Love Bitstream: Chapter 18 - Chi Zhen Was Numb
Chapter 18: Chi Zhen Was Numb
"Fourth attempt?" Endless Time asked. "Autumn Rain has gotten pretty good at it, and Thousand Feathers has improved too."
Blue Sky Beyond agreed immediately. "Let's do it. I can still fight."
"Our dorm lights go out at eleven..."
Blue Sky Beyond asked Chi Zhen, "What about you, Xiao Chi? Do your lights go out too?"
"It's fine. I rent an apartment off campus," Chi Zhen replied.
Endless Time said, "If it doesn't work out, we can continue tomorrow night."
As long as they hadn't cleared the dungeon, there was no limit on attempts. The cooldown for the sect's random secret realm was one week. If they couldn't get past Mad Monk Ming Kong, they could challenge him as many times as they wanted during the week. Bosses that had already been defeated, however, wouldn't respawn until the next cooldown cycle.
They were the first team to reach Mad Monk Ming Kong. If they seized the opportunity, they could very well become the first team to defeat him. A first clear didn't come with any special rewards. But it did earn a place in the Chronicle of All Things.
The Chronicle of All Things was both an achievement collection and an encyclopedia of the game's world. It contained detailed information on every dungeon, battlefield map, and crafting material, along with the IDs of players who achieved every first dungeon clear, the top three teams of each season, and even players who completed bizarre achievements—For example, winning first place in a fishing competition.
If they became the first team to defeat Mad Monk Ming Kong, then every future player who looked up information on the Mount Xumi Secret Realm would see their IDs in the Chronicle.
Could a gaming addict resist that temptation?
Absolutely not.
Thousand Feathers gritted his teeth. "Let's do it. When lights-out comes, I'll carry my computer into the hallway. Otherwise, I'll disturb my roommates."
[Thousand Feathers is such a precious baby. Worried about disturbing his roommates. Love him already.]
[China's Most Touching Roommate Award winner.]
[Amazing. Why has Xiao Chi's stream been attracting so many hilarious people these past two days? I need to see this Thousand Feathers guy again!]
[Loner gamer Xiao Chi: Why do I suddenly have so many people around me?.jpg]
Not just the viewers—even Chi Zhen himself felt a little overwhelmed.
The moment they unlocked Mad Monk Ming Kong, his streamer instincts kicked in. Without thinking, he changed the stream title to: "Shocking! Mount Xumi's New Boss Is Actually a Lovestruck Fool!"
Now his viewer count had already surpassed two thousand and was still climbing.
People originally entered the stream hoping to see how the "lovestruck monk" storyline unfolded. Then they saw this bizarre battlefield of relationships and couldn't leave. The audience had expected melodrama. Instead, they discovered that Endless Time and Misty Autumn Rain—the supposed male and female leads—were seriously fighting a boss together with The Light Boat Has Passed, who somehow seemed to have become the male supporting lead.
They were stunned. The chat was filled with accusations that this had to be scripted. Yet nobody could explain how a script could somehow unlock a brand-new boss.
[After thinking about it, I only have two words: incredible content.]
The fourth attempt began. Then the fifth. The sixth. The seventh.
The eight players took turns being dragged into the air. By the fifth attempt, Endless Time and Misty Autumn Rain had already learned how to determine the vines' attack directions through the dust trajectories. Soon after, Thousand Feathers and Blue Sky Beyond could roughly do it as well, only making occasional mistakes. Explosive Red, Dog Wants to Leave, and Drunken Breeze of Fleeting Life were right about half the time and wrong the other half.
But recognizing the attack direction wasn't enough. Everyone still needed to develop teamwork and learn to hit exactly where their partner indicated.
After dying seven times, everyone had become numb.
As usual, Endless Time summarized everyone's mistakes and proposed a new strategy. "At this point we can reliably save at least two pairs. Let's try this. If a healer gets grabbed, rescue the healer first. After two groups succeed, help the other two groups. The rules only say rescuing the wrong person costs half your health. As long as the healer keeps up, we'll be fine."
Blue Sky Beyond objected. "A single heal only restores half a health bar, and there are so many people. That's way too much pressure on the healer."
"Exactly," Endless Time agreed. "We only have one healer, and after this phase, we still have to fight Ming Kong. The pressure is huge." Then he changed tone. "But it's not impossible."
"We can first judge whether a group's attack is going to hit the vine. Only intervene if they're about to miss. That'll reduce some of the healing burden. I need someone to help make those judgments. Who wants to do it?"
