Chapter 195
Stepping through the door, Jian Yunlan arrived in Mengze Province.
The entire province was shrouded in auroras and mist, its scenery hazy and indistinct. Even the sky seemed to shift unpredictably—one moment bright and sunny, the next sinking into twilight—as if reality itself were flickering between dream and wakefulness.
Unsurprisingly, when Jian Yunlan tried to use the [Thousand-Mile Shrinking Talisman] again, he encountered the “Province Guardians.”
He couldn’t help but wonder—what kind of guardians would this surreal land have? Surely they must be transcendent, enigmatic immortals…
Soon enough, the guardians of Mengze Province appeared before him.
—Two burly men.
Yes, two burly men.
They wore minimal clothing—just thin animal-hide loincloths barely covering their essentials. Their thick, muscular thighs, arms thicker than most people’s thighs, bulging pectorals, and chiseled abs… The two struck bodybuilding poses in front of Jian Yunlan, proudly flexing their muscles.
The dreamlike light of Mengze Province cast a golden sheen over their rippling physiques. One of them let out a powerful grunt:
“Van!”
The other wiped sweat off his brow with heroic vigor. “We brothers are the guardians of Mengze Province! If you wish to leave, you must first defeat us!”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
Jian Yunlan: “?”
His lip twitched uncontrollably. “…Defeat you in what? A test of strength?”
If it were strength, Jian Yunlan wasn’t worried—his innate superhuman power had only grown stronger over time.
But the two musclemen shook their heads.
The first bodybuilder grinned, flashing a row of gleaming white teeth as he flexed his biceps again.
“What’s the fun in strength?! We… compete in MUSCLE!!”
The second nodded solemnly. “Whoever has the bigger muscles wins! Only by surpassing us can you leave Mengze Province!”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
He looked down at his own arms.
Being a chef was physically demanding—chopping, prepping, wielding heavy woks—so Jian Yunlan wasn’t scrawny. He had lean, functional muscle.
But compared to these two inhumanly jacked bodybuilders? There was no contest.
The two men seemed to sense his despair and laughed heartily.
“Hahaha, if you can’t match us, you’ll have to stay in Mengze Province and train! Only when your muscles reach our level can you leave~”
Jian Yunlan finally snapped. “Hold on—”
First of all, he didn’t want muscles that huge—it’d scare away customers. Second, he was in a time crunch! Even with protein shakes, building that kind of mass would take months!
Taotie’s execution was in half an hour!
Just as panic was setting in, an idea struck him. Wait—if he could summon Ning Sheng for the last guardian, maybe he could summon someone for this too.
But who?
A name surfaced in his mind.
At the same moment, a golden comment flashed across his vision:
[Yu Ming]: Boss Jian, my brother and I are ready.
“…”
In a flash of white light, two figures appeared before Jian Yunlan.
Both were dressed like students.
One was tall and powerfully built, wearing a military academy jacket and holding a basketball, as if he’d just come from a game. His sharp, wolf-like eyes lit up when they landed on Jian Yunlan.
“Boss Jian! Aaaaah, it’s really you!!”
The other seemed much calmer, with gentle, beautiful phoenix-like eyes. He was also in a school uniform but wore an apron over it, emblazoned with the words “Changfeng Milk Tea Shop.” In his hand was a freshly made cup of milk tea, which he was shaking.
He, too, looked at Jian Yunlan and handed him the freshly shaken milk tea, saying softly, “Boss Jian, try our shop’s new milk tea.”
Jian Yunlan hadn’t expected to get milk tea in this remote corner of the world. He greeted Yu Ming first, then took the milk tea from Fu Changfeng and took a sip. “…So good!”
Rich in creaminess yet carrying the refreshing aroma of oolong tea—it was an incredibly smooth and delightful cup of milk tea. There was no denying it: Fu Changfeng had a natural talent for making milk tea.
Before Fu Changfeng could even respond, Yu Ming proudly chimed in, “My brother makes the best milk tea, right, Boss Jian?”
“…”
While the three of them were chatting, the two bodybuilders nearby grew impatient.
“Kid, you called in reinforcements?” The musclemen looked Yu Ming and Fu Changfeng up and down, their eyes full of disdain. “And you think you can compete with us? A high schooler and a milk tea mixer? What a couple of weaklings!”
Hearing this, Yu Ming and Fu Changfeng exchanged a glance.
Yu Ming suddenly sighed.
“I didn’t want to show off like this…” he muttered under his breath. “I trained to become someone as strong as Boss Jian, not to compete with others.”
Fu Changfeng said calmly, “Boss Jian is in a hurry to see Lord Taotie. There’s no time to hesitate—let’s help him!”
Yu Ming nodded in agreement.
With that, Fu Changfeng took off his apron and unbuttoned his school uniform, revealing—
The powerful, well-defined muscles of an Alpha protagonist.
His chest was broad and solid, his muscles taut and sculpted like a leopard’s—every inch exuding the domineering strength unique to a main lead!
