"The pen name is decided."
Qingxuan gripped the Runic Pen and wrote her real name neatly on the parchment.
"This name is very common."
"The priests of the past never even knew my name."
Lin Qingyue raised an eyebrow.
This wasn't bad at all.
Shedding the heavy shackles of a God, she could directly go to the mortal Beginner Village to start over with a new account.
With a flick of her wrist, she pulled a bottle of low-alcohol fruit wine from her Storage Space.
The cork was pulled, and the aroma of wine spread everywhere.
"Do you drink?"
Qingxuan stared at the wine bottle and nodded vigorously.
"The Pandaren and Simian Race living in the Forest of Jianmu regularly worship me."
"There is wine among the offerings."
Lin Qingyue handed her an Azure Jade cup.
"Then let's have some."
Moreover, according to the rules of the Dungeon: Survival Instinct, improving the environmental comfort and diet quality could directly boost the Attribute Panel.
Drinking not only renewed Spirit Value.
A slight buzz could also greatly stimulate a writer's inspiration for wild fabrication.
Just as the two were immersed in this depraved drinking session of web novel teaching.
In the Illusionary Space outside the Temple, a contest of spirit and will was also drawing to a close.
Lin Xiyue was the first to awaken from the sweet dream of being a "Supreme Paladin."
In the Illusion, her sister was humbly offering her a wedding ring.
That fawning face made Lin Xiyue feel physically sick.
When had Lin Qingyue ever done something like this?
It would be a miracle if she didn't cause trouble, let alone obey her every word?
And even rely on her for protection?
This utter absurdity instantly pierced her nerves.
Lin Xiyue snapped her eyes open.
Everything around her, including the wedding ring within reach and the tenderness overflowing from Su Wan's eyes, shattered like a flower in a mirror or a moon reflected in water.
What echoed in her ears was no longer the cheers and flattery of believers.
But rather her sister Lin Qingyue's light chuckle, tinged with a hint of mischief.
She instantly came to her senses.
A Perfect Illusion?
How ridiculous.
Without that sister who constantly caused trouble by her side.
Without Young Mistress Su Wan's tsundere and rebellious nature.
This smooth-sailing "perfection" was so fake it was nauseating.
That kind of sister, that kind of Su Wan, were not the real them!
Lin Xiyue's eyes burned with blazing Holy Light, and the [Dawn's Light] in her hand erupted with a dazzling radiance.
She swung her sword violently, slashing down at the invisible spatial barrier.
"Sis! Xiao Wan! I'm coming to rescue you!"
-
Almost simultaneously.
Su Wan abruptly rose from the Ice and Snow Throne.
The reverent flattery from her clan elders was sharp and grating.
The fanatical worship from her male peers had become cheap noise.
She looked at Lin Xiyue, who was respectfully bowing before her, and a sudden, uncontrollable surge of irritation rose in her heart.
Boring.
Utterly boring.
Without that bastard Lin Qingyue beside her to mess with her head.
Without Lin Xiyue's honest, goofy, and lively presence.
This "perfect" conquest felt completely tasteless.
A brilliant blue light erupted around Su Wan, and her Frost Robe fluttered without any wind.
She clasped her hands together, and the extremely compressed ice in her palms exploded.
A bone-chilling wind shot straight into the sky, completely shredding this cheap, false script.
"I'm back!"
In the Sylvan Illusion on the other side.
Countless handsome men of all styles surrounded Xia Lian.
They were either reciting poetry and painting, or playing the zither and dancing, each one deeply affectionate.
Xia Lian stood in the center.
Her mind was filled with the powerful image of Lin Qingyue cross-dressing for a prank and effortlessly crushing the BOSS.
Such power, such decisiveness, and a charm that transcended gender made her heart pound.
Looking at the affectedly delicate men before her now...
Disgusting!
Xia Lian shoved away the man offering flowers, a cold glint flashing in her dark eyes.
She swiftly drew her bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the point of dissonance in her senses.
"Captain, I'm coming to help you!"
Boom.
The three illusions collapsed simultaneously.
The void shattered into a sky full of light spots.
Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian fell at the entrance of a spacious and towering hall at almost the same time.
The three of them looked up simultaneously.
Their gazes met, each other's eyes filled with anxiety and determination.
"This is the Temple Core!"
Lin Xiyue was the first to react.
She saw the ancient and heavy gate before her, as well as the path they had come from behind.
"Where is Lin Qingyue?!"
Su Wan's voice was laced with worry.
