Chapter 72

Song Yi calmly cleared her throat. “Don’t forget the three rules we made with Teacher Yuan. How could moral, disciplined elementary students like us possibly make trouble?”

Then she changed tack. “We’re just here to attend an exhibition, plain and simple. But since we’re attending an exhibition, there’s nothing wrong with understanding what the Wanqi Sect and the Cloud City sects are preparing to exhibit, right?”

Li Wenwen and the others all understood Song Yi. They automatically skipped over her sanctimonious first sentence and focused on the second.

Translated through the team channel, that meant: first, gather intelligence on the enemy. See what Chu Wen is exhibiting, then see whether Cloud City has anything that can fight him in the ring. If there is, great. If there isn’t, create the conditions for there to be.

A sword cultivator’s principle for striking an opponent was: aim only for the vital point.

Although Song Yi currently could not kill people or set fires, her style of doing things had not changed.

After Teacher Yuan finished greeting an acquaintance, he had no idea that Song Yi and the others had already completed their troublemaking deployment.

When he saw the children with their heads huddled together, he felt a little psychological shadow and went over to take a look. “What are you discussing?”

“Teacher, we’re discussing how to broaden our horizons as much as possible at the exhibition.”

Teacher Yuan thought back over what he had heard just now. Since he had not activated the team-channel auto-translation, he felt there was nothing wrong with that.

Teacher Yuan was very gratified. “Mm. Look around properly and have fun. Call me if anything happens.”

After the Spirit Net vulnerability repair caused them to “rise to fame,” these children, Song Yi included, had indeed become much more low-key. This was a good sign.

After greeting Teacher Yuan, the four children vanished in the blink of an eye.

To increase the sense of mystery and fun, the previews played in the reception hall would not directly show the full appearance of the exhibits, much less name the sects. Everything would only be revealed when the exhibition began.

Everyone could freely exchange ideas and make guesses. Wouldn’t that create topics to talk about?

This increased Song Yi and the others’ workload.

That Chu Wen guy was being all mysterious and had not even told his classmates what he had made. He wanted to leave the suspense until the very end.

For a major sect like the Wanqi Sect, there would definitely be more than one or two items on display. They had to first determine which exhibits might belong to the Wanqi Sect, then narrow the range and guess which exhibit Chu Wen had led.

Lin Ze and Li Wenwen were more outgoing, and by chatting with people, they could gather quite a lot of useful information: what the Wanqi Sect might promote, which Cloud City sects were participating, and what they might promote.

Song Yi and Wang Yisheng, meanwhile, watched the giant-screen previews in the reception hall and guessed the sects based on style.

Once both sides’ information was cross-checked, the accuracy rate became much higher.

Moreover, Wang Yisheng also had a secret technique for reading expressions: when they suspected something was Chu Wen’s exhibit, they could observe his reaction. With Chu Wen’s smug personality, when the preview played his proud work, was it possible for him to show no reaction at all?

Even if he did not look at the giant screen, he would look at everyone’s expressions in the reception hall.

But after searching for ages, they still failed to find the target.

“I also heard some people say that there might be fewer exhibits this year, and there are fewer previews too. But Cloud Whale said that this year’s exhibits will be even richer, only the preview formats will also be richer. What does that mean? Some previews aren’t being played?”

The children dragged Old Yang, who had shrunk into the lounge the moment they arrived and refused all useless socializing, out of his room.

The Wanqi Sect was quite accomplished in service-type artifacts, and Old Yang was one of their stable old customers. Maybe he had some ideas.

Old Yang yawned, not understanding why they had suddenly become so interested in the Wanqi Sect. “Can’t you let me enjoy my vacation properly? There are a lot of changes on Cloud Whale this year. So many interesting things were added, and I haven’t finished experiencing them yet.”

“What? Teacher Yang, you’ve been on Cloud Whale before? Don’t tell me you’re a Cloud Whale repairman?” Li Wenwen asked, stabbing right at his heart.

They knew Old Yang had been glorious in the past, but because he spent his days at school eating, loafing around, and waiting to die, it was a little hard to imagine what he looked like when he was impressive. These children had gotten familiar with him, so they inevitably teased him a little.

