Chapter 46: Kong Xuan, a lover of learning, on the forty-sixth day of making games...

Yuan Yi's hand holding Kong Xuan trembled; the boomerang from the game they played years ago had returned to his head.

Back when the two little ones were still in their eggs, Yuan Yi was playing games and imagining that once his apprentices were born, he would throw them into the game so they could learn from all sorts of schools of thought within it.

"We'll arrange prenatal education, preschool, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, university, and graduate school—all while you're still in the egg. Once you're hatched, you'll do practice tests to solidify your foundation. We'll definitely give you a bright future." Yuan Yi had high hopes for her two children who were still in the egg.

Now, facing Kong Xuan's clear eyes, she said, "Master, Master, didn't you say you would give us exam papers after we hatched? I've memorized everything the Dao Ancestor said before, so please give me the exam papers quickly."

Yuan Yi pulled Kong Xuan slightly further away from her chest. What light shone into her eyes? It was the light of a top student who had to do exams right after birth, rolling around in the papers until they flew off the page.

It memorized all the prenatal education content while still in the egg, and came out to ask for the test paper as soon as it hatched. What kind of test paper king behavior is this?

She couldn't remember what the Dao Ancestor had said, only that she had used an array to record the entire process of his sermon.

Zhen Yuanzi nodded in satisfaction: "Your disciple does have some character."

"Master, Master, I want to do a test paper to solidify my foundation." Kong Xuanfei landed on Yuan Yi's shoulder, repeatedly asking for the test paper.

Yuan Yi painfully wanted to cover his ears. In the past, people used ducks to describe noise, but now one Kong Xuan is at least as bad as a hundred ducks.

The child's voice, though clear and melodious, sounded like a demon's voice amidst the repeated calls of "Master" and "Exam Paper," as if one were about to be dragged into the endless quagmire of exams.

Yuan Yi chose to cover the bird's mouth, easily stopping the baby bird's fragile beak with two fingers: "Little mouth, don't speak."

Even though he could easily shake off his master's hands, Kong Xuan still obediently followed his master's teachings, only tilting his head and looking at him expectantly, hoping that his master could give him a so-called "test paper".

When his master said he would find them prenatal education, he quickly led them to listen to the Daoist patriarch's teachings for ten thousand years. The "exam paper" he repeatedly emphasized must be extraordinary; he must cherish it.

Looking at the obedient little bird in front of her, Yuan Yi was at a loss for what to do. Where could she conjure up a test paper for Kong Xuan? Her own understanding of the Dao was only superficial, perhaps even less than Kong Xuan's.

But if she didn't get a test paper, Kong Xuan's constant chatter in her ear was unbearable.

Or we could throw Kong Xuan into "Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Clouds" right now and let him level up by fighting monsters. He can't come out until he's fully leveled up and has a complete collection of monsters.

But when I thought about the one in a thousand chance I had set as a safety net, and when I saw the little peacock that had just been born and was now obediently perched on my shoulder, I felt a slight pang of conscience, as if it didn't exist.

Well, after all, he's my first disciple, so there's no need to be so heartless.

Yuan Yi sighed, intending to explain that he would be allowed to study again two months after the official launch of "Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Cloud".

As their mentor, Yuan Yi prepared two beta test accounts for them from the very beginning of the game's development.

Wait, two beta test accounts. Did she forget something?

Yuan Yi turned around abruptly and saw a small golden bird lying on the ground under the ginseng fruit tree, happily picking up and eating fragments of eggshells, its protruding belly very obvious.

When the bird met her gaze again, it looked embarrassed and flapped its wings to hide the half-chewed pieces behind its back, then sat down on its bottom in a self-deceiving manner.

Alright, alright. While Kong Xuan was urging him to study hard, this cunning little bird was hiding behind him, secretly nibbling on the eggshell fragments of him and his brother, and even when it was full, it wouldn't stop.

