Chapter 6: The Two Protagonists
“Mā de, he’s so full of it!” a certain fox-faced person thought.
Seeing me, this fool, standing in the rain, he actually caused all the surrounding raindrops to hover in midair.
Before Chu Huaixu, the raindrops were suspended, crystal-clear yet motionless, defying the laws of nature.
Soaked through, he curiously raised a finger and gently prodded one of the suspended drops.
“Can’t even poke it?” he wondered in surprise.
He soon realized that each raindrop was surrounded by an invisible layer of force.
It was because they were wrapped in this force that this astonishing scene unfolded.
As for who was emanating this force, one could guess.
Chu Huaixu looked up at the man high above, whose appearance was obscured, and summed him up in two words:
“Poser!”
……
……
Under the oiled-paper umbrella, Han Shuangjiang gripped the handle tighter with her right hand.
Though her appearance remained as cold as frost, her eyebrows and expression still composed, her heart was already in shock.
“Walking on air—that is… a Grand Cultivator!”
In the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators are divided into nine realms; once one reaches the fifth realm, they are honored as Grand Cultivators.
The most obvious trait of a Grand Cultivator is the ability to fly without reliance on external tools.
Such power is rare even among the four great sects of Mirror Country.
It should be known that in Joyous Sect, where Han Shuangjiang once belonged, even the Sect Leader, the Holy Maiden, and the Holy Son had not attained the fifth realm.
To be precise, that rotund, silver‑tongued Sect Leader had only reached the third realm.
If a true Grand Cultivator were to act, they could suppress him with just a flick of a finger!
But knowing Joyous Sect as she did, Han Shuangjiang understood that in this situation, those in the sect would likely kneel and suck on that finger.
With that thought, she gently shook her head, dismissing her wild imaginings and memories of past experiences.
That place, where decadent music was incessant day and night, was truly not something she wished to remember again.
Within Joyous Sect, comparison and one‑upmanship prevailed.
What they competed over can be easily imagined.
Han Shuangjiang did not want to become the subject of comparison one day.
She had heard that the Holy Son and Holy Maiden had to teach junior disciples together in the hall, performing “Entwined Joy” for everyone…
She only wished to break free from all this and seize control of her own fate!
And the premise for all that was cultivation—becoming stronger!
Thus, upon seeing that the other party was a Grand Cultivator, Han Shuangjiang was first shocked, then her heart burned with excitement!
This was Wumeng Mountains outside the Dao Gate; it could be sure that this person was not only at least fifth realm but very likely from the powerful Dao Gate!
“He didn’t lie to me, that storyteller didn’t lie!” Han Shuangjiang thought.
“He said that if I came here at the hour of Zi tonight, I could join the Dao Gate—and it was true!”
Just a few days ago, she chanced upon a storyteller who told her this, then vanished in an instant.
“Could this truly be my destiny?” Han Shuangjiang raised her head, watching the figure in white robe descending slowly in the sky.
This person wore a white robe and descended to land between Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang, forming a striking contrast.
Chu Huaixu was dripping wet, and even with strands of wet hair plastered to his forehead, couldn’t hide his handsome looks.
Han Shuangjiang held her oiled-paper umbrella; even with a thin veil, her unparalleled beauty could not be concealed.
He was a handsome man, she was a beauty, and this Grand Cultivator was… well, just a man.
This person’s white robe and posture gave an ethereal vibe.
But his face was quite ordinary.
If this were a costume drama, after causing such a big fuss, suspending raindrops mid‑air, the camera panned to his face—it would betray the audience’s expectations.
Yet Chu Huaixu recognized him and was still surprised.
Before transmigrating, in the Borrowed Sword timeline it was Xuanli 1997; the game began open beta in 1991, six years ago.
At that time, as a veteran player, he had already reached level 49.
In the Xuanhuang Realm, before ordinary people officially began cultivating, they first had to clear their meridians, open their acupuncture points, and strengthen their bodies before they could draw qi into themselves and become a first-realm cultivator.
For players, this meridian-clearing and body-tempering phase corresponded to levels 1 to 9.
When a player reached level 10, they became comparable to a first-realm NPC.
At level 19, they equaled a perfected first-realm cultivator!
With this comparison, Chu Huaixu at level 49 was equivalent to a perfected fourth-realm cultivator.
One more level up to level 50 would make him equal to a Grand Cultivator of the Xuanhuang Realm!
The only reason he hadn’t leveled up was because the current game version capped at level 49.
Though he had transmigrated and the timeline was now Xuanli 1990, a year earlier, his memories hadn’t disappeared, and he naturally recognized this famous figure before him.
“Li Chunsong, Sixth Elder of the Dao Gate, a terrifying existence at the seventh realm, a top-ranked powerhouse of the entire Xuanhuang Realm.”
“He had many well-known nicknames on the game forum.”
“Deadbeat Gambler, Charitable King of Gambling, Li ‘Sure-to-Lose’...”
This man was addicted to gambling—if he wasn’t gambling, he was on his way to gamble.
Fortunately, he adhered to the principle of ‘small bets for fun,’ rarely wagering big, but with high frequency and a love for betting on anything.
Because he almost always lost, he earned those nicknames.
Chu Huaixu never expected to meet him at the foot of Wumeng Mountains.
Nor did he know what the man intended to do.
Even with his previously maxed-out level 49 account, he would have been utterly powerless before Li Chunsong.
What’s more, after some reflection, he had started forming some guesses about his own identity.
“I was being hunted by Xue Hu of the Patrol Bureau, which answers to the Mirror Court.”
“Xue Hu claimed I was trying to infiltrate the Dao Gate with ulterior motives.”
“Then most likely, my ‘faction’ is opposed to both the Dao Gate and the court.”
“Damn it, I’m probably from Moon Country!”
And now standing before him was a peerless expert from the Dao Gate, a major figure in the cultivation world—what if this man noticed something...
This triggered major alarm bells in Chu Huaixu’s mind, his body tensed, but he still tried to stay calm.
Because he knew very well that before a powerhouse of this level, he was practically “transparent.”
For example, a racing heartbeat—such a thing could be detected easily.
“Damn, damn, so damn screwed!” he cursed inwardly, brain working overtime.
Cold sweat broke out all over him, mixing with the rain on his body.
The only thing he had to offer was the hundred tael silver note in his pocket.
Chu Huaixu recalled everything he knew about Li Chunsong, then glanced at Han Shuangjiang nearby.
He remembered clearly that a player from Dao Gate had posted on the forums saying the two “World Protagonists” of Mirror Country in Eastern Continent—Han Shuangjiang and Xu Ziqing—were both brought into the Dao Gate by Li Chunsong.
At that moment, he noticed that after looking at him once, Li Chunsong showed a trace of surprise, then sighed lightly.
But after the sigh, he didn’t say much, only asked, “What are your names?”
“Han Shuangjiang.”
“Chu Huaixu.”
Upon hearing this, Li Chunsong looked at them with interest and said, “Frost Descent, one of the twenty-four solar terms. Huaixu—April. These names… are rather intriguing.”
His tone and expression had a hint of matchmaker meddling in fated pairs.
He waved his sleeve and said, “Alright, I won’t waste time with idle talk. I came slightly earlier than the agreed time, but didn’t expect you two to arrive even earlier.”
“Then come with me back to the Dao Gate.”
At these words, waves of shock surged in Chu Huaixu’s heart.
But in the next moment, Li Chunsong pointed his finger lightly, and he and Han Shuangjiang floated into the air, rising with him toward the sky.
Once all three had flown away, the suspended raindrops finally fell to the ground.
……
……
Elsewhere, in the dense forest at the foot of Wumeng Mountains, a delicate-looking youth named Xu Ziqing was burning with anxiety.
Because he was racing against time.
But he had been surrounded by people from the Patrol Bureau.
……