Blue Sky Beyond posted a sweating emoji. "For a burden this heavy, only Brother Light Boat can shoulder it."
Everyone immediately applauded.
Living up to expectations, The Light Boat Has Passed learned the job quickly after a little guidance from Endless Time.
The ninth attempt began. This time, The Light Boat Has Passed, Endless Time, Dog Wants to Leave, and Explosive Red were captured. Misty Autumn Rain and Thousand Feathers successfully rescued Endless Time and The Light Boat Has Passed. Then Endless Time assisted Blue Sky Beyond. The Light Boat Has Passed assisted Drunken Breeze of Fleeting Life. Combined with Misty Autumn Rain's aggressive healing, all eight players finally depleted the health bars of all four vines.
[System] Mad Monk Ming Kong: Ridiculous! Ridiculous! A mere vine managed to stop you for so long! I do not fear you! You shall not prevent me from leaving Mount Xumi! Xumi! Xumi! I cannot remain within these heavens and worlds—why will you not release me into the mortal realm? Release me from this mustard-seed world!
The moment the vines died, Mad Monk Ming Kong entered his enraged phase.
But everyone present was a dungeon veteran. An unusual mechanic took time to learn. A berserk boss, however, was standard fare. With Endless Time's precise commands, The Light Boat Has Passed interrupting every crucial skill without fail, Blue Sky Beyond barely managing to tank, Misty Autumn Rain's razor-sharp healing, and everyone else's overwhelming damage output— Mad Monk Ming Kong fell without much surprise.
[System] Mad Monk Ming Kong: Mount Xumi contains the mustard seed; the mustard seed contains Mount Xumi. Three thousand worlds, boundless and endless, without beginning or end. My strength is so insignificant. How could I ever find the Great Dao beneath the heavens? Mount Xumi... why would you not let me return to the mortal world? Yun'er... Yun'er...
Ming Kong collapsed. Equipment scattered across the ground.
At that moment, Jue Xin—the NPC who had disappeared for a long time—appeared once more.
[System] Jue Xin: This...
[System] Jue Xin: This is different from what the elders told us when we entered the sect. Cultivation is actually so dangerous. A moment of hesitation is enough to invite demonic deviation...
[System] Jue Xin: Martial Uncle Ming Kong possessed such extraordinary talent and cultivation, yet even he could not glimpse the Heavenly Dao. Even he remained obsessed with worldly love. Alas... on the long road of cultivation, how many can truly reach the end?
Alone. He left the ruined side hall. As he spoke, Jue Xin walked farther and farther away. Soon, he disappeared from sight entirely. The group exchanged confused looks.
Suddenly, Chi Zhen remembered something. "Wait. Isn't this Jue Xin the same person as Da Shi from Guangling City?!"
Everyone froze.
Question marks flooded the chat.
Unexpectedly, Endless Time confirmed it. "Yes. He's still carrying a Migu Wood branch at his waist."
If A Dog Wants To Leave I Dont Stop It pondered aloud. "Why is Da Shi here? Sure, he joined Mount Xumi and is technically a disciple now, but showing up in a secret realm right after entering the sect... feels like there's something going on."
Drunken Breeze of Fleeting Life was skeptical. "I feel like all NPCs look the same. Especially the Mount Xumi ones—they're practically copy-pasted. Are you guys sure that's really Da Shi?"
[If it really is Da Shi, it feels like the devs are playing a very long game.]
[This isn't a TV drama. Sometimes game designers just like doing this kind of thing to make themselves look clever.]
[It's probably Da Shi. The condition for unlocking this new boss is likely completing Da Shi and Xiao Xiu's daily questline, or picking Migu flowers on Mount Zhaoyao.]
[There are already two people here who picked Migu flowers. #smirk]
[The dungeon's done. Is Misty Autumn Rain finally going to start a fight? I've been waiting for the drama until after midnight, and I'm getting sleepy…]
Blue Sky Beyond sighed. "No seriously, what were the devs thinking? This boss storyline has me feeling kind of emotional..."
Explosive Red hesitantly took two steps forward. "It's so heavy. I almost don't have the heart to loot the body."
Blue Sky Beyond immediately snapped back to reality. "Don't touch it! Let Brother Light Boat do it!"
The group joked and argued for a while before finally sending The Light Boat Has Passed forward to loot the drops.