At this moment, Kong Xuan flew out first, then flew back carrying the chubby little bird in his two tiny claws: "Little brother, so you've been born too! How can you not come to pay your respects to Master now that you've been born? Come on, let's hurry and pay our respects to Master and report what we learned in prenatal education..."

The little fat bird's face revealed a human-like expression of utter despair. While still in the egg, it had been constantly urged by its older brother to pay attention in class, studying diligently for ten thousand years. Now that it had just hatched, it was about to face another beating. All it wanted to do was eat and sleep.

"Disciple Dapeng greets Master." In the end, the Golden-Winged Roc broke free from his elder brother's control and greeted his master in front of all the birds.

"Little brother, didn't you say you were going to change your name? Why are you called Dapeng again? But Dapeng sounds nice too..."

Looking at the two little birds, one on the left and one on the right, they are clearly brothers but completely different.

Kong Xuan couldn't shut his mouth for a moment, while Da Peng, with his claws still wrapped around his shoulder, was practically ready to slide down. While Kong Xuan turned his head to urge him about the exam papers, Da Peng deftly stuffed a few more pieces of eggshell into his mouth and chewed them incessantly.

Yuan Yi seemed to be deep in thought.

I had originally planned to let them play and enjoy a carefree childhood as soon as they hatched. But I never expected my apprentices to be so eager to learn, and as their master, I naturally couldn't discourage their enthusiasm for learning.

So, under the horrified look on Dapeng's face, Yuan Yi took out a mountain of storage jade slips: "The game 'Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Cloud' will be launched in two months. Before that, you should watch the recordings of the Dao Ancestor's lectures that I recorded, and review them to refresh your knowledge."

"Master, Master, I've memorized everything. Why do I need to look at it again? I understand! We must have only heard it while we were in the eggshell, without paying close attention to how the Dao Ancestor taught. Now we need to review it again and reinforce our foundation..."

Yuan Yi remained silent, only smiling and nodding. Then, turning his head, he noticed that the entire roc on his right shoulder was radiating an aura of world destruction. Even the eggshell he had just put in his beak was now being pulled out, his eyes tightly closed, and placed back on his head. It was as if this would allow him to escape everything and return to the eggshell.

But Kong Xuan, as the senior brother and elder brother, clearly did not intend to abandon his brother: "Brother, brother, let's start learning now. We'll consolidate what we've learned over the past ten thousand years in two months."

The roc's wings and claws gripped Yuan Yi's clothes tightly, but unfortunately it was no match for Kong Xuan and was forcibly pulled into the sky.

Seeing Dapeng's tearful expression, Yuanyi finally understood how the teacher felt when assigning winter vacation homework.

However, as a teacher, one should still have some conscience: "Kong Xuan, Da Peng, these two months are just for consolidating the foundation, there's no need to push yourself too hard. The 'Three Thousand Guests of the Purple Cloud' two months later will be the important process for your pursuit of the Dao."

Dapeng's eyes lit up.

Kong Xuan: "Master, rest assured, I will definitely teach Dapeng to study hard and strive to live up to the prestige of our sect in two months."

Tears welled up in Dapeng's eyes, and his wings flapped downwards, showing that he had no hope for the future.

"Amitabha Buddha." Yuan Yi prayed in his heart for his poor second disciple. "This is all I can do. Dapeng, may you have good fortune."

If you can just get through these two months, then you can play the game however you want.

It should be fine, right?

Outside the tranquil and peaceful Wuzhuang Temple, "Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao Palace," which the Golden-Winged Roc sees as his last chance for survival, is stirring up a tremendous upheaval in the prehistoric world.

"Brother, my ranking has been surpassed by those two bald monks again!" The golden-haired Donghuang Taiyi complained to Dijun.

"I went under the Fusang tree and used the power of the sun to suppress them, but those two bald monks somehow got the Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus of Merit and chased after me again."

Di Jun helplessly covered his head: "Be careful what you say and do. They are, after all, Great Luo Golden Immortals. How can you call them bald monks?"

