The system was confused.

The system suddenly fell into thought.

The system had an epiphany.

The system didn’t dare to make a peep.

Lin Jinyu hesitated, looking at Wen Yuncheng, who was blocked by an invisible wall, unable to follow. She was pressed against the barrier, staring with teary, aggrieved eyes.

“Should we go back?” she suggested.

“No!” Wen Yuncheng shook her head fiercely. “We’re already here, there’s no reason to go back empty-handed. Go see if there’s a fortuitous encounter, or maybe some heavenly treasures and inheritances. I’ll just wait for you here.”

“Will you be okay?”

“I will! I, Wen Yuncheng, never say I can’t!” Wen Yuncheng declared resolutely, straightening up and patting her chest. “Go on, I’ll wait here for your good news! If there’s any danger, run quickly. Don’t force it.”

Lin Jinyu nodded and continued forward.

Wen Yuncheng sat where she was, watching the Little Ice Mountain slowly disappear from her sight. The light from the fire vanished bit by bit… Well, she might as well build a fire. Inside this cave, she’d have to use a flint.

Hmm, after starting the fire, she could even roast some meat.

After a delightful meal of roasted meat, Wen Yuncheng sat by the fire and began to earnestly assemble a Guardian. Working on it bit by bit over the past few nights, she now had a total of eight Guardians. She would need to stock up on more Star Iron once she returned to the academy.

But as she worked, Wen Yuncheng couldn’t help but glance into the depths of the cave. “1947, how long has it been?”

[An hour and a half.]

“Ah, only that long…” Wen Yuncheng resumed her assembly. While working diligently, she asked, “Why was I stopped? Does this secret treasure only allow one person to pass?”

1947 was silent for a moment, but ultimately, it was unwilling to deceive its cub. Its electronic voice sounded exceptionally heavy: [Because… you have no Star Power in your body.]

Although the system could conceal this fact, simulating the energy of Star Power so others couldn’t see anything wrong with Wen Yuncheng, and even emit energy to fool testing crystals, this kind of barrier was different. No Star Power was no Star Power. Wen Yuncheng’s cultivation meridians were destroyed, and under this barrier’s detection, she was no different from someone who had never cultivated.

Naturally, she was blocked.

The system once again began to regret that incident with the temporal turbulence. If it had transported over normally and bound with Wen Yuncheng normally, things wouldn’t have turned out this way! …Although, if things had been normal, it wouldn’t have come here at all, nor would it have ever met Wen Yuncheng.

“Is that so…” Wen Yuncheng continued to quietly assemble the parts, the news seemingly having no effect on her. “I thought I was just too unlucky~ Ah, this is good too. If it’s a fortuitous encounter, at least there won’t be any conflict with Lin Jinyu~”

[You- you don’t hate me?]

“Why would I hate you?” Wen Yuncheng paused, then added, “It’s not like you did it on purpose. Besides, I’ve been with you for so long, I know what kind of system you are.”

[…] 1947 said nothing, as if it had fallen silent. But in reality… the old father figure wiped away a handful of data-simulated tears within the signal stream, then began filling out a request for a compensation package for its cub in the feedback and suggestions section.

1947 thought that if its previous hosts had encountered such a situation, they would have started cursing it out long ago, demanding compensation and an explanation. Its electric shock punishment would have probably been deployed a dozen times by now.

The cave was perfectly quiet, save for the crackling of burning wood and the soft sounds of Wen Yuncheng assembling parts. After a while, Wen Yuncheng stretched, feeling extremely uncomfortable in her half-damp clothes. She finished the Guardian she was working on and decided to go to the pool to catch a few fish.

By the time night fell, Wen Yuncheng, having caught fish and changed into a set of clean clothes, sat by the fire and yawned. “Is this fortuitous encounter still not over? …But there’s no commotion, so Lin Jinyu should be fine, right?”

[She should be. No energy fluctuations have been detected.]

Wen Yuncheng sighed and continued to assemble the next Guardian. She felt that the attack power of a single Guardian wasn’t very high, but the destructive force of multiple Guardians charging and firing their Star Power cannons together was considerable. Well, it was a Star Practitioner-level blueprint, after all. It couldn’t be expected to one-shot a Star Warrior-level creature.

Wen Yuncheng quietly finished the Guardian in her hands, had 1947 help activate it, and stored it away. She looked toward the far end of the cave and couldn’t resist reaching out a hand—then pressed both hands against the transparent wall.

“1947, does this mean I won’t be able to obtain any fortuitous encounters that have barriers like this in the future?”

[No, in the future, you can just forcibly break the barrier!]

Wen Yuncheng: …If I had that kind of power, would I even need this fortuitous encounter?

She wondered what kind of encounter it was…

Wen Yuncheng sighed, extended a steel spike to poke the bonfire, added some more wood, and then took out a Guardian to stand watch at the cave entrance. She herself took out a sleeping bag and prepared to rest.

Wen Yuncheng was jolted awake by a loud bang. It startled her so much that she shot up, but being in a sleeping bag, she couldn’t quite jump to her feet. “1947?!”

[The fortuitous encounter, the fortuitous encounter. She must have obtained it… Hurry up and get out! It’s already morning.]

Just as Wen Yuncheng packed up her sleeping bag and was about to take out her toiletries from her storage ring to brush her teeth and wash her face, she heard footsteps approaching from a distance…

“Lin Jinyu?”

“Yes. There was a deceased senior inside. I received some guidance from their legacy.” It was Lin Jinyu. The Little Ice Mountain was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, but they seemed to be dry now. And Lin Jinyu’s star rank—

Star Warrior, First Layer.

