The heads of various families bid farewell to the old madam as the Ma family prepared to depart.
Chu Tian, not understanding why, could only follow them.
Old Madam Ma walked quickly, in silence, and returned directly to the Ma family's residence.
As soon as they entered the main hall of the front building, Lin Ran and the others were still waiting anxiously.
The old madam entered the room and immediately turned to face Chu Tian.
"I didn't want you to attend the banquet, I know you have questions!"
"Because the Luo Yi Yi they claimed to be coming out to see you was not real!"
"You are familiar with her, and you would surely see through it, causing a scene at the venue. If that happened, you wouldn't be able to participate in tomorrow's competition."
"I had to consider the future of the Ma family for the next ten years, I apologize!"
Old Madam Ma actually bowed slightly to Chu Tian as she spoke.
Chu Tian dodged to the side; he could not accept such a bow.
At the same time, he understood the reason.
"So that's how it is. From where did Great Aunt learn this?"
"Why would the Luo family deceive us with a fake?"
He asked two consecutive questions.
Old Madam Ma shook her head, indicating she didn't know, but continued, "When the steward came in, I overheard this!"
Chu Tian suddenly understood. Before Luo Lingshan announced the move to the banquet hall, he had seen Luo Qingyu enter. Luo Qingyu had whispered something into Luo Lingshan's ear. Chu Tian hadn't expected that Old Madam Ma, from such a distance, could have heard it.
Knowing this, Chu Tian became even more worried about Luo Luo. Why would the Luo family arrange a substitute? Had something happened to Luo Luo? With various guesses and questions, he left the hall.
Ma Deju led him to a room.
"Brother-in-law, we'll sleep together tonight!" Ma Deju said casually.
Chu Tian was speechless. With so many rooms, why did he have to share with Ma Deju? What kind of peculiar habit was this?
"Don't call me that!" Chu Tian turned and lay down on the sofa. His mind was preoccupied with the Luo family's banquet tonight. It should have started by now. Since he couldn't attend, he might as well enter Tian Dao, otherwise, these thoughts would only bother him.
He took out the number 207 holographic helmet from his backpack, caressing the numbers on it. Luo Luo had given it to him, and... twice. In his previous life, he had worn this helmet until he was reborn. The Luo Luo at the banquet tonight was a fake. Then, the first place in the competition... Luo Lingshan, what exactly were your plans? Sigh... he could only take it one step at a time.
He put on the helmet and entered the character interface.
Suddenly, his eyes widened. Ma Deju was standing by the sofa, holding his helmet.
"Holy crap... what are you doing?" Chu Tian was startled by him.
"Brother-in-law... uh... Brother Tian, you play Tian Dao too?"
"What level are you? Want me to help you level up?"
Chu Tian was not in the mood to mess around. He snatched the helmet back and said, "I'm level forty-five."
He then put the helmet back on.
"Forty-five? Who are you kidding? Hey... which war zone are you in?"
Chu Tian had already put on the helmet and couldn't hear Ma Deju's shouts.
"Hmph... Level forty-five? The highest level globally is forty-six, and that's De Shen from the Northern War Zone of Longguo!" Ma Deju muttered to himself, feeling bored. He turned and walked out, heading straight for Lin Chi and Lin Ran's room.
Soon, he returned, mumbling.
"Damn it, they're all playing Tian Dao, is there signal here?"
As he spoke, he waved his hand.
*Bang...* A virtual pod appeared out of nowhere and landed directly on the coffee table in front of the sofa. The coffee table was immediately crushed.
"Uh..." He bypassed the virtual pod and peered at Chu Tian, just as Chu Tian's gaze met his. Chu Tian had activated his small radar and a 360-degree holographic surveillance when he entered the game. This allowed him to observe his surroundings within a fifteen-meter radius in reality while in the Tian Dao world. When Ma Deju entered the room, Chu Tian had already seen him in the game. He saw Ma Deju mumble and wave his hand, and a dark object fell beside him. Startled, Chu Tian exited the game, took off the helmet, and saw Ma Deju peeking at him.
"I... I'm sorry... I didn't control the distance well when I released it," Ma Deju said awkwardly.
Chu Tian was even more speechless. How much could this guy's spatial device hold? It could even fit a game pod. Suppressing the urge to beat him up, Chu Tian glared at him and, too lazy to speak, put the helmet back on. Ma Deju shrunk his neck and also climbed into the game pod.
[Ding... Welcome to the world of Tian Dao!]
In just a short while, he had heard this notification three times. Back in the world of Tian Dao, the familiar feeling washed over him. Chu Tian glanced at his avatar. Below it, it showed his level as forty-six. Oh... he suddenly remembered. The last time he discovered a change in the sapling within him, Dao Tian had told him that his clone had been controlled by him to level up, and all the experience had been given to him. Checking the experience bar, he found that it was indeed more than half full. Leveling up was surprisingly fast. He opened his panel to check his clone and found it was already level thirty-seven. It was even one level higher than Jian Zhi Cang Tian and the others.
Checking its coordinates, Chu Tian discovered that it was actually in a dungeon. Was the clone so intelligent that it was in a level thirty-five dungeon? Long ago, when the first-tier players reached level thirty-four, Chu Tian had already sent the strategy for the level thirty-five dungeon [Blood Legion Fortress] to Jian Zhi Cang Tian. Of course, he had also sent it to 'Cheng Xin Di Yi Ling Ling Qi'. Now, his business of selling dungeon strategies was going smoothly. A level thirty-five dungeon was already considered an advanced dungeon. It would take a long time for players to reach level forty-five. No one, like Chu Tian, possessed the god-tier talent of double experience. However, this time he hadn't expected to receive money, as this person was his major creditor. The money from selling strategies probably wouldn't be enough to repay the debt.
Summoning his clone, Chu Tian prepared to call it back. He wanted to try transferring the Wish Box. However, after pressing the button for a few seconds, there was no response.
"Huh?"
He clicked it repeatedly.
[Ding... Received a private message, please check!]
Just as he was feeling frustrated, could the clone be broken? He opened the chat window, and the message inside made Chu Tian's eyes widen.
I Am Not a Thief: "We're fighting the final boss, don't bother me! I'll return your clone when we're out."
"What?" Chu Tian stood at the street junction in Shengjing City, shouting in surprise.
"What the hell, you scared me!"
"Are you crazy? If you keep shouting, I'll kill you!" Two passersby on the side cursed at Chu Tian as they walked away. The clone could actually talk? Had it become sentient?
He clicked on the private message and sent a reply: "Who are you?"
I Am Not a Thief: "Dao Tian!"
"Holy crap... then why are you sending me a private message? Can't you just talk in my head?" Chu Tian roared in his mind. What was going on? He created a clone, and when he needed it, it said it was fighting a boss and would return it later. Was this clone his or not? Did it just borrow it and leave?
[Author's Note]
Recently, the pace has picked up. In the latter half of the month, the update speed will accelerate! Thank you all for your support of this book. I had some matters to attend to previously, which is why there were only two chapters a day. From now on, there will be at least three chapters daily, with occasional surprise updates. Thank you, esteemed user [Shi Le Yue], for the paid tip [催更符x3]. Thank you, esteemed user [Xuan Yuan Shao Tian], for the paid tip [催更符x2]. Thank you, esteemed user [Qi Mao Shu You_121250561025], for the paid tip [鲜花x1]. Thank you, esteemed user [Yu Jin], for the paid tip [鲜花x1].