I beg you all not to destroy the last embers of my realm; all the resources within the r

At dawn on February 10th, just as the bells rang, countless magical fireworks illuminated the night sky.

Furthermore, several patriarchs manifested their Dharma bodies to celebrate the New Year in the heavens.

But none of this concerned Shen Shu'an. Having enjoyed a hearty New Year's Eve dinner, Xiao Long was snuggled in bed, intensely surfing the internet—

[Shen Shu'an's Thirty-Year Ascension Edition: On this special day, I have successfully broken through to the Nascent Soul stage. I also wish all fellow cultivators all the best!]

After sending the blessing message, Xiaolong quickly opened the private chat interface.

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension: Xuan Yi!!! Do you even know what Chinese New Year is?

Shen Shuan • Thirty Years of Ascension: Do you have any photos to show me? Do you have an upside-down "Fu" character pasted in your yard?

The message was sent, and the other party quickly replied.

Xuan: (Blurred image of upside-down "Fu" character) This?

Shen Shuan • Thirty Years of Ascension: Yes, yes, that's it. Why are you so obscure?

mysterious:?

Shen Shuan • Thirty Years of Ascension Version: Oh well, never mind. (Xiao Long grins, wearing a red cotton-padded jacket, and takes a selfie with a peace sign) Come on, smile too!

mysterious:……??

Shen Shu'an's Thirty-Year Ascension Edition: Hurry up!

This time, the message was sent a little slowly, about thirty seconds later, with only one picture.

Xuan: (The little black dragon makes a proud peace sign, and the Soulfire grins with its big eyes and makes a peace sign) Like this?

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension: Yes, yes, yes, the little soul fire is so cute!

mysterious:.

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension: Wow, isn't it wonderful to have my parents by my side for the New Year? I'm so happy today!

Xuan: ...What is happiness?

Shen Shu'an's Thirty-Year Ascension Version: I'm just so happy, my heart is warmed~

Xuan: No.

Shen Shuan looked at the message sent from the other end, and the smile on Long's face paused. He blinked his big eyes.

What do you mean?

Fortunately, Xuan Yi's message came again in the next instant.

Xuan: But it's not bad. My mom made dumplings for me. There are five flavors, and they are all delicious.

Shen Shu'an: "!"

Shen Shuan's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously, "That's right, that's exactly it!"

However, before she could reply, Xuan Yi said again—

Xuan: My dad also made ten kinds of glutinous rice balls for me, and each one was terrible.

Shen Shu'an: "?"

Shen Shuanlong's smile froze again. What's going on, Uncle Qian!

Shen Shuan thought for a moment, then replied with high emotional intelligence two seconds later—

Shen Shu'an (Thirty Years of Ascension): That's alright, my dad makes delicious buns, I'll bring them to you tomorrow!

Xuan: No need, I'll go get it.

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension Version: Oh, okay, but you've already acknowledged Uncle Qian?

Xuan Yi: "..."

In the pitch-black bedroom, the little black dragon was on the Spirit Network, his mind a mix of emotions.

He learned a lot today...

But overall, he could barely acknowledge his father.

Xuan: He said that the individual competition was his way of protecting us.

Shen Shuan • Thirty Years of Ascension: Pfft, so you made arrangements beforehand?

mysterious:.

Xuan: Almost.

Xuan: I'll give you something tomorrow to add to the magic sword; it can help give birth to a sword spirit.

Shen Shu'an: "!!!"

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension: What what what what, mystical, don't say anymore, I'll bring you all the spiritual food my father prepared tomorrow!

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension Version: And my mother, my mother also prepared New Year's gifts for you, Qiao Di and Qian Di also have them, even Cai Xiong, Hu Xiong, and Xie Jie have them!

Xuan: Okay, I will thank my aunt. My mother is also preparing.

Shen Shu'an smiled smugly, "Hehe, kid, it feels good to have a mother!"

She thinks it's really great!

Shen Shu'an • Thirty Years of Ascension Version: I'm not going to say anything more, I'm going to start cultivating, I'm going to crush the opponent in the individual competition!

