Chapter 31

Unless that wasn't an illusion at all!

Could it be a spiritual projection?

Teacher Tina once said that only high-dimensional beings can vanish into thin air. Zerg can’t do that, so it must be a spiritual projection!

Whose spiritual projection would come into his bedroom and snuggle up to him?

Ji Xun stopped in his tracks, still feeling a bit dazed and confused.

That means…

It was his own?

Thinking about it carefully, whether it was the egg actively pressing against the sole of his foot or nudging him when it came to his side, it all seemed to be an expression of affection. There was absolutely no intention of harming him, even though the egg probably couldn't hurt anyone anyway.

So that means…

He…

He has a spiritual projection?

It felt as if he had been struck by a massive, heaven-sent surprise. His mind had processed the conclusion, but his body took a long time to react. Once it finally hit him, he wolfed down the few dumplings in his hand in a few bites, and shouted, "Ahhhhhhh——!"

"I have a spiritual projection!!!!"

His heart was filled with wild, explosive joy.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!"

Guides on the "Counter-Current Bridge" all looked toward the person who had run upstairs so excitedly he was now out of sight.

"Who’s that?"

"Isn't that Zhao Zhanlei's boyfriend? Ji... Ji something..."

"That Ji Xun?"

"Yeah!"

"Sigh, it must be nice to be with such a powerful Sentinel. So envious."

Zhou Xiaoyun: "Xiao Xun, you’ve been slumped here looking listless since early this morning. Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Ji Xun replied dully, "Mm..."

"Don't play so late before you sleep."

Ji Xun didn't speak.

The story has to go back five minutes.

At that time, Ji Xun was rushing into the Guide instruction room, feeling over the moon and going crazy with excitement because he finally had a spiritual projection—and it was a super invincible giant python egg! Truly, "what you seek is often right before your eyes," and "heaven rewards the diligent!"

Then, he saw Instructor Tina talking to someone not far away.

Suddenly, in that instant, Ji Xun remembered another sentence Instructor Tina had said in the office that day—

"Spiritual projections cannot be eggs."

Her exact words were: "Spiritual projections only take shape when the awakened person's mental power is relatively stable. Once they take shape, they are hatchlings. Currently, there is no such thing as a spiritual projection in the form of an egg."

When he had just finished his test, the doctor said his mental power was very stable.

In other words, even if he were about to have a spiritual projection, it wouldn't be that egg.

And so, Ji Xun’s magma-like, boiling joy solidified.

He had already been imagining how imposing and majestic he would look with his big snake boss after the python egg hatched, how no villain would dare provoke him, and how he could walk around the 12th District, the government compound, and the Sanctuary with his head held high, drawing envious and surprised gazes from everyone...

The moment he saw Instructor Tina, those beautiful visions shattered completely with a series of clicks.

And that led to the dejected Ji Xun that Zhou Xiaoyun saw slumped over the desk.

The cruelest thing in the world is not never having something.

It is having it and then losing it...

Although he had only briefly possessed it for a little over a minute.

But he had possessed it, after all!!

Ji Xun felt he wouldn't be okay for a very long time.

He remained despondent for the better part of the morning.

***

The instructor said, "Students, please turn your textbooks to page 53."

Ji Xun slumped over his desk, flipping to page 53 with a rustle, and continued to mope.

Outside, the sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly, but inside his heart, it was pouring rain.

But what was that saying?

"When the mountains and rivers seem to end, and there is no way forward, opportunity is just around the corner."

Ji Xun stared at his textbook absentmindedly, and then suddenly noticed a sentence that seemed familiar—

【Spiritual projections are high-dimensional biological entities unique to Sentinels and Guides that can be summoned; they are also the animal forms of Sentinels and Guides. A spiritual projection often shares the same personality as the awakened, but the animal's emotions are more direct and more clearly expressed.】

Ji Xun wasn't very smart, and his memory was Schrödinger’s good-or-bad.

But seeing this sentence, a sense of familiarity instantly flooded his brain!

Following that, he intuitively understood the meaning.

Because Ji Xun remembered what Zhao Zhanlei had told him before—words he hadn't understood at the time: "Let's put it this way: the spiritual projection and the master's feelings are interconnected. What the spiritual projection does is basically what the master wants to do."

What the spiritual projection wants to do is what the master wants to do.

Ji Xun asked himself, what did he want most?

It was nothing more than two things: One, to have a spiritual projection. Two, to prove to everyone—especially to Fu Shuxing—that he wasn't a little good-for-nothing.

The latter was predicated on the existence of the former.

So, in short: he wanted a spiritual projection to prove himself.

Looking at what the book said again: the spiritual projection is the animal form of the awakened, often sharing the same personality.

Ji Xun didn't know what his personality was.

But there was one thing he had to admit: he was sad, and he cared deeply about the fact that he didn't have a spiritual projection.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have blurted out such hurt and aggrieved words while arguing with his parents: "I knew it, you guys have always looked down on me! I'm a useless son anyway, a son without even a spiritual projection might as well die on the battlefield, then you can just have another one."

