Chapter 177: Chapter 26: If One Could Dream for 1000 Years

Wu Xiaoxu was miserable. So very miserable.

He hadn’t dared to step outside for days. A crowd of people was constantly blocking his door, demanding to pay their respects. The worst part was, he had no idea what was going on!

He only heard from his dad that it had something to do with some ruins. ’When the hell did I ever go to any ruins?!’

The final conclusion was that some bastard was impersonating him!

But there was nothing he could do. He was a complete shut-in, yet his name was being spread all over Langya City…

So, Wu Xiaoxu decided to just roll with the punches. He pored over information on various prodigies from ancient times, looked up a ton of video footage, and tried to imitate them. But in the end, just two steps after getting off the Hovercar, he saw Brother Xuan and finally broke.

“Brother Xuan!!!”

Under the baffled gazes of Wang Zhiyao, Wu Shangpin, and the others, the majestic-looking youth from a second ago lunged forward, unable to hold back his tears.

“Some bastard is impersonating me!”

He was completely out of breath, as if trying to vent all the confusion he had felt these past few days.

“And these people! They block my door every day and won’t let me leave!”

Wu Xiaoxu seemed to have found his protector. He stood beside a dumbfounded Lu Xuan, gesturing authoritatively.

“Brother Xuan, you have to help me…”

“Ahem.” Lu Xuan coughed twice. He looked a little embarrassed and guilty. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he shot Xiaoyan a look, then grabbed Wu Xiaoxu. With a few quick movements, the three of them vanished from sight.

“Wh… What’s going on?”

Wang Zhiyao looked around in confusion, voicing the bewilderment of all the upperclassmen and the thousand-plus new students present.

’It seems they not only know each other, but their relationship is… exceptionally close?’

Thinking of Wu Xiaoxu’s earlier appearance, with tears and snot streaming down his face, Wang Zhiyao suddenly felt her convictions crumble. It wasn’t just her; many of the upperclassmen who had come specifically to welcome and admire him also fell silent.

Even in Tang Yuanyuan’s livestream, with over a hundred thousand viewers, the bullet comments became sparse.

After a long moment, they suddenly came to their senses. That Lu Xuan…

Everyone around exchanged glances, faces filled with confusion and suspicion. Amidst the whispers, many new students also “learned” of Lu Xuan’s exploits.

Slaying a top prodigy of the Demon Race, pinning and killing a Grandmaster, and facing down a Celestial Human and an Earth Immortal without retreating a single step.

Although most of them didn’t know about the Starry Great Wall, let alone what the Demon Race was, hearing about him killing a Grandmaster or facing down a Celestial Human and an Earth Immortal sent a chill down their spines.

After a long time, a student muttered to himself:

“What kind of monsters are in this year’s class…?”

「 * * * 」

Soon, a dean from one of the institutes came to receive them, guiding Lu Xuan, Xiaoyan, and a dazed Wu Xiaoxu through the registration process.

“Chairman Yan instructed me.” The dean of the Comprehensive Institute, a cultivator at the Celestial Human Level, spoke with an almost reverent smile.

“You three won’t need to worry about earning credits. As for classes, you can attend whenever you feel like it. It’s all up to your mood. After all, to be honest, there’s really no one at our university qualified to teach the three of you.”

Actually, Old Yan had only arranged special treatment for Lu Xuan and Yan Jiangxue. But this dean wasn’t a fool; he knew Wu Xiaoxu’s identity and naturally included him as well.

And just like that, the three of them completed their registration and were assigned to a class, all in a state of bewilderment…

It wasn’t until the smiling dean of the Comprehensive Institute had taken his leave that Wu Xiaoxu finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Brother Xuan, when did you get to the Prefecture City? You didn’t even tell me…”

“I wanted to give you a surprise, didn’t I?” Lu Xuan said with a smile. “I actually haven’t been here long, just arrived a few days ago… Is Uncle Wu busy lately? If not, I plan on paying him a visit later.”

“My old man just has a nominal position, it’s just a title. He’s definitely not busy.”

Wu Xiaoxu explained honestly, a sentimental look suddenly appearing on his face.

“It’s only been a few months, but I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages, Brother Xuan… And this is?”

He glanced curiously at Xiaoyan, who stood to the side.

Wu Xiaoxu had never met Yan Jiangxue before.

After Lu Xuan made a simple introduction, he casually asked:

“Xiaoxu, you’ve been in the Prefecture City for almost half a year. How have things been lately?”

Wu Xiaoxu’s expression turned indignant.