Old Yang unceremoniously knocked Li Wenwen on the head and said, “Who said that? I’ve always relied on my own strength.”

His next sentence was, “When you’re strong, can’t you sneak aboard?”

Unreliable Old Yang was as full of nonsense as ever.

Then Lin Ze raised his hand. “Teacher Yang, I recorded that. You definitely wouldn’t want Teacher Yuan to see this footage, right?”

If Old Yuan found out he was leading children astray, he would definitely be the first to kick him off Cloud Whale.

Old Yang: …

Did this batch of kids have to be this crafty?

Song Yi did not participate in the banter. She connected the clues before and after, and suddenly thought of a possibility. She entered a request into the invitation: I want to see the specific list of all supplies on Cloud Whale, including production information.

Very soon, a large amount of writing appeared in front of her.

Li Wenwen and the others gathered around and said, “Little Yi, what do you want this for?”

Song Yi pointed at the transparent light screen in front of her and said, “Look. Some things here don’t have their detailed information listed.”

The things on Cloud Whale would not come from nowhere. It itself was only a powerful flight-type artifact.

If you wanted to eat something, it could immediately provide it… but this was not an artifact spirit conjuring things out of thin air. All the things people needed depended on material reserves.

These supplies had to have a source, and Song Yi wanting to see the source of the supplies was a reasonable request.

Then why did some things not show their source? Because they were exhibits! The relevant information had not yet reached the time for public disclosure.

“It’s true that the previews we saw have decreased, but it may also be true that the exhibits are richer. Because the preview format changed this year, and part of it is direct experience.”

Lin Ze said, “Wow, the organizers are still the sneaky ones. On the surface, it looks like we’re experiencing VIP services, but in essence, we’re lab rats. Maybe our experience data will even appear at the exhibition.”

The VIPs might profit, but the organizers would never lose.

Song Yi and the others stuffed the now-useless Old Yang back into his own lounge, then returned to their own lounge to plot.

Old Yang seriously suspected that these children were up to no good, but on second thought, Old Yuan was here. If something happened, he would shoulder it. His mood instantly relaxed.

With such a list, locking on to Chu Wen’s exhibit became much easier. What he was going to jointly launch with the Wanqi Sect was a simulated artifact spirit.

It was not easy for a magical treasure to give birth to an artifact spirit.

A magical treasure with an artifact spirit would absolutely be more handy to use and could display even greater strength.

Just like Cloud Whale. If it did not have an artifact spirit managing it, it would never be pursued by so many people. With one divine thought, you could get whatever you wanted, with everything handled perfectly. Where else could you find such a good thing?

It was said that after an artifact spirit was born, the magical treasure was only one step away from becoming a divine artifact.

Chu Wen had reason to be proud. A simulated artifact spirit naturally could not be like a real artifact spirit and directly advance a magical treasure, but it was still very useful.

For example, with large and precise artifacts, having an artifact spirit manage them might be countless times more meticulous than having cultivators manage and maintain them.

For another example, at home, after having an artifact spirit, one person could enjoy the same meticulous service as on Cloud Whale.

Cultivators in this world did not keep servants, but their pursuit of comfort and convenience was extremely high. One could imagine that the launch of simulated artifact spirits would definitely be popular.

Just like now, Li Wenwen had already defected. Her eyes shone with excitement. “Considering that he’s this capable, I’ve decided to forgive him this once! Do you think if I go make friends with him now, I can buy a few first?”

She was most interested in this sort of gospel for lazy people.

One for home, one for the dorm, one for the classroom, and one to carry around. Perfect!

But when she met Lin Ze’s gaze as he looked at a traitor, Li Wenwen changed her tune. “Don’t worry. I’m still on your side. Once I finish buying them, I’ll cut ties with him.”

Li Wenwen did what she said. She ran to the reception hall, and in less than two minutes, she returned wilted and drooping. Gritting her teeth, she said, “That guy really is annoying! I still want to join the alliance to overthrow him!”

That’s right. She had gone over and run straight into a wall. Chu Wen was surrounded by other people, and she could not squeeze into the encirclement at all.