“That’s what the little ginseng taught me,” Donghuang Taiyi muttered.

Di Jun closed his eyes in pain. In the past, when he told his younger brother to think, see, and learn more, his brother would never listen. But after playing "Farm Battle" for only a few days, he had already learned all this nonsense from the little ginseng.

They only learn bad things.

"Let's not talk about that for now. Those two bald monks have moved up a few more positions. Brother, why don't you lend me a hand so I can re-condense my Dao intent?"

Donghuang Taiyi said confidently, "If we brothers work together, we will be invincible."

"No, I still need to help Xihe guard her farm. These days, there are always vegetable thieves causing trouble at her farm."

Donghuang Taiyi was immediately dejected: "In that case, I'll be overtaken by Dijiang. Last time when we left Zixiao Palace, they laughed at us, saying that even with wings, we couldn't find seats. If we get overtaken again, I don't know what they'll say to us next time we meet."

"Outrageous!" Di Jun slammed his fist on the table. "How dare the mere Wu Clan mock our brothers? I will make them learn their lesson!"

"Let's go, ride the sun corona, and go to the Fusang Divine Tree."

Such things were happening all over the prehistoric world. The powerful beings of the prehistoric world, especially the three thousand who had listened to the Dao at Zixiao Palace, had now practically emptied their coffers.

Tracing back to the source, it turns out that the trouble was caused by the beta version of "Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao" that Yuan Yi distributed to everyone in Zixiao Palace.

It turns out that in order to have enough characters in the gacha pool when the game launches, Yuanyi specially added countdown timers and card designs to these early release versions of the game.

Simply infuse the card design with Daoist principles before the countdown, and the corresponding card design and game skills will be automatically generated.

For these powerful beings, this is merely a trivial matter that can be accomplished with a simple gesture. Seeing another version of themselves on the card and the skills that arise from their own understanding of the Dao is indeed novel and interesting.

What was originally a good thing—adding card art to a game and letting players experience the game content in advance—has been completely ruined by the existence of leaderboards.

"It's one thing if the Three Pure Ones are ahead of me, but why are those two bald monks from the West ahead of me? They're even slower than us brothers when they get to Zixiao Palace."

Donghuang Taiyi scrolled through the golden leaderboard. Just a day ago, the leaderboard only had fifty names, but now it had exceeded a thousand.

After all, they were all fellow disciples who went to Zixiao Palace to listen to the Dao, and they were all renowned figures outside. Even if there was a distinction between front and back rows in Zixiao Palace, it was impossible to tell who was superior.

However, by using the card design to undergo the trial of seeking enlightenment from the Dao Ancestor, one can calculate the depth of one's moral character and the magnitude of one's stats. Although it is not absolute, at least one has gone before the Dao Ancestor, so the ranking is generally acceptable.

In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second.

In the past, I had only heard some empty names. If you really say who is more capable, there will definitely be controversy and no one will be convinced.

But now that there's a leaderboard, those who used to cultivate alone can no longer stay idle; they want to prove the profundity of their morality through the leaderboard.

"I can't possibly be inferior to that stinky bird/bald monk/big dummy/demon!"

The simple and honest cultivators of the primordial world, harboring this thought, found themselves in a precarious situation, caught between life and death.

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Author's Note: The Golden-Winged Roc [quietly hatched] [hiding to the side] [don't let my brother find out] [hungry] [ate the eggshell too] [eating an eggshell that's been under the Dao Ancestor for ten thousand years is delicious] [jiaojiaojiao]

This chapter features four large birds, all of whom are studying hard and striving for improvement. [Cat emoji]

Competing for rankings isn't called striving for improvement, is it? [doge]

Da Peng: I don't want to be ambitious!!! [Dragged away by Kong Xuan] [Forced to be ambitious]

Little angels, can you guess who's on the leaderboard? [heart emoji]

I've been busy three times recently, so my replies in the comments section will be sporadic, but I'll read them all. Thank you, my little angels! [heart emoji]