She broke through. Wen Yuncheng was a little envious, but since it was an opportunity she couldn’t get, she could only be envious for a moment.

“That’s great! Are you hungry? I caught a lot of fish yesterday!”

Lin Jinyu looked at Wen Yuncheng, and after confirming that she didn’t seem angry or resentful, she couldn’t help but smile. But Wen Yuncheng was currently rummaging through her storage ring for fish to make a roasted meal for the Little Ice Mountain, so she didn’t see it.

But 1947 saw it.

[!!!] It flashed three exclamation marks in Wen Yuncheng’s mind, but when she asked what was wrong, it didn’t know how to answer. It could only say, [Nothing…]

[I just… I think I can understand why you say Lin Jinyu is good-looking.]

Wen: ?

Wen Yuncheng thought to herself: Are you okay? Lin Jinyu has always been good-looking.

This time, however, 1947 didn’t talk back.

After eating the roasted fish, they prepared to leave. Lin Jinyu called out to Wen Yuncheng and pressed a somewhat antique jade bottle into her hand. “Pills to strengthen the body, seventh-grade. There are ten in total. Take them when you go to the Fire Tempering Bath.”

Seventh-grade pills? How many Star Stones would that cost! Wen Yuncheng was stunned, feeling as if… she was being sponsored again?

Wen Yuncheng: Let me think, the pairing of a gentle ice mountain and a handsome, cool pretty boy seems quite appealing!

[??? Why does your mind always jump to being sponsored?]

Wen Yuncheng gave 1947 a shy smile: Well, I’ve never experienced it before~

“The senior taught me a set of sword techniques. If you want to learn, you can practice with me. There was also a spirit herb inside, but I ate it.” Lin Jinyu took out her Star Stone card. “How many Star Stones do you want?”

[? Why is this Lin Jinyu’s train of thought so unusual too?] 1947 began to question its existence.

“No, no, this was your fortuitous encounter~ Why would you give me Star Stones? You’ve saved me so many times, I don’t even know how to thank you.” Wen Yuncheng tried her best to keep her eyes from drifting to the Star Stone card, knowing that one glance might be all it took for her to be unable to look away. She said with a serious expression, “I don’t have many friends at Star Academy. I’m very happy when I’m with you.”

“…” Lin Jinyu looked at Wen Yuncheng, then silently put away the Star Stone card. “Okay.”

O… kay? What kind of reply was that? Wen Yuncheng was completely baffled, but it didn’t matter that she didn’t understand Lin Jinyu’s meaning. Being able to admire Lin Jinyu’s beauty was enough for her. “Let’s go out and take a look. A day has passed since the dragon-induced rampage. Maybe it’s much safer outside now?”

“No, a demonic beast rampage takes at least a week to calm down,” Lin Jinyu corrected Wen Yuncheng’s assumption seriously before continuing, “But our teachers might come looking for us. Let’s go.”

As Wen Yuncheng stood at the mouth of the waterfall, about to jump down, she saw two tall women standing faintly on the bank of the pool. Hmm, they looked vaguely familiar.

“What are you looking at? Still looking? Get your ass over here right now!—”

Wen Yuncheng: QvQ Help! It really is Yan Ling!

Yan Ling and Qiu Fei had spent the entire night in the Demonic Beast Great Forest. They first gave the juniors from Sky High Sect a simple “friendly greeting” with their fists, then had a “friendly chat” with them, getting the latest news about Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu. Then, they used a map to deduce their location and searched along the way, checking each communication jammer point confirmed on the map. They had also roughed it in the forest last night. This morning, they arrived at this pool and searched the area, clearing all the undergrowth in the woods without finding anyone. They were about to leave when they sensed an energy fluctuation—

It was the loud bang that had woken Wen Yuncheng. The sound of the fortuitous encounter being triggered.

Yan Ling’s train of thought: “This damn brat is so much trouble” → “Did this kid stumble upon a fortuitous encounter?” → “My disciple is so lucky!”

Qiu Fei’s thoughts were the same, except she always referred to Lin Jinyu as her precious disciple. While waiting for their disciples to come out, they had another argument, mostly about whose fortuitous encounter it was and who had gained more from it.

Of course, when Wen Yuncheng poked her head out of the cave, this argument ended with Yan Ling’s defeat. After all, Wen Yuncheng was still a Star Practitioner, Second Layer, while Lin Jinyu had already become a Star Warrior, First Layer.

Watching her foolish disciple walk over with a grin, calling out “Teacher,” and saying, “Teacher, you’re finally here,” Yan Ling had to restrain herself for a long time to resist the urge to grab Wen Yuncheng’s ear and scold her. She just ruffled Wen Yuncheng’s hair and grumbled, “Why isn’t your hair tied up properly? You look like a girl.”

“Ah, I’ve been busy running for my life lately, I forgot,” Wen Yuncheng said, scratching her head.

This trip to the Demonic Beast Great Forest had finally come to an end.

Wen Yuncheng watched as her wealthy teacher blew a whistle infused with Star Power, instantly summoning the Gugu Bird that was being kept at the town’s flight station. They boarded this private mount and returned to the town.

Wen Yuncheng was sitting behind Lin Jinyu. When the Gugu Bird landed in the town, she clearly felt Lin Jinyu’s body stiffen. Before she could ask what was wrong, as soon as they dismounted, she saw the Little Ice Mountain walk toward a middle-aged man waiting in the town.

It happened in an instant.

With a sharp “smack,” a slap sent Lin Jinyu’s head turning to the side.