It was because he was hurt and cared so much that he was particularly stubborn and sharp-tongued.

He had racked his brain, trying every possible way to prove himself.

But he didn't know that life happens in stages.

Perhaps it was his fate not to have a spiritual projection at twelve, or even at thirteen or fourteen.

Because his spiritual projection wasn't yet in a hatchling form.

It was still just an egg.

An egg that was struggling to break its shell, feeling just as wronged as he was, and struggling with unyielding determination while feeling aggrieved.

It was anxious, too.

Other spiritual projections could see their masters early, so why couldn't it?

Why did it have to be locked inside a sturdy eggshell?

It must be thinking every day about hatching and finding a soft, warm place—like on its master's bed, or under its master's feet, or by its master's side.

It might even be banging its head against the shell every day, wanting to come out sooner.

That was why it was always nudging and rolling, *rustle, rustle*.

As Ji Xun thought about this, he couldn't help but cry.

His "Big King" was truly the most hardworking and resilient little snake spiritual projection in the whole world.

Even knowing that its master feared it, was terrified of it, asked others to deal with it, and even wanted to break it, it still snuck into its master's bed in the middle of the night, enduring heartbreak and grievance, trying its best to hatch in the warm bedding.

But it was okay.

He hadn't known before, but he knew now.

He would definitely treat his "Big King Egg" well!

"Big King" didn't know yet, but they had an old saying: "When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on a man, it first exhausts his heart and mind, suffers his..."

That didn't matter.

Anyway, the suffering they were enduring now would all be rewarded in the future!

He and "Big King" would have a bright future!!

They would be the strongest in the entire Empire!!

Ji Xun wiped away his tears and silently made up his mind.

After returning home from school, Ji Xun rushed upstairs in a whirlwind, leaving only a "Mom, I'm back, I'm going upstairs!" to his mother in the kitchen before his figure vanished at the stairway entrance.

Ji Xun ran into his bedroom and locked the door.

"Big King?"

He whispered, "Big King, Big King, come out. I know it’s you... come out, I won't hurt you anymore..."

Ji Xun called out while looking everywhere.

But until his mother called him for dinner, the Big King egg did not appear.

During dinner, Ji Xun was distracted.

Was his Big King too hurt to come out again?

Seeing Ji Xun's troubled expression, his mother and father exchanged a look. They both thought: the boy must have realized that going to military school isn't just something you say on a whim; his decision was too rash. He must be hesitating about whether to retreat.

They were happy to see this, so they tacitly remained silent and didn't disturb him.

After dinner, Ji Xun took a shower.

While showering, he sighed from time to time.

He regretted it so much.

He hadn't even gotten a good look at his Big King egg; he only had one impression: it was long, round, and very, very white.

As for the texture, the snake eggshell seemed a bit hard yet a bit soft.

It seemed kind of cute...

No, it was cool!

After all, with such a large snake egg, just looking at its size, he knew it would definitely hatch into a massive giant python!

Ji Xun lay in bed, turning over and over. He wasn't sleepy at all, thinking with great spirit.

Who would be stronger, a giant python or a Bengal tiger...

His neck itched.

Ji Xun reached out to scratch it, but touched something warm and smooth. He stroked it, and the thing rubbed affectionately against his palm. His sleepy brain instantly cleared: Big King! It’s the Big King egg!

Ji Xun immediately turned on the light.

The large egg was right beside his pillow.

Ji Xun got goosebumps—not from fear, but from excitement. He was so happy he almost cried, lifting the large egg: "Big King, you aren't mad at me! That’s great!!"

As he spoke, the large snake egg in his hands made a *crack* sound.

The shell split open, and a long python crawled out. It grew and grew, finally becoming ten times thicker than a human's waist!

Ji Xun watched in shock and joy!

The Big King snake turned its head, signaling something to him.

Ji Xun understood immediately and climbed onto its back.

Just like that, the giant python carried him downstairs to the Fu family home. It raised its upper body high, opened its blood-red mouth, and let out a roar. This drew a tiger's roar in response. Fu Shuxing pushed open his window on the second floor, looking terrified and afraid: "Ji Xun, is this giant python your spiritual projection? How are you so powerful?! Can you spare me and the General for the sake of our old friendship??"

Ji Xun stood downstairs, shaking his head and sighing deeply, "Come down, Fu Shuxing. You and I must have this battle eventually."

That battle changed the winds and clouds; the sky turned dark.

Ji’s father, Ji’s mother, Uncle Gao, Uncle Fu, and everyone else in the government compound came out to watch.

The adults were all shocked and couldn't stop praising: "My god, it’s actually Ji Xun? I didn't expect Xiao Xun to be so powerful! We used to think he was a good-for-nothing without a spiritual projection, but he was actually biding his time. With such a massive giant python spiritual projection and such abundant, majestic mental power, he is clearly the Empire's strongest Guide!"

Ji Xun hugged the python's neck, thinking to himself that it was indeed his Snake Big King. He chuckled aloud, "Big King..."

After speaking, he realized something and slowly opened his eyes.

What met his sight was the ceiling of his own bedroom.