Henry Grant slapped away Brian Clark's hand, took a deep breath, and said, "Continue, where were we just now? Oh right, although my days are numbered, I have already sent word to your senior sister James White. As for cultivation... Eh, why is this Qiankun pouch in your hand?"

Brian Clark: "..."

"Oh, I remember now, I've already mentioned this!"

Henry Grant suddenly realized, and smacked his own forehead hard. "Look at my brain, it's not working even before I'm dead."

If you hit it harder, maybe it really will stop working!

Brian Clark rolled his eyes. If he hadn't tried to resist on the way here and found out he couldn't win, he would have punched Henry Grant in the face no matter what.

But forget it, respect for the dead comes first. Henry Grant is basically as good as dead, and as a living person, arguing with the dead is just asking for trouble.

"Disciple, although I can no longer teach you cultivation, cultivation is not just about practice. There is something I want you to always remember."

Henry Grant took out a wooden box from the Qiankun pouch and placed it in Brian Clark's hand. "Never harbor the intention to harm others, but always be on guard against them. Keep this 'Taixi Qi Supplementing Technique' safe, and don't tell anyone about it—not even your senior sister."

What does that mean, is senior sister not a good person?

Brian Clark frowned, nodded, and didn't say anything more. In front of Henry Grant, he stuffed the book from the wooden box into his clothes.

"With that, I have no more regrets, except..."

As he spoke, Henry Grant stared unblinkingly at Brian Clark. "Disciple, have you realized that since you became my apprentice, you haven't called me 'Master' even once!"

Being gazed at with such affectionate eyes, Brian Clark shivered. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he felt a greasy vibe in that look.

For a moment, he felt completely uncomfortable.

Thinking back to the forced apprenticeship, he was full of reluctance. But then he remembered that Henry Grant really didn't have much time left, and this might be his last burst of energy before death. If he delayed any longer, the old man might die with regrets.

Kind of pitiful.

In the end, facing those hopeful eyes, Brian Clark took a deep breath and solemnly said:

"Master."

"Good! Good! Good..."

Henry Grant clapped his hands in delight, then lowered his head with a smile, and never moved again.

Brian Clark: "..."

Learning from past experience, he wasn't sure if history would repeat itself. He waited a moment before reaching out to check Henry Grant's breath.

Unexpectedly, before his fingers even got a palm's width away from Henry Grant, the old Taoist's body rapidly turned to dust, scattering into a pile of white ash.

Brian Clark was still stunned when the wooden box beside him whipped up a vortex, sucking all the white ash into the box. In just a few breaths, the whole funeral was done—only the banquet was missing.

"Well, this is..."

Brian Clark was momentarily speechless. "This is... convenient."

He put away the Qiankun pouch, picked up the wooden box, and wandered around the temple. After searching for a while, he finally found a wooden altar table in the dilapidated main hall.

The back wall looked sturdy enough, and the roof didn't seem likely to collapse anytime soon. The only problem was the timing—there were already residents under the table.

A nest of foxes suddenly darted out, yelping and howling, trying to scare off the intruder with their numbers.

But it was useless. After Brian Clark stomped his foot, the four foxes immediately fell silent and ran off, disappearing into a hole in the wall and into the forest.

"Foxes in this world can cultivate into demons. Now that I've driven out these residents, will a fox spirit come to seduce me tonight?" Brian Clark put down the wooden box, regretting his earlier carelessness. He realized he was the typical weak scholar—couldn't carry anything, couldn't lift anything. Spending the night on the mountain was going to be a real problem.

Go down the mountain?

No way. He'd seen clearly on the way up—the stone steps were steep and treacherous, not friendly at all for someone with a fear of heights.

Most importantly, he was starving.

After trying and failing to open the Qiankun pouch, Brian Clark miserably realized he was trapped on the mountain. At this point, the only people he could count on were the senior sister Senior Sister White he had never met, and maybe the fox spirit coming back for revenge tonight.

"Hope senior sister comes soon..."

Brian Clark muttered, closed his eyes, and opened his status panel.

Name: Brian Clark

Race: Human

Template: NPC

Level: 3

Experience: 250/900

Cultivation: 30/30

Health: 22/30 (Hungry, Frightened, Tired)

Main Profession: None

Secondary Profession: Farmer Lv1

Attributes: Strength 2, Speed 3, Spirit 3, Endurance 3, Charisma 3, Luck 3

Evaluation: At least be aware of your own troubles. What's there to evaluate!

Chapter 2: And Then Senior Sister Arrived

In 2050, the technology linking the human brain to the internet became fully mature, marking the era when human consciousness could freely enter and exit virtual worlds and interact with machines, causing a huge sensation.

With the rapid advancement of supercomputers, optical computers, quantum computers, and a series of other information processing technologies, a large number of military technologies were declassified for civilian use. Holographic virtual reality games, already popular for some time, rode this wave and entered a period of explosive growth.

At that time, major nations, eager to showcase their national strength and promote their own cultures, all turned their attention to the gaming industry. One after another, new holographic games emerged, dazzling the world.