Li Wenwen jumped up to greet him, but Chu Wen turned his head and ignored her. If Cloud Elementary did not have Song Yi, he would not want to deal with these little brats at all.

Seeing this, the others were even less likely to let Li Wenwen squeeze in.

Li Wenwen clenched her fist. “Damn it. He lost the chance to turn hostility into friendship with me!”

But something as special as a simulated artifact spirit basically had no exhibit on Cloud City’s side that could compare with it!

Song Yi rubbed her chin. “Don’t panic. Let’s first see whether this simulated artifact spirit is really useful.”

She waved her small hand and entered a divine thought: Switch to the simulated artifact spirit’s service.

The voice they had heard when boarding Cloud Whale sounded by their ears again. “Honored guests, the simulated artifact spirit will replace ‘Cloud Whale’ for service one hour before the exhibition begins. Are you switching now because you are dissatisfied with Cloud Whale in some way?”

They did not know if it was their imagination, but they felt that this voice seemed a little helpless.

Perhaps to make them settle down a little, the artifact spirit Cloud Whale revealed an important piece of news to them: the simulated artifact spirit’s test time was one hour before the exhibition began.

If, when the time came, everyone switched to the simulated artifact spirit’s service but did not notice any difference, that would be strong proof of the simulated artifact spirit’s power.

But settling down was impossible. Song Yi said with a grin, “We’re not dissatisfied. You’re very good. You keep serving everyone, but we want to take a look at the simulated artifact spirit. Still, you wouldn’t go tell on us, right?”

“Under circumstances that comply with the rules and cause no harm, I will not voluntarily tell anyone,” Cloud Whale answered stiffly and seriously.

The rule was:

VIPs on Cloud Whale could use trial products.

Although the simulated artifact spirit had a fixed handover time, who could blame the VIPs for learning the news in advance and making a request?

Not long after, the simulated artifact spirit appeared, holding a black magnetic stone. An artifact spirit needed an artifact to serve as its vessel, and this magnetic stone was its original temporary dwelling place.

It wore the face of a mature, gorgeous older sister, but its attitude was not very mature. It seemed a little excited. “Was it you who needed me?”

The inexperienced simulated artifact spirit felt that it had been appreciated.

In a while, it would have to imitate Cloud Whale and be a little aloof. But Cloud Whale had said that the guests summoning it now knew it was itself, so it did not need to imitate.

Who didn’t like a beautiful older sister?

Li Wenwen and the others immediately grabbed her and started chatting idly. Setting aside their position, everyone was still very curious about the simulated artifact spirit.

Song Yi, meanwhile, studied that black magnetic stone.

There was a great difference between a simulated artifact spirit and a true artifact spirit. It was a product jointly formed by layer upon layer of restrictions, divine thoughts, and spirit-energy. Its reaction mechanism was even somewhat similar to the Spirit Net.

Moreover, an artifact spirit might submit to its master, but its innate personality was very hard to change.

Compared to a temperamental artifact spirit, it was much simpler to change a simulated artifact spirit’s “reactions.” One only had to obtain the highest authority.

After looking over the magnetic stone, Song Yi also had to admire Chu Wen and the others’ brilliant imagination.

Of course, that did not conflict with her wanting to screw Chu Wen over.

While they were chatting idly, Song Yi had already sunk her divine thought into it and begun making modifications.

This artifact spirit’s defenses were much weaker than the Spirit Net’s.

The inner demon in her sea of consciousness was the most excited. This was her favorite kind of work. “Mwahaha, how about we make it into a perverted killer type?”

“…Do you think Cloud Whale is blind?”

Cloud Whale would not stop Song Yi and the others from playing pranks. But if they really tried to cause destruction, it would be the first to notice and stop them.

“Then remove the killer part. Make it the pervert type,” the inner demon compromised.

Song Yi watched the inner demon work. When it came to perversion, leaving it to the inner demon was a sure thing. But she and the inner demon were different people. She was a good child. If the inner demon went too far, she stopped her. If there were safety hazards, she patched the loopholes. She strove to ensure there would be no danger at all.

In any case, she would not give Cloud Whale an opportunity to report her on its own initiative.

The artifact spirit that was chatting with Li Wenwen and the others suddenly began to freeze up.

Its entire body dispersed like green smoke, then turned into a muscular man more than two meters tall. Looking down at them from above, he said, “Do you want to experience the feeling of flying?”

The others shook their heads stiffly.

“If you don’t want to, that means you do. I’ll take you for a ride.” The muscular man grabbed one child in each hand, lifted them up, and was about to throw them out the window.

“Save us, Little Yi!”

They hurriedly asked the culprit for help.

Song Yi first recalled the artifact spirit, then comforted them. “It’s all right. It really was only going to take you out for a loop in the wind.”

The muscular man, meanwhile, shrank into a ball and, in a thick, rough voice, went, “Waaah, you all despise me.”

Li Wenwen and the others: …

Very good. Its destructive power was very strong.

They shuddered, chilled. Little Yi was way too wicked! They liked it!

Then they actively participated. “Little Yi, can we also play with this setting? It still isn’t ugly enough. It has to scare them properly.”

“No, that’s not right. The starting image has to be especially good-looking, then suddenly change faces. That’s exciting.”

When several lousy cobblers gathered together, the amount of bad water they produced could be said to gush outward.

As long as the victims were not them, anything was fine.

Of course, Song Yi did not completely overwrite the original artifact spirit mode. The version she modified would only take effect for a while before returning to normal.

A prank was enough as a prank. If they went too far, once it was investigated, they would not be able to hide.

After finishing all this, they let the artifact spirit return.

Early Saturday morning, one hour before the exhibition began.

Song Yi and the others were still sound asleep.

Chu Wen looked at the time and revealed a smile. He did not leave his lounge, because he was afraid his emotions would become too excited and he would not be able to hide them. That would not match his usual image as a steady, calm genius.

Some people had already gotten up.

“Please bring me a specialty breakfast.”

“Of course.”

“Do you have any recommended bathing modes?”

“Certainly. I recommend Sky City’s specialty morning-light bath.”

“…”

Everything was no different from before. At most, people felt that Cloud Whale’s attitude was a little more enthusiastic than before.

Until, from within a dish, an eyeball suddenly popped out, frightening the guest who was eating so badly that they smashed the table with one punch. It turned out to be only a spherical pastry, with a tiny little illusion spell applied to it.

Until, while bathing, a guest reached out and touched himself, then saw the color of bloody pulp. The guest was so frightened that he wanted to run straight out, but the door was locked.

Of course, after calming down, he discovered that it was only a false blood color created by light-and-shadow effects. And the reason he had been locked in was excessively simple: running out without clothes on would affect the other guests.

There were also quite a few people with calm attitudes. This was the cultivation world, after all. Everyone had seen plenty. At most, they were startled when they had not been prepared.

But they could not help asking: had Cloud Whale gone mad?

“Respected guests, this is a surprise we specially prepared.”

Before everyone could complain about Cloud Whale, the illusory image of a beautiful woman appeared before them. Her eyes shimmered, and she smiled sweetly. “The exhibition is about to begin. Is everyone satisfied with the service on Cloud Whale? Congratulations, everyone. This year’s exhibition previews are different from previous years. You have already been trying out the exhibits in advance. Everyone is welcome to enter the exhibition for further understanding.”

“I also have something to confess. I am the simulated artifact spirit from the Wanqi Sect, not Cloud Whale. Everyone can see me at the Wanqi Sect’s exhibition.”

The news of the simulated artifact spirit was clearly more important than that little prank just now. Everyone was amazed, only to see the illusory image in front of them suddenly say, “But I’m sorry. I got the image wrong.”

Then the beautiful older sister turned into a monster with a face like an asura.

Everyone: …

Did the Wanqi Sect’s brains get chewed by demon beasts?

In Chu Wen’s lounge, he looked at the illusory image that appeared in the room and was not surprised in the slightest. Because he had been the one to set up the woman’s image.

This was a script arranged in advance. It would absolutely be a debut that shocked the world.

It was also the effect he had been looking forward to.

Until the woman in front of him suddenly turned into a monster.

Chu Wen: ???

What the hell was this?

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