"Damn it, jumping two levels in a year, even God''s Destiny isn''t this outrageous, right?"

    "Growing so rapidly is one thing, but he''s also so handsome, I really feel a bit uncomfortable..."

    ...

    Noticing the blatant envy in the crowd, Zhu Haomiao shyly smiled and humbly said,

    "Just a little progress, compared to all the senior brothers and sisters, I''m still far behind."

    "..."

    "..."

    "..."

    Though everyone knew Zhu Haomiao was speaking the truth, in the face of the uniform Golden Dragon Emblems, he really was still behind.

    Yet somehow, everyone felt a discomfort as if they were being invisibly flaunted upon by him.

    A year to reach silver, this is just a little progress?! Sёarch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Then in two years, to what extent do you plan to progress?

    To heaven?

    Do you know how many years it took us to get here, and how much we suffered?!

    With a smack of their lips, the crowd felt a wave of bitterness and couldn''t help exchanging glances, transforming their sorrow and anger into amounts of alcohol, exchanging toasts.

    And with the four-dimensional stomach granted by the authority of Gluttony, Zhu Haomiao welcomed all comers, drinking along with them. His hearty attitude broke the subtle jealousy barrier, instead increasing goodwill among the group.

    Apart from the invisible flaunting that made people uncomfortable, this guy is quite agreeable...

    Sometimes getting closer to people is just that simple, after downing a large amount of wine, everyone at the table was already red-faced, starting to call each other brothers.

    "Brother Shui, do you know what day it is in a few months?"

    "Brother Rong, my name is haomiao, as in the vast expanse."

    "I got it, Brother Shui, no problem Brother Shui!"

    "..."

    Watching the already tongue-tied An Rong, Zhu Haomiao found it hard to express himself, hesitated to speak, and finally gave up on correcting, quietly changing the topic.

    Forget it, call me whatever you like...

    "So, what''s the special occasion in a few months?"

    "Hehe~~"

    An Rong gave a mischievous smile, put his arm around Zhu Haomiao''s shoulder, and slowly uttered two words.

    "Jiawu!"

    With his pupils slightly contracting, Zhu Haomiao instantly understood, staring at An Rong with narrowed eyes.

    "Jiawu?"

    "That''s right! Jiawu!"

    After hearing this, everyone at the table exchanged knowing glances and smiled knowingly.

    Without needing any words, everyone raised their glasses and clinked them forcefully in the lively atmosphere.

    "Jiawu!"

    "Jiawu!"

    "Hahahahahahaha!"

    In eager excitement, everyone drank their fine wine to the last drop, not noticing a few crew-cutted men in Xue Lanfu uniforms across at the table, exchanging confused looks.

    "What are these Chinese laughing about?"

    "Yeah, what''s so funny?"

    "Don''t know, is Jiawu a special year?"

    ...

    After a murmur of discussion, they focused their gaze on a young man at the table.

    "Tazaki-kun, you come from a knowledgeable family, well-versed in many things, do you know what they''re laughing about?"

    Drenched in sweat, Tazaki Yuusuke wiped the fine sweat on his forehead, discreetly removed the Silver Family Crest from his chest, stowed it in his pocket, and forced a dry smile.

    "I don''t know, maybe some local special commemoration day..."

    How could I not know!

    The Sino-Japanese Jiawu War!

    These petty guys have held a grudge for over a hundred years!!

    Constantly replaying and studying it, always thinking about exacting revenge!

    Especially in these modern historical illusion realms, each time their memories are stirred, it''s a battle that can be lost, but the Japanese must die!

    The only thing to be relieved about is that the current illusion realm isn''t the WWII timeline, and the major powers like Britain, the U.S., and France are taking the brunt upfront, preventing the full focus of their firepower on us alone...

    Sighing deeply, Tazaki Yuusuke subtly glanced over at the same table adorned with those glaring golden Dragon Emblems, wiping off cold sweat again, swallowing a gulp of saliva.

    It''s a local behavior, please don''t escalate it to the level of descenders!

    Slaughtering contestants is inhumane, holding grudges is not acceptable either!

    ............

    "Hic~"

    Letting out a small burp, Zhu Haomiao strolled alone along the Bund''s pedestrian path, with his mind replaying snippets of idle chatter with An Rong.

    In the past year, An Rong and his friends traveled around the world in search of True Objects, only recently returning to Shanghai to participate in the second phase of the schedule.

    And once they acquire enough points, they will start the next round of treasure-hunting adventures non-stop, until some point next year when they''ll regroup to stir up some major news.

    Indeed... To these old hands, the Ascension Competition itself doesn''t have a high priority, at least in the early open schedule phase, their focus will be on searching for True Objects and honing their strength...

    Should I learn from them and travel around searching for opportunities?

    After pondering for a moment, Zhu Haomiao subtly shook his head.

    Normal people need a long time to learn cultivation techniques and break through bottlenecks, so they can travel around slowly looking for opportunities.

    But I can rely on greed and Sloth to skip the intermediate steps, cultivating and breaking through at the click of a button!

    Therefore, guarding Yanhuang Armory is my greatest opportunity!

    The vast amount of Cultivation Techniques in Yanhuang Armory is an inexhaustible treasure for me!

    Unless... I have enough Contribution Points to exchange for all the cultivation techniques I need, store them in the Dragon Emblem for ready use...

    Thoughtfully nodding, Zhu Haomiao headed towards the Public Leased Territory.

    Dozens of minutes later, as he passed through an invisible thin film, a bustling hall filled with the sounds of people came into view, with various people of all colors and languages flowing in streams, odd and peculiar languages resounding in his ears.

    Seeing this lively scene, Zhu Haomiao pulled down the brim of his hood to hide his conspicuous features, discreetly making his way through the crowd, finding the enthusiastic Wang Hua.

    "I''ve already told you, the schedule is packed, the earliest will be next Monday! Cut the line? We don''t allow cutting the line here!!"

    "Senior Brother Wang."

    Roaring, Wang Hua waved his hand impatiently without turning around.

    "Wait a minute, let me finish this... Hmm? Junior Brother Zhu?!"

    Recognizing Zhu Haomiao''s voice, Wang Hua abruptly turned around, his impatient expression immediately transforming to delight.

    "What brings you here?! Xiao Sun, help me out here."

    Handing over the task at hand to his subordinate, Wang Hua pulled Zhu Haomiao straight to the second floor.

    "You never come without a reason, tell me, are you short on Contribution Points again?"

    Listening to Wang Hua''s teasing words, Zhu Haomiao awkwardly grinned.

    "Senior Brother Wang, you know how fast I''m growing, I want to use real combat to adapt to new cultivation techniques, strength, and realm..."

    "By the way, I practiced Storage Explosion last time, but haven''t had a chance to use it till now..."

    Wang Hua: "..."