She sensed a powerful surge of Divine Power inside the Temple.
But that power was also extremely chaotic, making it impossible to discern the specific situation.
"The Captain's aura is right inside! I can feel her 'communicating' with something!"
Xia Lian's reconnaissance abilities were sharp.
She had captured a trace of an unusual aura, but she couldn't accurately judge what it was.
"It must be the final BOSS!"
Lin Xiyue recalled how her sister had faced the Remnant Soul of the Vermilion Bird during the Vermilion Bird Trial.
She believed her sister must be facing the Celestial God Azure Dragon alone right now, perhaps even locked in a life-and-death struggle.
Normally, the first reaction of top-tier Professionals in such a situation would be to break through the door.
But Lin Xiyue glanced at the ancient, heavy bronze gate covered in ancient totems.
Suddenly, she withdrew the momentum she had used to break the Illusion and lowered her voice with extreme caution:
"Shh... Everyone, keep your voices down."
"What's wrong?"
Su Wan crept closer, even forcing the glow of her Frost Robe to fade, afraid of leaking a single ripple of Magic Power.
"Don't you know my sister? If she isn't making a world-shaking commotion, it means she's in a stalemate."
Lin Xiyue analyzed with a deadpan seriousness.
"Or she's currently casting some absurd Forbidden Spell that deals a thousand damage to the enemy but costs her eight hundred in return."
"If we kick the door down now, we might disrupt her rhythm or even alert the BOSS!"
Xia Lian nodded in profound agreement, immediately activating the Ranger's Stealth mode, her breathing becoming nearly imperceptible:
"Makes sense. Then we'll sneak in and see if we can find an opportunity to... sneak attack the BOSS?"
"Exactly my thought."
A tiny ice icicle, containing a terrifying chill, silently formed at Su Wan's fingertips as she prepared to fire it from the back at any moment.
The three exchanged glances and, with impeccable understanding, reached a consensus imbued with a true "camper's" spirit.
There were no impassioned battle cries, no flashy magic clearing the way.
Lin Xiyue carefully put [Blackstone's Protection] into her backpack, terrified that the shield would make a sound if bumped.
She pressed her hands against the heavy Temple doors, clenched her teeth, and used the subtle force of Ancient Martial Arts to push the door open inch by inch, with extreme slowness.
Creak—
The hinges let out a faint grinding sound.
The three girls held their breath simultaneously, their hearts pounding.
Killing intent surged to its peak the moment the door creaked open.
Xia Lian's [Dark Night Starwhisper] was already half-drawn.
The lethal arrow, imbued with Star-Concealment, was poised to strike as her sharp gaze peered through the gap.
However, what met their eyes was not the desperate slaughter amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood they had expected, nor was it a fatedly grand confrontation between a higher-dimensional god and a mortal.
Instead, they witnessed a scene that was utterly bizarre and filled with a powerful visual impact.
Inside the Temple, there wasn't a single trace of a solemn or dignified atmosphere.
Scrap paper, fruit pits, and ink bottles littered the floor, making it look like a trash dump ravaged by a hurricane.
In the center of this chaotic mess sat an incredibly incongruous, large leather lounge chair.
Their Captain, Lin Qingyue, who was supposedly "struggling on the brink of life and death," was now leisurely crossing her legs, holding an Azure Jade wine cup in her hand.
Her other arm was draped around a woman's shoulders.
The woman wore pilled cartoon pajamas and had hair as messy as a chicken's nest.
A pair of crooked black-framed glasses rested on her nose, and two tear streaks remained uncleared on her face.
Yet her features were exquisite, possessing a raw, unpolished beauty.
Their bodies leaned slightly toward each other, their faces flushed red.
Their gazes were locked, filled with an indescribable, "stretchy" tension.
On the floor tiles nearby, several empty wine bottles lay scattered.
They were leaning head to head, pointing at a scroll covered in scribbles.
Every so often, they burst into fits of laughter that carried a hint of lewdness.
That laughter, in this sacred and solemn hall, sounded exceptionally jarring and out of place.
The entire scene was permeated with a bizarre, tacitly understood... "intimacy."
Lin Xiyue, still frozen in the posture of pushing the door, had hands as stiff as wooden sticks.
Su Wan, clutching her invisible ice spikes, stared in wide-eyed shock.
The ice cone at her fingertips shattered with a snap, turning into shards.
Xia Lian, still in her shooting stance, flinched, hurriedly pulling back the arrow she had almost released.
The three of them stood there, completely stunned.