The two bodybuilders froze in disbelief. “Y-You… what kind of person are you?! How could you—”
They were the guardians of Mengze Province, having trained their muscles for tens of thousands of years.
Yet Fu Changfeng’s physique was on par with theirs!
If Fu Changfeng’s muscles left them stunned, then Yu Ming—who had now unbuttoned his military school jacket—nearly made them faint on the spot.
Yu Ming’s muscles were so perfectly sculpted they defied mortal imagination. Every contour was sharply defined, bulging like a masterpiece of ancient Greek sculpture! His pectorals were so full they could crack walnuts, his arms as thick as pillars. Just a slight stretch of his neck made his muscles pop audibly!
All these days, to become someone as strong as Boss Jian—and to fulfill his own dreams—Yu Ming had never slacked off.
Coupled with his innate talent as an awakened Alpha…
This was the result of his relentless training.
The two bodybuilders’ eyes widened, their breathing grew ragged, and they nearly rolled their eyes back in shock.
“N-No… this can’t be real! Impossible! A mere eighteen-year-old mortal brat, how could—”
Overwhelmed by disbelief, blood trickled from their mouths, and foam gathered at their lips.
Yu Ming and Fu Changfeng immediately signaled to Jian Yunlan.
—”Go now!”
Jian Yunlan didn’t hesitate. Seizing the moment, he activated the [Thousand-Mile Shrinking Talisman] and opened the gate to the next province!
The Yingchui Province was now within reach.
But before stepping through, Jian Yunlan found himself glancing back at Yu Ming and Fu Changfeng.
Yu Ming was wearing his military school uniform, and Fu Changfeng had started his own milk tea shop. Both stood bathed in sunlight, exuding the youthful vigor unique to their age.
Had they both reached the places they wanted to be?
How wonderful.
“Boss Jian, give us a discount next time we meet!” Fu Changfeng smiled.
Yu Ming also waved at him, grinning so wide his little canine teeth showed, nodding repeatedly.
Jian Yunlan couldn’t help but laugh. “A discount? It’s on the house!”
With that, he stepped through the gate without another word.
Behind him, aside from the enraged roars of the two bodybuilders, Yu Ming and Fu Changfeng’s voices also carried over, blending into the wind.
But Jian Yunlan still heard them clearly.
They said:
“Boss Jian, go see the person you want to meet!”
“…”
As he crossed the threshold, the scenery around him shifted.
Looking at the view outside the gate, Jian Yunlan couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise…
Not because of the landscape of Yingchui Province. After all he’d seen on this journey, no scenery could shock him anymore. Though Yingchui Province was fantastical, it wasn’t too outlandish:
The entire continent was shaped like a massive crescent moon, its land soft and warm. Pale golden clouds cast a gentle glow, and the young of various divine beasts roamed freely. Towering trees moved across the land, each acting as a caretaker for many young creatures—serving as nannies in this kindergarten-like realm.
This was the cradle of the entire Mountain and Sea realm—Yingchui Province.
What surprised Jian Yunlan was the person waiting for him outside the gate.
The man had almond-shaped eyes, fair skin, and an air of scholarly refinement. But this time, the loneliness that had once clung to him was completely gone, replaced by serenity and contentment.
—Ye Qingquan was dressed in soft beige loungewear, holding a rattle-drum in one hand and leading a little boy with the other. When he saw Jian Yunlan, his eyes crinkled into a smile as he said to the child:
“Lele, say hello to big brother.”
The little boy blinked his large eyes and looked curiously at Jian Yunlan. “Big brother!”
For some reason, Jian Yunlan’s heart instantly melted. He crouched down and patted the boy’s head, handing him a marinated egg. “Hey, good boy, Lele!”
Watching Jian Yunlan and Lele together, Ye Qingquan’s gaze softened completely, as if he were floating on a cloud, overwhelmed with happiness.
This was the first time Jian Yunlan had seen him from this perspective—not looking up as a three-year-old toddler, but eye-to-eye as an adult.
But… how had Ye Qingquan gotten here? Jian Yunlan was puzzled.
Ning Sheng, Yu Ming, and Fu Changfeng had all been summoned using the talisman, but he hadn’t summoned Ye Qingquan.
“Lanlan, Lele’s been asking about you nonstop,” Ye Qingquan explained, as if reading his thoughts. “We’ve both been watching your livestream. When we saw you needed help, we came—and I wanted to see you too.”
Ning Sheng, Yu Ming, and Fu Changfeng were customers—they needed to be summoned.
But Ye Qingquan was different.
Though it had only been for a few short days, they had truly been family.
So when Jian Yunlan needed help, Ye Qingquan had simply appeared.
Ye Qingquan glanced at his watch. “No time to catch up now. Let’s get you to the next province first—we can talk more later.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the space around them twisted slightly.
The guardian of Yingchui Province appeared before them.
—A tree.
A tree holding dozens of babies in its branches, sobbing uncontrollably.
