At the Moment of Launch, Meeting an Old Friend Again

Early morning, 5:20 AM.

The apartment was completely silent.

Lin Yu tiptoed downstairs, careful not to disturb his sleeping housemates.

Anyone who could wake up at this hour undoubtedly possessed tremendous willpower.

With the system's enhancements to his physique and the tempering effects of medicinal pills,

staying up late or rising early had no physical impact on him.

The real challenge lay in the mental and psychological toll.

Despite feeling no physical discomfort,

there was an inexplicable emptiness in his heart when he woke up while everyone else—and even he himself—should still be asleep.

Arriving at the residential complex's entrance,

Lin Yu immediately spotted Mao Ruirui, dressed in sporty athletic wear.

The girls in the apartment had an impeccable sense of punctuality.

No matter how early Lin Yu arrived for their meetups,

his date always seemed to beat him there.

[Ding!]

[Masterful Move: The Holy Son arrives early, refreshed and spirited, leaving the Beast Garden Elder utterly charmed!]

[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones]

Hearing the system's pleasant notification,

Lin Yu's early-morning gloom instantly dissipated.

Around Mao Ruirui, it seemed like everything Lin Yu did radiated masculine allure.

Poor Ruirui-jie.

She hadn’t even realized it yet.

Under the subtle influence of the Hundred Beasts Token,

her heart had already begun to stir with budding affection.

"Morning, Ruirui-jie!"

"Honestly, sportswear suits you so much—it really shows off your figure."

[Ding!]

[Masterful Move…]

Lin Yu wasn’t just flattering her.

He was simply speaking his mind with cheerful sincerity.

Each girl had her own distinct style, and what suited one might not suit another.

Mao Ruirui in a dress couldn’t compare to Mao Ruirui in athletic wear—she was simply more captivating this way.

"Xiao Yu, your outfit looks great too—so energetic."

"Shall we go? How about running there?"

"There aren’t many cars on the road right now, and the air is fresh."

Mao Ruirui averted her gaze, unwilling to engage with his compliments.

Logically, she should have brushed them off as mere politeness.

But seeing the sincerity in his eyes and hearing the warmth in his voice,

she couldn’t help but feel…

that Xiao Yu genuinely meant every word.

Since entering the workforce and climbing her way up,

Mao Ruirui had never encountered a man like this before.

To be fair, she’d never been particularly interested in romance.

Even when someone harbored feelings for her, she remained oblivious.

Except with Lin Yu.

Every word, every action, made her thoughts drift toward romance.

When Mao Ruirui suggested running to Pingchuan University’s track field,

Lin Yu naturally agreed without hesitation.

With his Soul Cultivation trial task in mind,

his goal for today’s morning workout was simple—

to endlessly showcase his "personal charm" within the limited time frame.

In other words… peacocking.

Speaking of peacocking,

Lin Yu couldn’t help but recall a certain "old acquaintance" he’d run into the day before.

Who would’ve thought?

Not even twenty-four hours later,

he’d be demonstrating the proper way to "peacock" himself.

Keeping a steady pace beside Mao Ruirui,

Lin Yu chatted effortlessly, his breathing perfectly even:

"Ruirui-jie, isn’t our university’s track field usually restricted to students?"

"At this hour, wouldn’t the guards stop us at the gate?"

"Is there some secret passage? As an actual student, I’ve never heard of one!"

[Ding!]

[Masterful Move: Your steady breathing and effortless agility leave the fitness-loving Beast Garden Elder deeply impressed!]

[Reward: 20 Spirit Stones]

Mao Ruirui looked at him in surprise before answering:

"Xiao Yu, you’ve really never run at your own university before, have you?"

"You’ll understand once we get there!"

"Your stride and breathing… are incredibly stable. Way better than mine!"

While running,

Mao Ruirui had to pause to catch her breath after speaking so much.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yu sounded no different than if they were casually chatting.

Had he trained even more than her?

Without long-term conditioning, such stamina would be impossible!

At the same time,

Mao Ruirui secretly congratulated herself.

Inviting Xiao Yu to join her for a morning run had been the perfect decision.

……

Before long,

the two arrived at the small path beside Pingchuan University’s track field.

The side gate, usually locked with a chain,

was surprisingly wide open.

Spotting the garbage truck parked nearby,

Lin Yu immediately understood.

This must be the time when the university’s cleaning crew disposed of the trash,

temporarily opening the gate for transport.

In this era, university campuses weren’t as tightly secured.

Outsiders coming in for exercise weren’t strictly prohibited.

By the time Lin Yu and Mao Ruirui arrived,

a few others were already working out on the field.

The moment Lin Yu stepped onto the track,

the system’s notification chimed once more…

[Ding!]

[Time-Limited Quest Issued: While the Holy Son and Beast Garden Elder engage in worldly training, their whereabouts are accidentally discovered by the Succubus and Deer Maiden duo! The Holy Son must swiftly counter this disturbance to preserve their private cultivation session!]

[Time Limit: 30 minutes.]

[Reward: 100 Sect Contribution Points, 200 Spirit Stones]

Lin Yu: "???"

Oh?

Swaying Sister, Lv Rou!

Running Queen, Wu Chuntian!

His old "friends" were making a surprise reappearance?

He hadn’t even gone out of his way to mess with them,

yet they’d delivered themselves right to his doorstep.

Lin Yu quickly scanned the vast field.

Near the bleachers, he spotted a group of students setting up cameras and tripods for filming.

With his sharp vision, he instantly recognized all four girls.

Lv Rou and Wu Chuntian were obvious.

The other two familiar faces were their dormmates!

……

(Progress report on today’s "blacklist" revisions (so readers can follow along in real-time):

Last night’s edits dragged on until past 2 AM before submission.

As expected, they were rejected this morning.

Most of the revised chapters passed,

but a whole new batch of problematic sections emerged—standard procedure by now.

To summarize the worst offenders:

Thursday’s content wasn’t heavily flagged, just minor tweaks.

The real disasters were Friday’s, Saturday’s, every single massage scene involving Auntie’s Dao Body (yes, every single one, sigh), Teacher Tang’s "reading lessons," Ying’er’s naptime, and… an ocean of "flavorful descriptions"!

What counts as "flavorful descriptions"?

Examples: "Temptations on the Tip of the Tongue," "newbie carrying two telephone poles," "motion-sensor faucet," "biting down on the unshakable mountain," "boneless chicken deboning," select classical poems, "Tai character," "Ah Kun from the morgue," "hair tied up," etc., etc.—the list goes on. Readers who’ve followed the story will recall plenty more.

All of these?

Gutted.

Do they affect the main plot? Of course not.

What they affect is the novel’s overall flavor.

Removing them strips away countless highlights,

leaving the story… painfully ordinary.

The reason I initially recommended everyone to read this book by following along closely instead of saving it for later is that by the time you come back to it, it might not be the same story anymore.

I’m writing this summary both to give longtime readers some closure and to help any future readers who reach this point understand the author’s perspective.

If you read from start to finish and end up grumbling, “That’s it?”—well, all I can say in response is, “I tried my best.”

Because at one point, this book was actually quite interesting…)