novelraw Chapter 661: The Master's Blessing, A Secret Missive
Chapter 661: The Master's Blessing, A Secret Missive
The air seemed to fall silent in that instant, and Jiang Yuan's body felt as if it had been struck by lightning;
the hand that clutched Lu Ce's arm trembled slightly.
"We meet again," came Pride's voice slowly from beneath the golden mask.
As the mask changed color, his entire demeanor and voice underwent a staggering transformation.
In the blink of an eye, he shifted from a frivolous debaucher to a tyrant overflowing with majesty and murderous intent.
On that golden mask, the gilded pupils seemed to reflect all of the world's truths, making Jiang Yuan reluctant to meet them with his eyes.
Seeing that golden face and remembering his previous behavior, he felt a wave of dizziness.
Just now... he actually attacked the Master?!
Master... why did he have such a side?
Recalling Lu Ce's succubus form a moment ago, Jiang Yuan felt like something in his mind was churning.
His body swayed, and he suddenly felt unsteady. He dropped to one knee, still clutching Pride's wrist with one hand.At that posture, Xie Antong beside him felt her eyelids twitch.
"Master..."
"Please forgive my sin. Earlier, I failed to recognize you."
"Heh heh, an address I've missed for some time," Pride said, pulling the Extreme Path Battle Axe from his backpack once more.
"Looks like you have a strong sense of recognition after all," he said to the axe.
Hum—!
Golden light shimmered on the axe, emitting a humming sound. In Pride's hand, it responded to Lu Ce's voice as if it possessed independent thought.
Seeing the battle axe, Jiang Yuan bowed his head even lower.
"Hey, wait a second, isn't something a bit off here!"
"Why do you only recognize the axe, kid? Isn't that a problem?"
Nearby, the Black Knight, now shattered down to a single energy core, hopped and complained.
"Last time I showed my face in the game too, okay? You've seen me before."
"I've been meaning to ask, why didn't you recognize me sooner? It's just that the head of the bike evolved a little."
Listening to the Black Knight, Jiang Yuan hesitated and looked back at it.
What did that thing look like before it broke? He seemed to have forgotten...
"Did you think that, under those earlier circumstances, you couldn't recognize me?"
Lu Ce sheathed the battle axe and looked at the kneeling Jiang Yuan.
Since he had decided to meet him, he might as well take some responsibility and guide this lost soul a little.
Jiang Yuan: ...
Jiang Yuan remained silent;
he truly had nothing to say.
Who the hell could have recognized him!
His personality and temperament were simply too divergent. To be honest, up until now he still struggled to reconcile Pride and Lust as the same person.
"Ahem."
"That face just now, although it was a minor guise..."
"But have you heard that the Buddha originally has no form?"
"Peel away the surface to see the true self. I am me;
I am whatever shape I define myself to be. Do you know, are you yourself?"
Jiang Yuan didn't fully understand what the other was saying, but for some reason, before the Master, everything Pride said sounded so reasonable...
Lu Ce pondered and decided not to debate philosophical questions with him for now;
first stabilize this confused man's spirit.
He said,
"In fact, this game—I came here specifically to find you, to be in the same game with you."
"This is my test for you!"
"Ahem..." Xie Antong couldn't help but cough, nearly choking.
She really couldn't hold back;
she hadn't expected that this broad-browed, broad-faced fellow, when talking nonsense, would say it with a straight face.
A test? If she hadn't gone to great lengths to bring Jiang Yuan here and have him meet the two of them, who knew where each of them would have ended up!
Of course she wouldn't spoil the moment now. When both of them were looking over, she cleared her throat.
"Mm... it's nothing."
"Could you perhaps put your hand down first?"
Only then did Jiang Yuan notice he was on one knee, still holding Pride's wrist. He hurriedly apologized and released his grip.
"Your performance disappoints me. Honestly, you did not pass my test," Pride said indifferently.
"Master?!" Jiang Yuan's voice grew somewhat anxious.
Pride raised a hand to stop him.
"Confused, easily controlled, you are like a child carrying a rocket launcher without any ability to use it."
"You fuss over too many useless things."
"Appearance, methods, right and wrong are all illusions."
"You only need to find what you truly want to achieve, and then achieve it. Everything else can be completely disregarded."
"Do not forget why you decided to come here. You still have an unfinished mission."
After saying this, Pride did not concern himself with whether Jiang Yuan understood. He looked up and thought for a moment.
For a lost person, the phrase 'unfinished mission' should be enough to anchor their sense of purpose.
"All right, I'll give you something I prepared earlier."
Jiang Yuan, still kneeling, looked up in surprise.
Without further preamble, Pride produced an orb that slowly materialized in his hand.
— World Relic!
This was the perfect-clearance reward from that game after Jiang Yuan's world was destroyed.
Now was the most fitting time to produce it.
"Take it."
Jiang Yuan reflexively reached out, palm up, and caught the crystalline orb that floated toward him.
"This is the remnant of the world that once belonged to you."
"What?!" Jiang Yuan exclaimed.
Trembling, he stared at the bead in his hand, his emotions a tangle.
Is this... my former world!?
The Master could actually place a world in his hand.
"May you soon remember who you are."
"Thank..." Jiang Yuan began to say thanks, but in the next instant Pride had vanished from where he stood.
As for how he vanished...
It was thanks to a teleport talisman that had appeared out of nowhere in Jiang Yuan's pocket.
Just then, the All-Seeing Eye had vibrated in his ear, transmitting a secret missive.
"This game is a real game;
there is no way to exit to a game menu."
"There is a teleport talisman in the pocket of your coat."