terrifying aquatic member of the Demon Race?
When using the fishing function of the Home Game, with the game’s assistance, Chen Xiyi could reel in anything, no matter how heavy or powerful. But once it was caught, the Home Game wouldn’t help him anymore.
In other words, after catching it, the Home Game wouldn’t care whether Chen Xiyi could handle the “fish” or not.
Chen Xiyi suspected this was due to poorly written code in the unfinished game. Otherwise, who ever heard of fishing only catching bizarre things?
Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about that now. If he had to consider it, it would have to wait until later.
Lately, he had been fishing every day, from February to April. Of the three legacies, only the “Soul Returns to One Realm” legacy remained partially unlearned.
He figured he probably wouldn’t find a companion (bait) to travel with him this time. He would just have to reluctantly give up on those kindhearted folks along the way who liked casually leaving legacies lying around.
After studying the three legacies, Chen Xiyi had gradually outlined his own framework as a Qi Refiner.
However, it would still take some time to fill in the details.
Having learned these three legacies, he could now barely shed the label of an amateur and rightfully call himself a novice Qi Refiner.
The three legacies weren’t just three sets of techniques; they covered the entire process from a Qi Refiner’s entry level to Qi Commanding and then to Spirit Wandering. They included spells, Ritual Implements, and talismans for combat, as well as various insights and Nourishment Resources needed for growth. Each legacy had its own emphasis, and mastering any one of them would already elevate him beyond the status of a self-taught amateur.
Chen Xiyi had learned three of them—he was definitely no amateur anymore. Unfortunately, because his Primordial Spirit was already fixed, he was limited and couldn’t use many of the abilities within the legacies.
After all, these were systematic lineages, each with its own core and development.
Without the core Primordial Spirit of the legacy, how could he possibly use its exclusive abilities? So, if he wanted to use them, Chen Xiyi would have to modify them himself.
He really coveted the “home-field advantage” of the Dragon-Settling Nine Chapters, the spirit guardians of the Du’e Spirit Child, and the Soul Array of Soul Returns to One Realm.
So, he had to study even harder, gathering the strengths of many schools to form his own lineage.
This wasn’t an impossible task. He had already outlined the framework, which was roughly equivalent to creating a new folder.
It meant he had taken a solid first step.
But he was greedy. He didn’t want to limit himself to just these three legacies. He wanted even more to make his own legacy stronger.
With his current foundation, it took him about half a month to learn one legacy. As his Primordial Spirit and knowledge grew, the time needed to learn other legacies would only shorten. Eventually, he might only need a quick glance to deduce the specifics of a legacy.
After all, he was building from a high vantage point—his perspective was already there.
Right now, Chen Xiyi was laying the foundation. Although he sacrificed combat power, it was worth it for the towering structure he aimed to build in the future.
He guessed that, without preparation, his combat power would be much weaker compared to other Qi Refiners in the Qi Controlling Realm. After all, he still didn’t have a proper Ritual Implement, talisman, or spell.
Luckily, Chen Xiyi didn’t rely solely on the Qi Refiner system for combat power—he depended on the Home Game’s equipment.
Even with just the Object Manipulation Talisman, Chen Xiyi could unleash combat power beyond his actual level.
Getting up to stretch, Chen Xiyi looked at the deserted lake. In these times, who would want to come to such a remote place?
Poor folks were busy trying to make a living, and the wealthy nobles wouldn’t come to a place like this.
“Today, I should be able to finish learning Soul Returns to One Realm entirely. After that, I can set off. There’s no point in staying here any longer.”
Chen Xiyi gazed at the shimmering water, feeling somewhat emotional.
To be honest, if this place weren’t so unsuitable for building above-ground structures, he would have settled here permanently.
Yes, not long ago, he had built an Underground Shelter underground—not just here, but also secretly under the Inn in the city.
In a world with supernatural abilities, it was safest to have multiple hideouts.
If he hadn’t been too hasty and accidentally blown up Dongtai City, he would have built a couple of Underground Shelters there too.
At this thought, Chen Xiyi’s expression turned serious. Even now, there was no news from Dongtai City, and nothing seemed unusual on the Game Map—everyone appeared normal.
But that just couldn’t be right. Because the Bai Family Caravan hadn’t come. According to the inn worker’s earlier words, the Bai Family Caravan should have arrived around the time the lockdown ended two months ago. If nothing had happened, they should have been here long ago. But after waiting for two months, there was still no sign of them. Even the inn worker found it strange.
So, something must have happened in Dongtai City.
Maybe news had leaked but was being suppressed—the kind of news that needed suppressing was definitely major.
What really made Chen Xiyi uneasy was that, logically, since he had fled Dongtai City, it was basically like he had disappeared. So why hadn’t anyone in the Bai Family Caravan talked about him all this time? If they had, his Game Log would have alerted him. But there had never been any notification.
This suggested that the Bai Family Caravan might not even know he had vanished, or they had never discussed it. That was very suspicious.
A living person just vanished right under their noses—even the most careless person would have asked about it.
“But luckily, I escaped successfully. Whatever happens next, it’s not like they’ll travel thousands of miles just to find me.” Chen Xiyi looked at the white NPC dots in Dongtai City on the Game Map. Although he felt things had spiraled out of control, it probably wouldn’t affect him… maybe.
Though he said that, Chen Xiyi didn’t feel too confident. Who knew what kind of mutation might occur?
The Soul Returns to One Legacy did record such situations, but Chen Xiyi had run away too quickly to observe the specific Qi Mechanism on site.
At the time, all he could think about was escaping—he didn’t dare stay there.
The consequences of such situations varied greatly, and the specifics could only be analyzed based on multiple factors.
Depending on differences in the process, rituals, timing, and even reasons for failure when using the Qi Reversal Soul-Returning Array for Qi Refinement and Spirit Cultivation, the outcomes that emerged could be entirely different.
Unless Chen Xiyi returned to Dongtai City to investigate, he couldn’t determine what had actually happened. Based solely on what he had seen at the time, it was impossible to deduce anything concrete.
It was like watching only the opening credits of a TV show—how could anyone know what the episode was about?
Even if he tried to piece things together based on the lingering Qi Mechanism, it would just be unfounded speculation, pure guesswork, and not something to be taken seriously.
Time passed minute by minute, and the electronic book of the Soul Returns to One Realm gradually decreased as Chen Xiyi flipped through it, until it finally vanished.
The sky gradually darkened, and in the distance, Zhang Laoliu arrived with the carriage. Chen Xiyi knew that his leisurely days were coming to an end.
The last page of the Soul Returns to One Realm legacy’s electronic book was turned by Chen Xiyi.
His original plan was complete, so there was no need to stay put any longer.
Getting into the carriage, Chen Xiyi looked at Zhang Laoliu, who was driving upfront: “Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to come pick me up anymore. I’m planning to take a long trip.”
Zhang Laoliu had been prepared for this. After all, Chen Xiyi had always stayed at the Inn instead of a large estate, which meant he wasn’t a local—just staying temporarily. If he had intended to settle down, he would have bought a house long ago.
“Yes, Master.”