Meteor Fall Master in the 'Starry Abyss'
Chapter 259: ```080. The pig farming industry is thriving```

Chapter 259: ```080. The pig farming industry is thriving```

A magnetic, gentle male voice suddenly sounded behind him, followed by a large hand resting on his shoulder. Caramel Snail was startled, and before he could turn his head, a familiar profile appeared in the corner of his left eye.

The light distorted by gravity gradually returned to its normal path. The handsome man, beyond the comprehension of humans, placed one hand on his shoulder and greeted him warmly:

"Not bad, you are the best among the people I’ve seen in this batch."

His tone and appearance had excellent affinity, and the system panel popped up with green characters, reminding him [This unit is a friendly ally, cannot be attacked.]

Caramel Snail instantly realized and excitedly looked at the other party:

"You, you are Li—"

"Shh."

Li Aozi raised his index finger to his lips. At such a close distance, the effects of the [Aura of Goodwill] and [Charm] attributes were fully released, calming Caramel Snail down immediately.

"Street Kid, since you know my identity, I need your help with something."

Oh? Could this be... the rhythm of a hidden quest?

Caramel Snail nodded excitedly, looking at Li Aozi with anticipation.

This was the [Sovereign] class’s professional instructor, still the most popular character on Azure Star in "Starry Abyss", a man so famous he was known even beyond the game. He quickly opened screenshot mode and took several close-up photos.

When someone is this good-looking, it’s something else entirely. Li Aozi’s appearance and demeanor were the kind that wouldn’t make anyone feel jealous, appealing to both men and women, young and old. Caramel Snail was ready to open the forum and make a post with Li Aozi’s photos, distracting everyone from the fact that he was challenged to a duel by a professional brother.

Previously, Li Aozi had always been active in Frost Plated. Not only did the expansion say so, but Li Aozi’s personal data also mentioned he was a Frost Plated person. Who would have thought that such a big celebrity would come to Sky Ring!

There must have been some hidden reason behind this. It might even involve some important side quests, or even the main quest.

Caramel Snail couldn’t wait. Such a high-level NPC like Li Aozi must have many incredible tasks to give him.

"Just leave it to me! I’ll do anything!"

Li Aozi looked at this future famous ’duel king’ with interest. [Twilight Sword Saint] was a well-rounded pathway in the [Destroyer] class.

In fact, he had specifically come to Nuliang City to recruit people.

The Nine Dragons Gathering was an annual feast in Sky Ring Country. It was a religious festival, an arms exhibition, and a display of national spirit. The most important thing was that it was also an opportunity for martial arts masters of Sky Ring Country to exchange skills and insights.

Since the players were here, Li Aozi’s goal was not just the two weapons he fancied. If he could nurture a couple of good seedlings in the [Destroyer] class, it would greatly benefit him when he ventured into Starry Abyss later.

The low entry threshold of the [Destroyer] class placed it all over the universe, resulting in a large number of practitioners. If one wanted to be sensitive to information and markets, seekers with the identity of a [Martial Artist] could act as open spies—people would even be happy for you to join this pathway.

The occupational characteristics in "Starry Abyss" were very distinct. Being particularly strong in one aspect meant being insufficient in others. Just like how the [Meteor Fall Master] had a fatal flaw in population, [Twilight Sword Saint] was popular but had few masters and was not suitable for raids, battles, or competitions.

There was no perfect pathway. If you wanted to gain something, you had to be prepared to lose something.

In the world, knowing a bit of everything often meant knowing nothing well.

To Li Aozi, [Twilight Sword Saint] was a restriction on Caramel Snail’s talent. Both were streamers and former colleagues at the same platform in the previous life. They had privately PK’d a few times. In one-on-one duels, Caramel Snail’s skills and awareness were quite ruthless, not inferior to professional players. Like Li Aozi, he was an ace bro in this field, and no one could beat them.

But the problem was also clear. After several matches, Li Aozi found that the [Twilight Sword Saint] class had extremely low tolerance for errors. It was fragile and, crucially, had short reach, putting it at a disadvantage in the cosmic battlefield.

Caramel Snail reacted incredibly fast, born to fight, with clean and efficient combat skills that had a natural beauty and stunning simplicity. Every move was lethal, with countless variations.

Before the 14.0 version, they fought five times. Li Aozi lost the first two, then drew two, and finally won the last one, when Caramel Snail was defeated.

However, in the large battlefield, Caramel Snail’s performance was far inferior to Li Aozi, the [Meteor Fall Master]. Li Aozi only needed to summon his companion star system, forcing Caramel Snail to be repelled by gravity to the edge, watching Li Aozi solo the entire Thermal Epidemic Legion, barely getting any spoils.

[Tsk tsk tsk, once my colleague and rival, now looking at me with this expectant expression, eager for my orders... this feels awesome.]

Li Aozi still saw his former equal opponent now showing a starstruck look, feeling secretly pleased.

