I'm caught in the cycle of endless competition, you're waiting for me in the apocalypse.

"Ah~ Xinxin, you're here! Now I finally have company." Fang Yinuo turned around in surprise and saw An Xin coming this way, and reached out her hand: "Come give your sister a hug!"

"Alright, my beautiful Miss Ino~" Then an unidentified object, whose face was not visible and which was wearing an oversized hoodie, flew into Fang Ino's arms.

Qi Mingxuan reacted quickly, grabbing fate by the back of the neck and lifting An Xin up like a little chick.

"Hey hey hey~ That's not fair! I want to get close to my pretty girl!" An Xin kept pushing towards Fang Yinuo, reaching out her arms for a hug.

"Xinxin, be good. First, recognize people. We are all going to Qingshan Temple with you to cultivate. There is plenty of time for you and Yinuo to be together."

Hearing Qi Mingxuan's gentle voice, Fang Yinuo, Lei Yao, and Gu Shuohan all shivered. They exchanged glances.

"Hey, Young Master Qi, can't you be a little more normal?" In the end, Gu Shuohan was the only one with a stubborn streak who dared to mock Qi Mingxuan.

"This is Gu Shuohan, the second young master of the Gu family. You don't need to pay attention to him; he's just a good-for-nothing playboy." Qi Mingxuan didn't even glance at Gu Shuohan, his hand lightly resting on the back of An Xin's neck through her hat, a gentle warmth.

"Hello Gu Shuohan, I am An Xin."

"Hello Lei Yao, it's been a long time."

"My beautiful Miss Ino, I've missed you so much these past few days~" An Xin greeted the two young masters perfunctorily and continued to reach out to Fang Ino.

Qi Mingxuan chuckled and shook his head, then let go of the little girl. He could only feel helpless as he watched her hug Fang Yinuo and laugh and play.

When two girls are together, they always have endless topics to talk about. The three grown men, on the other hand, are all bored. Gu Shuohan is scrolling through his phone, Lei Yao is stealing glances at Fang Yinuo, and Qi Mingxuan is staring straight at An Xin.

Fortunately, the first-class VIP boarding time came quickly. The two girls walked hand in hand in front, with the three young men following behind.

The friendly and polite flight attendants showed the group to their seats and inquired about their needs.

After An Xin sat down, she found herself next to Qi Mingxuan, and across the aisle was Gu Shuohan. Lei Yao and Fang Yinuo were a row apart and not even sitting next to each other. Well, this was going to be a boring three-hour journey.

"Dr. Qi, what are you doing at Qingshan Temple?" An Xin asked Qi Mingxuan, turning her head to ease the awkwardness.

"Go and gain experience, go and cultivate yourself."

"cut……"

An Xin turned to look at the person who made the discordant sound and saw that Gu Shuohan had already put on a U-shaped pillow and headphones and was ready to sleep.

"Can you cultivate without taking a master?"

"Yes, it's possible, but we won't be able to learn some of the more core techniques and skills. We'll mainly be learning some basic knowledge of the Xuanmen sect and martial arts, and at most, we'll choose to learn one skill."

"Oh! Which subject would Dr. Qi like to learn?"

"Call me Mingxuan!"

"Mingxuan!" An Xin stuck out her tongue, trying to ease the awkwardness with cuteness. However, her sunglasses, mask, and large hood successfully thwarted her plan.

"Hmm!" Qi Mingxuan nodded seriously and continued, "Generally, there are medical skills and alchemy, physiognomy and divination, talismans and formations, etc. I would probably choose talismans and formations."

An Xin gave Qi Mingxuan a thumbs up. Look at him, he has a clear goal and is determined to succeed!

Listening to my inner thoughts: The goal is quite clear, but whether it's a must-have is another matter...

"Mastering talismans and formations is incredibly powerful!"

"Hmm, I hope so. I wonder how long this training will take."

"I don't know, I'll just have to work hard. You'll definitely learn faster than me because I'm your personal tutor, so I have to learn a lot..." Although she sounded like she was about to cry, she was actually quite smug inside: I have a photographic memory! I'll definitely show you the difference between a genius and a slacker. I'll confuse you little losers, hehe~

They chatted casually like this, and Qi Mingxuan noticed the voices beside him getting quieter and quieter until a little head leaned closer. He simply turned his head and gently placed the little girl's head on his shoulder, giving her a handsome smile.

Three hours later, the plane swooped down, bounced a few times, and slowly landed on the runway. As it taxied, An Xin raised her little head, looking dazed and motionless. It wasn't until the plane was almost completely stopped that her brain started processing the information.

"We've arrived..." Her voice was languid and hoarse.

"Okay, we've arrived. We can get our things and then get off the plane."

"Oh!" An Xin slapped her face hard, trying to wake herself up. "Yinuo, Yinuo, let's do it together!"

And so, the group of young masters and ladies embarked on a new journey.

We grabbed our luggage, got into the van, and drove onto the highway.

Three hours later, we arrived at a small mountain village.

One hour later, we drove onto the mountain road.

An hour and a half later, the car finally came to a stop.

The group had just taken their luggage out of the car when the van reversed, kicked up a cloud of dust, and drove away.

Several people, supporting their suitcases, stood in a row in front of a mountain path. There was no cement, only gravel. Looking back, there was no sign of a highway. All around were towering mountains, birds chirping, and the wind rustling through the trees. The group looked blankly at the path, truly a place where "a winding path leads to a secluded spot, where a Zen room is surrounded by flowers and trees."

"Let's go, or we won't get there before dark..." Apart from being hungry, An Xin didn't experience any other discomfort or bad mood. She had spent the entire day on the plane and by car resting with her eyes closed. It was much more relaxed and comfortable than the tense atmosphere of the apocalypse.