Xuan: Okay.

Shen Shuan blinked, watching as the profile picture on the other side instantly went dark.

Shen Shuan opened the message interface and took one last look at the forum.

[Mysterious Man: Actually, Shen Shu'an's breakthrough this time is just average. I think she's a pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator, and her combat power won't increase much. I am a Tribulation Transcending expert, come and argue if you disagree!]

Shen Shuan Oo looked at the latest trending post, and after carefully examining it for a second, realized that this was Qian Di's other alternate account.

"Sigh, Brother Qian really went to great lengths!"

Shen Shuan nodded, giving partial affirmation to Qian Hengduo's intelligence work.

"No, I need to cultivate now, no, no, I need to take one last look!"

Xiao Long muttered to himself, then glanced at the hot posts in the [Friends Zone] one last time, and saw the familiar number 06—

[Number 06: I think what we should be focusing on most right now isn't the individual competitions, but rather that ever-approaching, unfamiliar world!]

Shen Shu'an's heart tightened. What? What unfamiliar universe? How come she didn't know about it?

[Ding, host, this is what happened during your seclusion, or more precisely, what happened two days before your seclusion!]

Shen Shu'an immediately became serious: "Yaya, what's the background of this strange universe?"

[Beep, host, unknown.]

"Duckling, you don't know?"

[…Host, this is 3210 points refunded from the Enlightenment Space. Actually, the Enlightenment Space only requires 300 points per day. Duck Duck is telling you this white lie to ease your stress.]

[There should have been 6000 points remaining, but the host consumed too much spiritual energy, resulting in an additional 2790 points being spent.]

[In addition, the host broke through to the Nascent Soul stage yesterday, collecting a total of 150000 emotion points, which have been converted into 30000 points.]

[The host currently has 88888 points remaining.]

Shen Shu'an: "???"

Shen Shu'an was stunned. She stared wide-eyed at the system panel in front of her.

What do you mean? Does it mean that she went into seclusion for thirty days, but in the end, it was all for free?

No, no, no! You can't calculate it like that. The points she earned later were earned through her hard work!

[Ding, host's stress level has dropped to 20 points, and cultivation efficiency has decreased accordingly. Please stay alert.]

[Host, your opponent tomorrow will be at the peak of the fourth tier (half-step into the Divine Transformation realm). The Yuanhe Realm will then face an unfamiliar universe!]

Shen Shu'an: "!!!"

[Ding! Host's stress level has risen to 60 points, and cultivation efficiency has increased accordingly. Please continue your efforts.]

Shen Shu'an sat up in a daze, looking completely bewildered. What was going on? Why did it seem like she was being played with by the duck?

A pure white baby dragon emitted rays of magical light within the pitch-black room. Within its dantian, a lifelike baby dragon and an adorable little girl were embracing each other, breathing together.

And this is Shen Shu'an's dual nascent souls: a dragon-shaped nascent soul and a human-shaped nascent soul!

……

Meanwhile, at the edge of the Upper Realm, the Yuanhe Realm, immortals gathered.

Yue Shang stood solemnly beside Tian Xin, together gazing into the distance beyond the boundary.

"Tianxin, have you figured anything out?"

Tianxin remained silent, only slowly shaking his head and gently raising a finger.

In an instant, a screen of light appeared before the immortals.

Above it was a ruined boundary, where a thousand children knelt on the ground, heads bowed, eyes closed.

And in the distance behind them lay the terrifying, vast, and ever-approaching unfamiliar universe.

An ancient scroll slowly unfurled beside the young child—

"The Wansheng Realm is shattered, and the remaining lands of this realm have all fallen. We have lost our territory. These one thousand children are the last spark of our power. To avoid the ravages of war, we have placed them in slumber, carrying this remnant of our realm to drift across the interdimensional seas, seeking a glimmer of hope."

"These children are unarmed and possess nothing; their only wish is to survive. If any powerful realm sees this, they will not seek to take in our children. But we beg you, do not destroy the last remaining spark of our civilization. Tens of thousands of resources within this ruin are yours to take."