[Ah, Jiaozi bro, we were colleagues in our past lives. Your talent was too good for me to catch up, but now the tables have turned—you’re perfect for being a fat pig. I must train you well and make you live up to the title of ’duel king.’]

Compared to the first batch of big guilds and professional players from Fiery Summer, Caramel Snail was the most talented player in the bag, and most importantly, Li Aozi knew him well.

Among so many streamers, Caramel Snail was the only one who publicly disclosed his income and donated much of it to those in need, such as terminal patients and lonely elderly people. He was a simple, kind-hearted person, but once attacked, he exposed his true killer nature.

Li Aozi didn’t think this was a bad thing. In the cosmos, if you needed to defend yourself, it was better to overdo it and kill the enemy.

Because the cosmic civilization was so distant, people only cared about the results, not the process. The more obscure the information, the less anyone cared about its accuracy.

Caramel Snail was very suitable for careful nurturing. He was one of the players Li Aozi decided to take into the cosmos.

However, compared to the [Twilight Sword Saint], Li Aozi planned to chart a more suitable and powerful path for him.

He quickly crafted a task and issued it to Caramel Snail, who eagerly read it:

——————————

[Career Task Triggered—"Pathway: Might of Destruction"]

[Type]: Legacy

[Time Limit]: None

[Mission Difficulty]: D

[Introduction]:

"Welcome to Starry Abyss. Here, every mortal can change their fate and achieve self-transcendence by stepping onto different pathways."

You are fortunate. Starting from insignificance, you can meet a noble guest in your life. However, you are not qualified to tread the same path as the other party yet.

Since that is the case, then start practicing martial arts.

Martial way, the only pathway with no threshold.

Clumsy can train stance, weak can train steps, fat can train energy and blood, poor can train fists and feet, sickly can nurture energy.

But because of its extremely low threshold, competition is far more fierce than in other pathways. Before embarking on this path, have you prepared to prove your courage with violence and blood?

[Settlement Conditions]:

A."Physical Potential"——Li Aozi instantly felt a connection with you. He is willing to finance you to step into the path of the [Martial Artist]. But as a condition, you must use this sponsorship to enter the martial arts hall to learn and become a [Martial Artist].

Reward: 10,000 Derby, 4000 points of experience;

B."Together at the Banquet"——Li Aozi seems to have infiltrated Sky Ring for a banquet, and he needs a follower to assist and solve problems. During this period, you need to fulfill various requests from Li Aozi.

Reward: ’Li Aozi’ Favorability +50

Upon reaching this favorability, you can learn certain skills from Li Aozi and purchase various items and potions.

——————————————

"Wow! Accept! Accept, I accept!"

Caramel Snail was moved to tears.

His luck was so good. If he shared this experience on the forum, wouldn’t it get crazy clicks?

He had already planned the post: At the time, he thought it was interesting, so he recorded it, took a casual shot, and posted it on the forum, not expecting it to blow up.

Then, leveraging the hype, he would do a livestream, easily becoming a streamer, selling products like compressed towels—small and convenient to carry, expanding when submerged in water, and untearable—selling like hotcakes, achieving financial freedom effortlessly.

Just as Caramel Snail was excitedly agreeing, he suddenly saw a fleeting, intriguing smile on Li Aozi’s face.

’What a strange expression—’

Caramel Snail was slightly perplexed, but quickly forgot about it and accepted the task with excitement.

[You have accepted the task—"Pathway: Might of Destruction"]

However, the next moment, Caramel Snail’s expression changed, realizing something.

’Wait, there’s no time limit. How long will I follow Li Aozi?’

"I didn’t expect you to be so enthusiastic. I was being stingy—hand me your terminal."

Li Aozi chuckled and took out his terminal, exchanging contact information with Caramel Snail.

"So your name is Saga Qi—my number is saved in there. You can contact me anytime."

Li Aozi seemed to ask casually:

"Qi Sang, you look like you haven’t eaten, and you’re dressed in rags. Did you just have a fight?"

He emphasized ’Qi Sang’, as players would feel uncomfortable being directly addressed by their descended character’s name.

"Uh, it’s okay." Caramel Snail got goosebumps hearing the name, quickly responding, "Please don’t call me that—my nickname is Caramel Snail. Just call me Jiaozi."

Li Aozi nodded: "Alright, Ox."

"It’s Jiaozi! At worst, call me Sugar or Snail! Why Ox?!" Caramel Snail protested.

"Ah, because I’m a Red Arrow—Frost Plated person, so I don’t quite catch the Sky Ring-accented lingua franca." Li Aozi responded indifferently.

Seeing his protest was ineffective, Caramel Snail reluctantly asked: "You say you need my help—how long do you need me?"

"Not long. Whenever I die, you can leave me then."

"What! Are you treating me as a lifetime servant? I’m sorry, but that’s impossible—"

[Wallet credited: 10,000 Derby (current exchange rate, equivalent to 1,450,000)]

Caramel Snail stood tall and righteously declared:

"—impossible to refuse your invitation!"