Did the Top-Ranked Girl Get Exposed Today? [HoloVerse] - Chapter 8

Amid the rolling sea of clouds, Feng Xiaoxiao leisurely enjoyed the refreshing breeze sent from afar, feeling all the weariness from the journey swept away.

Di Xiang’s figure flickered in and out of view among the white clouds, one hand behind her back and the other forming a seal in front, deftly maneuvering her flying sword to avoid the fierce winds.

The structures beneath the clouds gradually came into focus, revealing majestic, undulating mountain ranges shrouded in mist. Nestled among the verdant pines stood Qingyue Palace, a hub in the game for various activities like apprenticeships and sworn brotherhood.

The fox, carrying Feng Xiaoxiao, landed before the grand and solemn palace gates. Above the vermilion-lacquered main door hung an elegantly carved plaque, inscribed with the three flamboyant characters: “Qingyue Palace.”

Di Xiang stepped through the palace entrance, then glanced back to signal her little apprentice, who was curiously studying the gates, to follow. Feng Xiaoxiao hurriedly caught up, taking two or three steps at a time.

This was her first time here, and her purpose was to become an apprentice, specifically, to apprentice under Di Xiang, whom she considered her rival (or so Feng Xiaoxiao believed). The whole situation felt incredibly novel to her.

Inside the hall, the crowd grew thicker, with most players gathered around an elegant woman in a blue robe at the center. Di Xiang led Feng Xiaoxiao to the left side of the hall, where a young woman, no more than sixteen and dressed in the same blue robe, sat poised at a desk, a book never leaving her hand.

Noticing their approach, the woman handed over a registration form without looking up. “Here to become an apprentice? Fill in your name and wait for notification.”

“Becoming an apprentice requires an appointment?” Feng Xiaoxiao asked, puzzled, as she took the paper and signed her game ID.

“Yes. Players at level 35 or above can become apprentices directly. Those below level 35 must wait until the earlier master-apprentice pairs have completed their process.”

Di Xiang picked up an ink brush and swiftly signed her name right below Feng Xiaoxiao’s game ID.

A sense of foreboding crept over Feng Xiaoxiao. She looked at the woman, who had placed the completed form into a large stack of papers on the desk, and tentatively asked, “How many people are ahead of us in line?”

“892…”

Feng Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief, a smile returning to her face. “That’s not too bad…”

“…master-apprentice pairs.” the woman finished calmly.

Di Xiang & Feng Xiaoxiao: “…”

As they stepped out of the hall, Feng Xiaoxiao silently stared at Di Xiang, who slightly turned her head to avoid the weight of that silent gaze. “This is my first time here too…” Di Xiang murmured softly.

So, she hadn’t known there would be so many people either…

Determined to reestablish her authority as a master, Di Xiang spoke up again, “Come with me to run a dungeon and level up.”

Feng Xiaoxiao wasn’t about to turn down a free leveling opportunity. Happily, she teamed up with Di Xiang and teleported to the nearest game dungeon.

…

Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, Feng Xiaoxiao sat quietly in front of the tightly shut dungeon gate, lost in thought. At that moment, she felt as adrift as a heartbroken wanderer at the edge of the world.

Just moments before, she had watched Di Xiang smoothly enter the dungeon portal. But when it was her turn, a rebounding white light threw her back three meters.

[System Warning: The current dungeon difficulty is too high. Please level up before attempting this challenge!]

Her level was too low; the dungeon wouldn’t let her in, afraid she’d die right at the entrance.

Former top-ranked player of Sword Dream, Feng Xiaoxiao, thought, Interesting. You’re the first dungeon that’s dared to refuse me entry.

Brushing the dust off her clothes, Feng Xiaoxiao estimated that her not-yet-official, bargain-bin master wouldn’t be emerging anytime soon.

She decided to take out her entry token for Shengjing City and step into the nearby teleportation array. Forget about her, she thought. I’ll go do some quests first.

As she stepped into the teleportation array leading to Shengjing City, the intricate formation activated around her. Under the resplendent hues of twilight, mysterious runes began swirling around Feng Xiaoxiao.

