Samantha Grant said irritably, "Stop making excuses. You just want to be a lecher!"

Damn!

Big Charles suddenly realized, as a single guy, he had made a huge mistake—how could he have thoughts about her best friend right in front of such a beautiful woman?

Big Charles could only argue, "Deng Tuzi was actually an honest official from the Warring States period with an ugly wife, not a lecher. It's just that he—"

It's just that he and his ugly wife had five children together, so Song Yu mocked him as being lustful, saying that even with such an ugly woman, he still worked so hard.

Samantha Grant clapped her hands and sighed, "The Earth Escape Array is complete! No need to say more. Since you've already guessed the origin of my skills, let's call it a stroke of immortal fate—this flute was given to me by Grace, and it can barely serve as a half-magic weapon for my General Talisman. I'll give it to you now. Just play it randomly on Mount Qingcheng, and she'll come find you."

This was more than just immortal fate—this was ascension!

Grace Carter, daughter of Zhuge Liang and mother Huang Yueying, is recorded in the Ming dynasty Taoist work "Comprehensive Mirror of Immortals Through the Ages." She avoided war and cultivated to immortality in the mountains southwest of Chengdu. She does not appear in any official histories. She is quite popular in many Three Kingdoms games.

Big Charles, suppressing his wild joy, respectfully opened his miscellaneous bag to receive the flute. "Thank you, Miss, for your recommendation! I will do my best!"

Samantha Grant was stunned. "You—?"

Big Charles said awkwardly, "I didn't wash my hands. I don't dare to dirty the magic weapon."

Samantha Grant shook her head and sighed, "You're too uptight. Grace's personality is very different from the Prime Minister's. It's hard to say if this immortal fate will work out for you—forget it, it's your own doing!"

Huh?

Samantha Grant said seriously, "From now on, keep your eyes closed until I finish fighting. You are not allowed to open your eyes, or the array will fail. If that happens, you might find yourself buried alive in the earth, or even pierced through by sharp rocks."

Big Charles hurriedly shut his eyes. "That scary?"

"Yes. To put it simply, this Earth Escape is like a wall-passing technique. If you open your eyes halfway, you'll get stuck in the wall. But the good thing is, no matter how fierce my battle with the Poison Jiao gets, you won't be affected—now, let's begin!"

The next moment, under Big Charles's dark eyelids, a golden light flashed—it was the array she had drawn, glowing. Then, the eight shining characters—Rest, Life, Harm, Block, View, Death, Fright, Open—began to circle around Big Charles.

Big Charles was amazed—his eyes were clearly closed, but he could still see the characters!

Then he felt the array carrying him downward, like riding a pitch-black elevator, with the character array as the only light. Was this some kind of alternate space traveling through the earth?

The descent stopped, and from outside the darkness came Samantha Grant's bold laughter: "Just in time! Remember what I told you."

Big Charles's heart trembled. Was this her parting message? Just now, joking and chatting with her, he had completely forgotten the atmosphere of a life-and-death battle! Well, she wouldn't die—she was just ascending!

Big Charles held back tears and shouted into the darkness, "I will follow your teachings, Miss!"

From outside the darkness came the sound of crashing waves, and the "elevator alternate space" rumbled and the characters flickered.

This was a general-star-level battle—so high-level that you couldn't even qualify to spectate! How ridiculous that those players ranked in the top ten thousand, who got a General Talisman, were already floating with pride, discussing in the teahouse forums how to quickly get fragments by blowing up enemy cities. They must have drunk too much tea!

But at least he was finally getting started, finally qualified to grow into a high-level player...

A monster's anguished howl shook the underground, and a dazzling stream of golden light flew through the darkness!

—General Talisman prompt: Same-attribute General Star fragment detected, collection initiated!

A teacher for a day... Big Charles couldn't help but burst into tears.

—System prompt: Congratulations! Samantha Grant's General Talisman has obtained 20 General Star fragments and has been upgraded to 2 stars. Gained 2-star skills: Tiger's Stride, Dragon's Might, and Fire-Thunder Shock.

[Tiger's Stride, Dragon's Might]: Female General mode skill. Burst technique, greatly increases speed in an instant. Consumes extra stamina from the user.

[Fire-Thunder Shock]: Witch Doctor mode skill. Released oil-fire bombs have an added intense sonic shock effect.

...

—System prompt: Congratulations! Samantha Grant's General Talisman has obtained 30 General Star fragments and has been upgraded to 3 stars. Gained 3-star skills: Tiger's Roar, Dragon's Chant, and Insect-Repelling Magic Sound.

[Tiger's Roar, Dragon's Chant]: Female General mode skill. Unleashes a battle roar to shake the enemy's mind, boost allies' fighting spirit, and dispel negative noise effects on allies. Most effective in mountains and on water. Consumes extra stamina or spirit from the user.

[Insect-Repelling Magic Sound]: Witch Doctor mode skill. Can use finger whistling or related instruments to emit a magic sound that drives away poisonous insects. The higher the user's spirit, the better the effect.

...

—System prompt: Congratulations! Samantha Grant's General Talisman has obtained 40 General Star fragments and has been upgraded to 4 stars. Gained 4-star skills: General Star Annihilation, and Bewitching Magic Sound.

[General Star Annihilation]: Female General mode skill. By consuming extra General Star fragments, or even downgrading star level, greatly increases combat power.

[Bewitching Magic Sound]: Witch Doctor mode skill. Can use whistling to attract and command specific swarms of insects. The higher the user's spirit, the better the effect.

...

Instantly upgraded to 4 stars! At this rate, could it go up to 5 stars? Am I the first to reach 5 stars?

Big Charles suddenly couldn't cry anymore. His grief turned into surging excitement, and he even felt a bit happy and wanted to laugh! No, that's not right, that's not loyal... Calm down!