[Party] The Light Boat Has Passed: [Soulbreaker Robe] x1, [Sevenfold Seas and Mountains Boots] x1, [Sevenfold Bodhi Tree] x1, [Sevenfold Treasure Shield] x1, [Superior Treasure Chest] x5, [Fragmented Soul Bones] x10, [Nameless Seed] x1
"My chest piece! My chest piece!" Blue Sky Beyond practically lost his mind. "Brother Light Boat! Brother Chi! You'll always be my big brother! Please! Bring me next time you run a dungeon!"
Chi Zhen was pretty happy too. He opened the item details for the Sevenfold Bodhi Tree.
A spirit cultivator weapon. Said to be modeled after the treasure tree of the Pure Land, whose roots, trunk, branches, flowers, and fruit are formed from seven treasures: gold, purple gold, silver, agate, coral, white jade, and pearls.
Spirit Platform +1624
Wisdom +1568
Spirit Veins +1320
Spirit Shock +1200
Grade: High-Tier Immortal Artifact
Chi Zhen clicked his tongue.
Spirit Shock increased attack power. Spirit Veins increased HP. Those stats were roughly comparable to the Fusang Branch he currently used. But Spirit Platform, which boosted critical chance, and Wisdom, which boosted spell effectiveness and accuracy, were both two to three hundred points higher than his current weapon.
In other words, this new weapon would dramatically increase a spirit cultivator's critical hit rate, hit rate, spell damage, and crowd-control effectiveness.
It was better than weapons dropped from thirty-player raids!
One could say that, aside from legendary divine weapons, it was the highest-grade weapon an ordinary player could obtain in the current version.
Everyone clicked their tongues in amazement.
Getting two weapon drops from a random sect secret realm was outrageously lucky.
The robe went to Blue Sky Beyond. The Sevenfold Seas and Mountains Boots were won by Explosive Red through a roll. The weapon could only be used by The Light Boat Has Passed, so it went directly to him. The Sevenfold Treasure Shield was won by Thousand Feathers.
The treasure chests and materials were divided equally. In the end, only one item remained: [Nameless Seed]
A nameless plant seed. Perhaps it can grow into something valuable.
That was the entire description.
Well. It looked either like the seed of some rare crafting material… Or a complete scam.
Everyone exchanged glances.
Endless Time immediately said, "Roll for it."
In the end, Endless Time rolled a 99 and won it.
By the time the Mount Xumi Secret Realm was finished, it was nearly one in the morning.
Everyone laughed and chatted, reluctant to log off. After all, they had achieved the first kill of Mad Monk Ming Kong. Their IDs had already been recorded in the Chronicle of All Things.
Everyone was still a little excited.
After distributing the loot, Misty Autumn Rain immediately teleported away. But she remained connected to the voice channel.
Everyone else stayed in the dungeon chatting.
Even Endless Time stood quietly nearby, the glowing Kunwu Blade strapped across his back.
So cool.
Sword cultivators really were the coolest class in Quest for the Azure Heavens. And their black sect uniform was easily the coolest outfit in the game.
Even though Chi Zhen played a spirit cultivator, he had always believed that the Cangming Sect was the coolest class in the game. Way cooler than the Boundless Dao Sect.
As he silently admired the character, Chi Zhen couldn't resist taking a few screenshots, thinking they might make nice wallpapers later.
The chat exploded instantly.
[Screenshot saved successfully—HOLY SHIT, Xiao Chi, what are you doing?!]
[HAHAHAHA the obsessed fan got caught red-handed!]
[What's wrong with you, streamer??? You've played this game for so long and you forgot screenshots generate a system notification?!]
[Definitely farming a ship on purpose.]
[Love it. Keep it coming. Ignore the buzzkill above.]
Chi Zhen scratched his head in embarrassment. How was he supposed to explain that his brain had short-circuited for a second and he'd completely forgotten screenshots generated notifications?
All he could do was offer a weak defense. "I was just taking a commemorative screenshot for clearing the dungeon..."
The chat refused to let him off.
[Huh? A commemorative screenshot? Then why is Endless Time the only thing in every screenshot?]
[Sure. Totally commemorative. I believe you.]
Chi Zhen gave up trying to explain. Once the chat moved on, everything would be fine. He'd already streamed past his usual hours anyway. He could just end the stream and escape.
Then suddenly, Blue Sky Beyond's outrageous laughter exploded through the voice channel. The volume practically shattered the heavens.
"Hahahaha! Xiao Chi! What the hell is going on in your stream?! Hahahahahaha!"
Chi Zhen went numb. Completely numb.
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