“Don’t even get me started on that! Things were fine at first, all peaceful and quiet. But after June, everything changed. It’s so weird. People kept sending me formal invitations, and all sorts of prodigies invited me to gatherings and whatnot…”

He paused and scratched his head.

“Brother Xuan, you know me. What do I know about this stuff? I turned them all down. But then, those guys actually started blocking my door, making me too scared to even go out. It’s all thanks to some bastard out there impersonating me, I have no idea what he’s been doing…”

Xiaoyan covered her mouth to stifle a giggle, while a trace of awkwardness appeared on Lu Xuan’s face.

After a moment, he gave a light cough and said, looking straight ahead:

“Xiaoxu… Let’s just say, is it possible… that the person impersonating you was me?”

Wu Xiaoxu, who had been ranting nonstop, suddenly froze.

Lu Xuan coughed a couple more times.

“It was an accident at the time. I needed a legitimate identity to enter the ruins. But after I got in, I forgot about it and never ended up dropping the alias…”

Wu Xiaoxu jumped in anger, but he quickly calmed down. Scratching his head, he let out a silly grin.

“Oh, so it was you, Brother Xuan. In that case, it’s fine, it’s all fine…”

Lu Xuan gave a helpless chuckle, patted his shoulder, and asked again:

“Xiaoxu, what are your plans now?”

“What else can I do? Just go to school obediently and focus on my Cultivation… What about you, Brother Xuan? I have a feeling you won’t be staying at the university for long.”

“Yeah, I might drop by occasionally when I’m free, but I won’t be around most of the time.”

As he spoke, Lu Xuan’s gaze grew a little deeper.

“Alright, registration is done. Let’s go visit Uncle Wu… We won’t take a Hovercar from the school gate. We’ll just attract another crowd, and Xiaoyan wouldn’t like that.”

He paused, then glanced to the side and asked:

“Xiaoyan, do you want to come with me to meet Uncle Wu? If not, I can have Qing He escort you back first.”

Qing He and Qing Ping were currently hidden in the shadows. Although they hadn’t shown themselves, they had been following Lu Xuan the whole time.

“I’ll go!” said Xiaoyan decisively, who had been listening quietly to their conversation. “I want to get to know more of your friends and elders, Xiaolu.”

At this point, a confused Wu Xiaoxu, who was standing to the side, asked:

“Brother Xuan, if we’re not taking a Hovercar from the gate, how are we going to get to my place? We’re in the East District, and my house is in the city center. It’s really far…”

“We’ll fly, of course.”

“Fly?” Wu Xiaoxu was stunned for a moment, then it suddenly dawned on him. His face flushed red with excitement, and he stammered:

“Bro… Brother Xuan, have you become a Grandmaster?!”

Lu Xuan smiled.

“You could say that.”

With that, he took Xiaoyan’s hand with one of his and grabbed Wu Xiaoxu with the other. His Spiritual Radiance shone into reality along the Triple Supreme Jade Steps, transforming into a blazing light that enveloped and concealed the three of them.

The next moment, to Wu Xiaoxu’s astonishment and confusion, the ball of blazing light shot into the sky. Countless students at Langya University turned their heads to watch, their gazes filled with a mixture of reverence and awe.

“It’s a Celestial Human!”

Watching that Great Sun traverse the sky, a newly enrolled student exclaimed in admiration:

“Langya University really lives up to its name! I’ve only just gotten here and I’ve already seen a Celestial Human on the move!”

「 * * * 」

In the very center of Langya City were not towering skyscrapers, but a residential area designated by the Provincial Government for high-ranking officials.

The area was filled with small, four-to-five-story villas. The roads were lined with a canopy of green trees, peaceful and serene.

In one of the villas, Wu Datong was sipping tea as usual, leisurely scrolling through his phone and reading about recently unearthed Daoist Collections and other documents from various places.

“Dad!!”

The villa’s main door was pushed open, and Wu Xiaoxu ran in excitedly.

“Look who’s here!!”

“Who is it?” Wu Datong took a sip of tea and scolded, “Didn’t you go to the university to register, you little rascal? How are you back so soon… Xiaoxuan?”

He stood up in surprise, his face immediately breaking into a delighted smile.

“When did you get here?”

“I just arrived in Langya City a short while ago. I went to register at Langya University today and happened to run into Xiaoxu.”

Lu Xuan walked in with Xiaoyan and introduced them with a smile.

