The importance of acting skills.
People are usually deceived by appearances.
Players afraid of NPCs?
Impossible.
However, Chen Xiaoyan was an exception.
Not that Shen Qingqing was terrifying, but because she was Chen Xiaoyan’s golden finger, her golden support.
Her fear of Shen Qingqing was emotional, not psychological.
She became Tianxiang’s top player, earning hundreds of thousands all thanks to the divine skills Shen Qingqing the NPC gifted her.
So in dealing with Shen Qingqing, Chen Xiaoyan felt both gratitude as a disciple and friendship as a comrade.
Sometimes she wondered why out of the hundred Tianxiang players, Shen Qingqing singled her out.
Was it because she, Chen Xiaoyan, was exceptionally gifted?
Or a one-in-a-million genius?
No, none of that.
It was all thanks to the contrast with her peers.
According to one mentor’s words: “You guys are the worst batch I’ve ever taught.”
And Chen Xiaoyan’s will to grow stronger and make a bit of money shone like a beam of light in the darkness among the Tianxiang players.
The first time she met Shen Qingqing, she was very gentle.
Compared to the cold and aloof Yue Qifang or the violent Liu Fufeng, Shen Qingqing’s personality was more widely loved.
By both men and women.
That was why Shen Qingqing was the most popular NPC in Tianxiang.
But if you got close to her, you’d find that the Tianxiang sect’s deputy leader, standing at the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, was also a little girl.
Her coldness was just a mask she wore.
***
A rainbow light shot across the sky.
Shen Qingqing held Chen Xiaoyan’s hand as they sped through the air.
The cold wind constantly slapped against her face.
Her face was nearly numbed from the blows.
Shen Qingqing gently waved her hand, thoughtfully laying down a spiritual energy shield around them to block the fierce wind.
“Thank you, Sister Shen.”
“Hm.”
Shen Qingqing nodded slightly, then said no more.
“Sister Shen, I have a question. Is it okay to ask?”
“Go ahead.”
“How old are you?”
“Hm?”
Shen Qingqing’s eyes flickered with slight confusion.
“I mean your age—your honorable years.”
“It’s been so long I forgot. Cultivators only look at strength, not age.”
Chen Xiaoyan gave an awkward smile and wisely didn’t press further.
The three questions women hate the most: height, age, and weight.
No matter what you ask, they’ll overthink it.
Like, do you think I’m too short?
Do you think I’m too old?
Do you think I’m too fat?
What?
How do I know this so well?
Because it’s also how I think.
After thinking that, Chen Xiaoyan froze, her expression shifting, and she immediately realized something was wrong.
Damn!
Why did I answer that from a girl’s perspective?
I’m a guy!
“What’s wrong? You look so ugly,”
Facing Shen Qingqing’s inquiry, Chen Xiaoyan stammered for a while before asking back, “Uh… Sister Shen, do I look like a man to you?”
“Xiaoyan, why would you say such nonsense?”
Shen Qingqing looked at her with concern.
That gaze, as if looking at a mentally challenged child, made Chen Xiaoyan feel awful all over.
She pressed her lips tight, lowered her head, and replied, “Nothing, I was just asking casually.”
Seeing this girl’s confused expression, Shen Qingqing inexplicably felt very sorry for her.
If they weren’t still flying, she would’ve definitely hugged her to comfort her.
“If you need anything in the future, come to Sister, okay?”
“Okay.”
Chen Xiaoyan took a deep breath and pulled herself together.
It wasn’t that she had realized anything profound, but what use was being unhappy?
Could it change the situation?
Better to face it with a smile.
That said, at first, she thought playing a female character wasn’t a big deal, but as time went on, she gradually realized how serious it was.
The Immortal Realm was not a traditional online game, but a holographic one.
Playing a female character was like personally experiencing it, completely different from watching a screen in a traditional game.
People change with their environment.
No way—if this keeps up, the real me will truly become effeminate.
After finishing the dungeon, she definitely had to find a girl to be her partner and have a sweet romance to change herself and awaken her masculine spirit.
(Mysterious consciousness: secretly observing)
***
Outside the Abyss Canyon dungeon.
Chongchong opened her Spring Breeze umbrella, sitting on a platform, holding her head quietly as she watched the distance.
Surrounded by players coming in and out of the dungeon, she looked like a little fairy detached from the world.
“Chongchong sister, want to team up?”
Some newcomers invited without knowing the situation.
“No, already in a team, waiting for someone.”
“Alright, what a pity.”
After that, players kept inviting both Chongchong and Xianyun, which annoyed them so much that Chongchong picked up a stone and carved a few words in front of herself:
【No Teams】
Only then did things settle down.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying falling leaves dancing in the air.
Chongchong’s eyes were tired; she wanted to close them and rest for a while.
Just as she closed her eyes, a familiar voice came from in front of her.
“Team up?”
“Can’t you read? I said no team, are you…”
Hearing this, Chongchong got angry and stood up, ready to scold the person.
But seeing who it was, her voice immediately caught in her throat.
“Sister Xiaoyan, you’re back?”
Chongchong put away her Spring Breeze umbrella into her backpack and excitedly ran over, wanting to hug her.
But when she saw the person next to Chen Xiaoyan, she slammed on the brakes, dumbfounded and blurted out a curse.
“WTF, Deputy Sect Leader Sister, what are you doing here?”
Shen Qingqing, Tianxiang Sect’s deputy leader, combining beauty and gentleness, the current popular queen.
But none of that mattered now.
The important thing was—she was an NPC.
How could an NPC come to the dungeon?
Seeing Chongchong’s utterly confused face, Chen Xiaoyan smiled and explained, “Sister Shen is here to help me.”
Yes, help, definitely not a test subject.
“Sister Xiaoyan… huh, Deputy Sect Leader?”
Xianyun also noticed Shen Qingqing and widened her eyes.
Damn, the NPC came to raid the dungeon!!!
“Who’s this Tianxiang girl? So charming, good temperament too—must be a goddess in real life.”
“What goddess? Are you blind? Did you see an ID above her head?”
“ID? I thought the game didn’t allow hiding IDs.”
“Is it possible… she’s an NPC?”
This sentence silenced the entire dungeon entrance area.
Shen Qingqing glanced around; this was the place where the endless demon domain’s teleportation seal had been.
But hadn’t the nearby monsters been cleared out?
Could some have survived?
Her gaze hardened as she looked at the barrier from which players occasionally teleported out.
She had to check it out.
“Deputy Sect Leader,” Xianyun obediently came over to greet.
She used to like the gentle and beautiful Shen Qingqing, but then her interest was drawn away by the game’s realistic aspects.
“Hmm,” Shen Qingqing nodded briefly.
“Whoa, team leader, why’d you bring an NPC?”
Hongchen Rumeng, Liudao, Six Snow, Liu Yue, and others came over.
They circled Shen Qingqing, their surprised little mouths wide enough to fit a duck egg.
No ID above her head—it had to be an NPC.
“Xiaoyan, this is Shen Qingqing, Deputy Sect Leader of Tianxiang Sect. Don’t be rude,” Chen Xiaoyan said with a hint of nervousness, quickly reminding them.
Though Shen Qingqing had a good temper, that didn’t mean she’d tolerate being treated like a monkey.
“Oh, oh,” Hongchen Rumeng said, immediately putting on a serious face and slightly bowing in greeting.
“Hongchen Rumeng pays respects to Deputy Sect Leader Shen.”