In mere moments, the scenery before her eyes transformed from rugged mountain wilderness into a bustling metropolis teeming with activity.

Emerging from the array, Feng Xiaoxiao felt slightly dizzy. Despite having played for quite some time, she couldn’t help but marvel at the realism of “Tianxia”, the full-immersion game, even teleportation came with brief vertigo.

Aside from certain daily-life details, the game only blocked seventy percent of pain perception, leaving the remaining thirty percent completely tangible.

This significantly enhanced players’ immersion in the full-immersion gaming experience, while all other senses remained indistinguishable from reality.

It was midnight in Shengjing City, with stars blanketing the night sky. Carrying the faint, inexplicable fragrance of flowers drifting from beyond the city walls, Feng Xiaoxiao followed the stream of people entering the city.

After handing over her entry token, she officially stepped into the magnificent city that remained vibrant even in the depths of night.

[System Notification: You have unlocked permanent entry access to Shengjing City!]

While admiring the splendid sights along the streets, Feng Xiaoxiao browsed through available quests.

Cleaning rooms for taverns, delivering letters for academy teachers, driving away troublemakers from residences…

These were all low-difficulty errand quests, but they offered meager experience rewards.

Rough estimates suggested she would need to complete about a hundred such tasks to reach level 35, allowing her to skip the queue and directly become a disciple of Di Xiang.

Only when she had to seek out quests herself did Feng Xiaoxiao miss the mechanics of other games.

“Tianxia” a full-immersion game emphasizing freedom, was so liberated that it lacked a main storyline. Players who wanted to level up through quests had to find them themselves across the map.

Like now, Feng Xiaoxiao was darting around Shengjing City, trying to trigger a high-reward chance encounter quest, [Heaven-Sent Marriage].

[Heaven-Sent Marriage], as the name implied, involved playing matchmaker to unite NPCs in matrimony.

The quest featured three main characters: Tian Ci, Hua Yue, and Lin Lang.

Tian Ci was the only daughter of Shengjing City’s wealthiest family, spoiled since childhood with every whim indulged.

Hua Yue was an orphan working at a medical clinic. By chance, she rescued the injured and unconscious Tian Ci, and during their time together, feelings quietly blossomed between them.

If the story ended there, players wouldn’t need to step in and make their presence felt. The problem was that Tian Ci also had a childhood friend, Lin Lang.

Lin Lang came from an illustrious family, matching Tian Ci perfectly in status, appearance, and talent. Tian Ci’s family also preferred this well-suited, thoroughly known young lady.

Lin Lang herself had always been openly fond of Tian Ci, so openly that all of Shengjing City knew she would marry no one but Tian Ci.

Most importantly, Tian Ci, caught between two affections, remained indecisive. She couldn’t let go of Hua Yue, who had sparked her first love, nor could she bear to hurt her childhood friend.

Thus, a love triangle unfolded.

Players could accept the quest from any of the three characters, with different objectives depending on whom they chose.

Just like now, after finally darting into the medical clinic following a guide, completing a series of trivial tasks for Hua Yue, sweeping the clinic, delivering medicine, and building enough rapport and familiarity…

The plainly dressed, slender woman finally handed Feng Xiaoxiao a letter.

[Hua Yue]: Could I trouble you, young warrior, to deliver this letter to a friend of mine?

[System Prompt: Accept the [Flower Moon] quest, deliver the letter to [Tian Ci]?]

Feng Xiaoxiao chose to accept.

The moment she stepped out of the clinic, she brushed past a woman wearing a bamboo hat.

She couldn’t help but take a second glance, feeling that this person looked somewhat familiar, her figure reminiscent of the former top-ranked player on the String Song leaderboard, Wu Shixian.

But surely this person couldn’t be that stubborn, after selling her account, she actually returned with a new character appearance?

She had noticed that this was a new account, with a level almost the same as hers.

On the other hand, Wu Shixian, who was running errands all over the place just like Feng Xiaoxiao, really was that stubborn. After meeting in person, she had discovered that her beloved in-game partner was actually involved in online scams!