“This is Uncle Wu, Wu Datong. And this is…”

“I know who she is.” Wu Datong’s expression grew a bit more serious. “The young lady of the Yan Family… Please, sit. Both of you, sit down.”

As he spoke, he kicked Wu Xiaoxu and shot him a glare.

“You little brat, what are you standing there for? Go make some tea!”

Wu Xiaoxu whimpered in grievance and scurried off toward the tea room.

Lu Xuan sat down on the sofa with a slightly reserved Yan Jiangxue. He glanced around and said with a smile:

“Uncle Wu, I’d say you’re living the retired life now, huh?”

“Hah, listen to you.” Wu Datong sat down again, took another sip of tea, and said, “I’m not that old. Even though I once crippled my own cultivation, I can still live for a few thousand more years…”

As he spoke, he sized Lu Xuan up. The young man’s aura was stable, yet seemed to be shrouded in a hazy fog of Chaos. Even when he scanned with his Earth Immortal’s Divine Thought, he couldn’t penetrate that hazy mist at all.

He could only vaguely sense a restless yet suppressed, blazing aura.

Wu Datong said with some emotion:

“I still can’t see through you… Xiaoxuan, I’m guessing you’ve reached the Celestial Human level, haven’t you?”

“Yes, I just became a Celestial Human not long ago,” Lu Xuan said humbly. “There’s still a long way to go before I become an Earth Immortal.”

“You kid, how long have you even been cultivating…”

Wu Datong gave a bitter smile. He recalled the two Grand Grade experts who had fought in outer space two months ago and was slightly dazed. ’One of them must have been Xiaoxuan, right?’

He carefully studied the young man for another moment, then sighed.

“If nothing unexpected happens, it would only take you a few decades to dominate an entire era… But there’s not much time left now…”

Lu Xuan’s expression flickered slightly. He squeezed Xiaoyan’s soft little hand, then asked:

“Uncle Wu, what makes you say that?”

“The Immortal Gods are about to return.” Wu Datong’s expression grew solemn. “You know that I used to be a Great Physician at the Life Tower. Back then, the Life Tower had already reached a conclusion: in as little as a few years, or twenty at most, the Immortal Gods will begin to return, coinciding with a great revival of heaven and earth.”

As he spoke, a worried look crossed his face.

“Your talent is astonishing, the kind seen once in a thousand, even ten thousand years. I’ve also heard about what happened in the ruins… But if the Immortal Gods really do return one after another, I’m afraid everything will descend into chaos again.”

Lu Xuan’s expression also grew solemn. ’The Immortal Gods are returning?’

A sense of urgency welled up in his heart. Although he was already cultivating as fast as possible, at his current pace,

even if everything went smoothly from now on, he had no idea how long it would take to become an Earth Immortal, let alone a True Immortal.

And just the few short-term goals he wanted to achieve—whether it was purging the Evil Cult, uncovering the truth of the past, or crushing Sakata Heavy Industries—all required an extremely high level of Cultivation…

After some thought, just as Lu Xuan was about to ask about the Life Tower, Wu Datong shook his head and sighed again.

“You, of all people… what you lack most right now is time.”

As he said this, he casually held up his phone and added with a laugh:

“If you had been born a few hundred years earlier, or if you could, like it says in this ancient text, gain a thousand years out of thin air… Tsk tsk, I can’t even imagine, I daren’t even imagine.”

Lu Xuan and Xiaoyan exchanged a puzzled look. ’Gain a thousand years out of thin air?’

He subconsciously asked:

“Uncle Wu, are you talking about…?”

“Oh, it’s an ancient text that was unearthed not long ago. It records a strange event from Ancient Times. We don’t even know if it’s true or not, I was just speaking off the cuff.”

After a pause, Wu Datong casually explained:

“The ancient text says that in Ancient Times, someone, by a stroke of luck, fell asleep and had A Dream of a Thousand Years. They witnessed the whole of the Red Dust, the passage of years from past to present. But when they awoke, only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea had passed in the Current World… There seem to be many similar legends about entire lifetimes lived within a dream.”

Lu Xuan nodded thoughtfully, but then he suddenly froze.

A Dream of a Thousand Years, while only a moment passes in the Current World.

A Dream of a Thousand Years… A Dream of a Thousand Years…

His breathing grew slightly rapid. ’Did someone in Ancient Times really experience A Dream of a Thousand Years?’

’If so, could I do it too?’

’Never mind a thousand years, what about a dream of several years, or even a month…’

Lu Xuan’s eyes gradually brightened. Just as he was about to say something, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep