After a few more practice runs, Qingque gained a deeper grasp of the Cicada Shedding technique.
The decoy left behind would hold the exact pose from right before the escape was activated.
On top of that, she could control how far back she retreated—anywhere from a few meters to over a dozen—adjusting it to fit the situation.
Once Cicada Shedding was unleashed, she'd slip into invisibility. Footsteps might still give her away, but the naked eye wouldn't spot a thing.
No denying it—this was a godsend on the battlefield.
Mastering it opened up endless chances to slip away, or even turn the tables for a counterkill.
Qingque suddenly felt a pang of guilt. Handing a skill like this to her was a total waste; in her hands, it was just another tool for slacking off.
"Daoist, you're really just giving this to me, no strings attached?"
"How about I repay the favor somehow?"
Realizing how powerful it was, Qingque started fidgeting, unable to sit still.
Everything had a price. She couldn't wrap her head around someone handing over a divine technique for free.
Seeing her unease, the man chuckled and shook his head.
"What repayment? Just don't drag me into it if you stir up trouble down the line."
"That's it?" Qingque scratched her head.
She still couldn't get used to pie falling from the sky like this.
Before she could say more, she noticed the man had vanished without a trace.
The alley mouth was empty, no signs of what had happened—like it was all just a fleeting dream.
Qingque got the message. She'd truly crossed paths with an immortal. She clasped her hands in prayer toward the stall's direction, then skipped off into the alley with a goofy grin.
She couldn't wait to get to work.
Hard to imagine Qingque ever looking forward to clocking in.
But who could blame her? Going a month without her favorite thing? Pure torture.
Like forcing someone to skip gaming, reading, videos, or even a quick solo session for thirty days straight.
No wonder she was acting this way.
Meanwhile, in a nearby little house by the alley's edge.
The man in the Daoist robes stood on the balcony, hands behind his back, watching Qingque fade into the distance.
His eyes half-closed, as if sensing something.
"Feels like I've got a clearer understanding now. This approach works."
He turned his gaze away, flicked his sleeve, and stepped inside. As he did, the robes melted away.
By the time he entered the room, the striking Daoist garb had shifted into everyday Hanfu—indistinguishable from any ordinary Xianzhou resident.
To others, these miraculous tricks might seem like immortal arts, but in his faction, they were as basic as breathing.
The man's name was Yun Ge.
Just your average gaming shut-in.
One day, like always, he was scrolling through game forums.
He clicked into a thread where folks were debating which character made the best waifu.
Netizens went wild: some wanted Jingliu stepping on them, others dreamed of Kafka as a mommy dom, and a few just loved the airheaded types.
Yun Ge figured there was only one real answer.
No matter who you liked, pick Sparkle as your wife and you've got it all.
She could turn into anyone—have her, and you have the whole world.
The comments exploded with "genius," and the thread devolved into whether marrying Sparkle counted as pure love or peak NTR.
Yun Ge racked up thousands of likes that night. After years on the forums, he'd never hit numbers like that. He was thrilled.
But that same night, he had a nightmare.
Countless grotesque masks leered at him, laughing.
When Yun Ge woke up again, he was on the Xianzhou.
No need to guess—he'd caught the eye of some faceless Aeon in his dream.
Waking up to Aha's gaze right after crossing over? Yun Ge didn't know what to say. He was just a law-abiding citizen—why him?
Still, getting Aha's attention wasn't all bad. At least it gave him some means to protect himself.
The Xianzhou Alliance was one of the more peaceful factions in the Honkai world, but dangers lurked everywhere—life-or-death crises waiting to happen.
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus wreaking havoc up front, Phantylia plotting to wipe out the Xianzhou from behind.
Even a random passerby could be Blade in disguise.
Yun Ge was just a regular guy.
No Abundance-blessed longevity, no superhuman physique.
A Xianzhou native might survive a mara-struck collision; Yun Ge would be off to the next world.
If he couldn't handle a mara strike, how could he fend off the bigger threats?
So, Yun Ge didn't mind becoming a follower of the Path of Elation.
After a few days of experimenting, he realized he had some unique powers.
The most obvious? Turning his thoughts into reality—though not quite like the Herrscher of Reason.
The Herrscher could craft all sorts of things with their authority.
Yun Ge was different. He didn't just create objects; he could manifest concepts outright.
Like imagining himself as a wise, ethereal Daoist master—and poof, he became one.
Just like earlier, when he pictured himself as Patriarch Bodhi and transformed into that immortal sage vibe.
Aside from a few hitches in age and looks, it was spot-on.
Yun Ge figured it was because his grasp of the Path was still shallow, leaving those flaws.
After teaching Qingque the Cicada Shedding move, though, his understanding of the Path of Elation deepened.
In his old view, Elation was just about amusing himself.
That's how he'd started out, but the results were meh.
Turning others' suffering into his fun was one way to walk the Path, but it fell flat.
Helping someone out and bringing them joy? That was another way—and way more effective.
Clearly, there were plenty of paths to Elation.
Self-amusement was just a narrow take.
How could Aha laugh at a baby's first cry if they were only in it for cheap thrills?
Grasping joy was a privilege of sentient beings. Chasing the inherent humor in things—that was Aha's true pursuit.
If it was just mindless revelry for kicks, that was shallow. Aha sought the essence of fun, not the outcome.
In a way, Elation was the Path that respected life the most.
As Yun Ge delved deeper into Elation, his perspective shifted.
Maybe one day, if he could bring joy to the whole world, he'd ascend straight to Emanator of Elation.
Knowing Aha, they might just hand over the throne.