Her in-game partner was a long-haired beauty who perfectly matched her aesthetic, but when they met in real life, she found that her partner had transformed into a 185cm tall, short-haired handsome butch!

Even with elevated shoes, she still had to tilt her head up just to barely catch a glimpse of the woman’s teasing, peach-blossom eyes.

Although her partner was good-looking in real life too, it wasn’t the kind of good-looking she liked, not at all!

What was the difference between this and buying a Yumi Chang, only to bite into it and find it was a hotdog disguised as a Yumi Chang?

Wu Shixian absolutely did not want a hotdog disguised as a corn sausage, she wanted the real Corn Sausage!

In a fit of impulsive rage, she sold her account, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. So, she created a new account with a different ID, vowing to disguise herself as a Yumi Chang and make her ex-partner, who had deceived her feelings, taste the same pain she had experienced.

But the former top-ranked player on the String Song leaderboard, Wu Shixian, now disguised as a String Song newbie named Yumi Chang, had not considered that even Feng Xiaoxiao, who had only seen her a few times, would find her familiar. How could her ex-partner, who had spent day and night with her, fail to recognize her?

Most likely, Yumi Chang would be exposed the moment they met.

But that was a problem for after she encountered her ex-partner. For now, she was busy with leveling quests.

Coincidentally, her quest was the same as Feng Xiaoxiao’s, [Heaven-Sent Marriage], except she had accepted the quest from Miss Lin Lang, running errands for the young lady’s servant to buy various miscellaneous items.

Miss Lin Lang intended to propose to Tian Ci on her eighteenth birthday.

Feng Xiaoxiao’s private chat suddenly chimed.

Her unreliable master, having just finished a dungeon run, finally noticed that someone was missing, or rather, that someone hadn’t even been able to enter the dungeon.

[Private Chat Channel]
[Celestial Feathers Top Rank] Di Xiang: Where are you?

[System Prompt: [Di Xiang] has sent you a party invitation. Accept?]

Feng Xiaoxiao, who was on her way, glanced at the display box at the edge of her screen and decided to leave Di Xiang hanging for a while to express her dissatisfaction at being left outside the dungeon on her very first day as an apprentice.

Waiting until the very last second before the party invitation expired, Feng Xiaoxiao leisurely selected “Accept.”

[System Prompt: You have formed a party with [Di Xiang]. Current party size: 2/6.]

[Party Channel]
[Celestial Feathers Top Rank] Di Xiang: Are you angry?
[Celestial Feathers Top Rank] Di Xiang: I wasn’t considerate enough. I forgot your level was too low to enter the dungeon.
[Celestial Feathers Top Rank] Di Xiang: It won’t happen again.

Feng Xiaoxiao, having lost her top-ranked Sword Dream account, found the prefix before Di Xiang’s ID increasingly irritating.

[Party Channel]
[Flower Guardian] Xiaoxiao Yue: You think there’ll be a next time?
[Flower Guardian] Xiaoxiao Yue: side-eye emoji

She picked the fiercest emoji from her starter pack and sent it, trying to make her stance clear.

[Flower Guardian] Xiaoxiao Yue: Damn that annoying big shot.jpg

In the “Return to Origins” guild, Danhuang Liuxinbao watched as Di Xiang returned alone with a puzzled expression. Then, she noticed Di Xiang zoning out, seemingly chatting with someone.

Noticing something, the usual coldness on Di Xiang’s face seemed to soften slightly. Danhuang Liuxinbao, Di Xiang’s dedicated fan and expert at capturing moments, swiftly took a screenshot and saved it, marveling in amazement.

How rare. She decided to archive it in the guild’s image library as a keepsake.

Choosing to follow in a party, Di Xiang vanished from the “Return to Origins” guild and reappeared in Shengjing City.

The top-ranked Celestial Feather player, clad in white robes with a long sword at his waist, moved as lightly as a feather, leaping gracefully over towering buildings before landing silently behind Feng Xiaoxiao.

“Shh…”

Feng Xiaoxiao didn’t turn around, but the party status allowed her to see her teammate’s location. Ignoring Di Xiang standing behind her, she remained focused, intently watching the two people having a secret rendezvous in the distance.