The path was so narrow that only one person could walk at a time, and the vegetation along the way was quite lush.

An Xin, dragging her cute little suitcase, walked at the front, calling out to anyone who could call Wei Ran to pick them up. Unexpectedly, there was no cell phone signal in this deep mountain forest, so they had to continue onward. After walking for more than an hour, finally…

Finally... they saw the mountain path... Yes, that's right, they were going to climb the mountain...

Looking up, the mountain path had stone steps in some places, small earthen slopes in others, and even just iron chains in some sections...

The group was dumbfounded! They stared at each other in disbelief!

An Xin looked at her own suitcase, then at everyone else's... and felt an urge to laugh at them regardless of their well-being.

Apart from Qi Mingxuan, who had one large suitcase, the other three each had two extra-large suitcases plus backpacks...

An Xin sat on the stone steps, took off her hood, put away her sunglasses, and removed her mask. "Let's all sit for a while. Judging from the height of this mountain, we won't be able to get there anytime soon." After saying that, she took out a few chocolates from her hoodie pocket and distributed them to the group.

What else could we say at this point? Going back was impossible; we could only keep climbing. We needed to fill our stomachs first, and then figure out how to carry all this luggage up.

Gu Shuohan knocked the box over, plopped down on it, and started eating chocolate.

Qi Mingxuan picked up An Xin's luggage: "What did you bring? It's so light?"

"Nothing much, just a few changes of clothes and toiletries, that's all."

"Xinxin, are you kidding me? Is this all you have? Tablet, power bank, skincare products, cosmetics, clothes for all seasons, shoes, bags, health supplements, aren't you going to bring any of that?" Fang Yinuo thought that as a girl, she had already brought very little, but she didn't see that Young Master Gu had brought even more than she had.

“I only brought this much. The temple will probably give me clothes and shoes. I don’t need any electronics. There’s no signal here, so I can’t play games. I don’t usually use cosmetics either.” An Xin shrugged, then pulled a konjac snack out of her pocket and took a bottle of water from her small suitcase. “Eat and drink something to lighten the load.”

Just kidding. Back in the apocalypse, who would use electronic devices, let alone phones and tablets, when going on missions? A backpack only contained a simple change of clothes, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a towel. Water, food, and camping gear were all carried by the space-age ability user. The fact that she's bringing a small suitcase now is purely to put her mother's mind at ease.

"How about this, my suitcase is small and light, so Mingxuan, who only has one suitcase, can take it. Yinuo, give me one of your suitcases, and you can have one too. The boys can each carry two suitcases."

"That's all we can do. Damn it, if I'd known it would be this difficult, I wouldn't have brought so much stuff." Lei Yao kicked his suitcase, looking very unhappy.

"Are you hungry? I have some water and food in my box."

"Then give me some more water," Qi Mingxuan said first.

"Okay, wait a minute..." An Xin used her suitcase as a disguise, as if she were looking for something, but actually she took out several bottles of water mixed with spiritual liquid from her Qiankun World. She originally intended to use them to replenish her physical and mental energy, but she didn't expect to need them so soon after arriving.

"Here you go!" She then tossed a small bottle of water to Qi Mingxuan, "It has a slightly sweet aftertaste!"

Qi Mingxuan sensed something amiss in her words and, seeing her winking expression, knew this water was no ordinary drink. After a few gulps, he felt refreshed, no longer thirsty or hungry, his body brimming with energy. He nodded to An Xin and, mimicking her, gave her a thumbs-up to express his gratitude.

"Okay, let's go! Let's go!" An Xin said energetically, picking up one of Fang Yinuo's suitcases and rushing uphill.

"What kind of energetic, chuunibyou girl is this..." Gu Shuohan pouted, looked at the setting sun, and resignedly picked up the two boxes and followed them up the mountain.

After a difficult half-hour climb, apart from An Xin and Qi Mingxuan, the other three were already panting heavily.

Lei Yao hurriedly called out to An Xin, who was still jumping up and down, "An... An Xin, stop... rest... for a while."

So An Xin looked around and moved to a slightly flatter spot by the roadside: "Let's rest here then."

"An Xin, you don't look very strong, where do you get your strength?" Lei Yao caught his breath and was finally able to speak fluently.

"Ah, I'm naturally strong. Besides, I'm already at the advanced stage of Qi Refining. If I reach the Foundation Establishment stage and my spiritual energy is condensed into liquid, I can even fly on a sword."

"I often fly on a sword while suspended by wires." Gu Shuohan raised an eyebrow, his sarcasm at its peak.

"I even added post-production special effects of flying on a sword." An Xin didn't want to argue with him, but she felt frustrated if she didn't retort. She raised her eyebrows like him, giving him a look that said, "You're such a frog in a well."

"I heard from my dad that there was a girl at the Xuanmen Gathering who had already reached the high level of Qi Refining without having a master or proper cultivation. So it was you, Xinxin! You're amazing!" Fang Yinuo remembered the girl her father had praised so highly, and Zhang Tianshi's expression of regret for not being able to take her as his disciple. So it was Xinxin! She suddenly became happy. "Xinxin, can you teach me sometime?"

"Ino, don't listen to other people's exaggerations. I really just learned meditation and mindfulness online, and that's how I got to this. When we get up the mountain, Master will definitely teach you, and it will definitely be better than my self-taught methods. We can practice together and share our experiences then."

"Okay, sure."

"Ino, can you still keep going? If not, give me the other suitcase too, and you can take it when you're less tired?" An Xin pointed to the other suitcase. "I really don't feel tired at all."