Chapter 8: A World Opened with the Wrong Style, Soft Rice Card Online

“Little Junior Brother, are you scared?” 

Ying Qingge asked softly.

She had already decided that if her little junior brother showed any hesitation, she would find a way to stop this competition.

After all, no matter who won, he was hers.

“As a transmigrator, how could I possibly be scared?”

Su Chen brimmed with confidence, standing tall.

“With the vast wealth of Chinese poetry, I have no issue with literary talent. I can easily crush them.”

“As for martial prowess, I’ll find a way. Winning or losing is a fifty-fifty shot.”

Ying Qingge adored his confident demeanor, unable to resist pinching his cheek, nodding indulgently.

It seemed her little junior brother had misunderstood.

And it was quite a significant misunderstanding.

She slowly explained,

“Little Junior Brother, you might have gotten something wrong.”

“Huh? Like what?”

Meeting Su Chen’s puzzled gaze, Ying Qingge lowered her eyes and said softly,

“This isn’t a historical or martial arts world… it’s a full-on fantasy world!”

“In other words—”

Hearing this, Su Chen instantly realized where his misconception lay.

At that same moment.

Ying Qingge decided to show him directly.

She stepped forward with her delicate jade-like feet, rising into the air as if dancing like an immortal.

Floating effortlessly, with a thought, flowers bloomed, and lotuses sprouted with each step.

Like the methods of an immortal!

Su Chen stood stunned for a while, only then realizing how naive his earlier thoughts had been.

So this was a fantasy world!

Looking at the shocked Su Chen, Ying Qingge continued,

“Little Junior Brother, do you understand now?”

“Those people never cared about winning or losing. They’re certain you’ll lose—or even die.”

“No matter how brilliant your literary talent is, if you’re careless in a martial contest… if they eliminate you, what’s the point of winning?”

When it came to her junior brother’s safety, she held nothing back, speaking bluntly of the dangers.

Su Chen was dumbfounded!

“Aren’t martial contests supposed to stop at the first touch?”

“So I was too naive!”

Ying Qingge couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to tweak his nose.

“Silly Little Junior Brother.”

“You still haven’t adjusted. This isn’t our old world.”

Ying Qingge pinpointed Su Chen’s issue: the rules that applied in their previous life no longer worked in this world.

Though with her protection, her little junior brother was absolutely safe.

As the grand Empress, what’s wrong with cheating a little?

Did those ministers really think she’d give them a fair chance?

Oh, it was fair enough!

After all, her little junior brother only had her standing behind him.

Besides.

She wanted her junior brother to witness the cruelty of human nature, making it easier for him to seek comfort in her arms.

Unfortunately…

After hearing her explanation, Su Chen’s expression showed only initial shock, with no significant change. 

He was already adapting mentally.

This wasn’t the law-abiding society of before; this was a world where strength ruled.

Human lives were insignificant.

Accidents were to be expected.

With a soft exhale, Su Chen opened his eyes, the confusion in them quietly gone.

Seeing her junior brother show no further reaction, Ying Qingge took the initiative to pull him into her embrace, burying him in her comforting, weighty safety zone to give him a sense of “security.”

“Don’t worry, with Senior Sister here, no one will be allowed to harm you.”

“In this world, nothing compares to you.”

“Not the throne, not the realm—nothing!”

Her expression was resolute, willing to defy the world for him, even abandoning her throne.

Her reckless devotion perfectly portrayed an infatuated Empress.

If only…

“Senior Sister, if your hands could behave a bit more, I might actually believe you.”

Su Chen struggled to break free from her embrace to catch a breath, the faint fragrance helping him regain his composure.

As a firm believer in male pride, Su Chen could never let his senior sister sacrifice everything for him.

Wouldn’t that be worse than living off soft rice?

Besides!

A man’s word, once spoken, is like water spilled—irretrievable.

He had to follow through on what he promised!

He needed to become stronger!

Strong enough to protect those he cared about.

Su Chen’s will was unyielding; once he set his mind to something, he would do everything to achieve it.

But he wasn’t foolish. 

Reckless action was mere impulsiveness.

Su Chen knew he was nearly invincible in literary talent, but his martial prowess was sorely lacking compared to others—even his transmigrated senior sister.

Far too weak!

To grow stronger quickly, the only method Su Chen could think of was…

***

“Yo yo, yo yo yo!”

“Dear Host, you’ve finally remembered me?”

Hearing the system’s cheerful rap and its utterly unreliable tone, Su Chen briefly considered giving up.

This system didn’t seem trustworthy at all!

But.

At that moment.

“Detected: Empress Senior Sister’s affection level has exceeded the critical threshold, meeting the conditions for task card activation!”

A serious prompt sounded in Su Chen’s mind.

“Congratulations, Host. The system has activated a new feature—due to Empress Senior Sister’s affection level exceeding 90, the Soft Rice Card: Empress Senior Sister has been unlocked!”

Immediately, an exaggerated trumpet fanfare blared in Su Chen’s mind.

Before he could process the situation, the system’s inquiry came again.

“Would you like to bind the card?”

“Binding the card grants rewards.”

“The more you bind, the greater the rewards!”

This sounded even less reliable!

But at this point, did he have a choice?

To protect the “only” familiar person in this world, Su Chen didn’t hesitate.

“Bind it!”

As soon as he spoke, a blank card appeared before his eyes. 

He could clearly see faint wisps of energy flowing from Ying Qingge, landing on the card, forming her stunning visage.

Two red threads extended from the card, wrapping around their pinky fingers before vanishing.

Yet Su Chen could distinctly feel a subtle connection with Ying Qingge.

At the same time, he noticed a long row of empty card slots behind the Empress Senior Sister card.

“So eating soft rice means branching out in all directions?”

Only then did he understand what the system meant by “more bindings, more rewards.”

What Su Chen didn’t know was that the system had concealed an additional feature of the binding.

Once bound, Ying Qingge, as the bound party, would also benefit, with the primary way to grow stronger being… closeness.

A win-win situation.

Well, at least for Ying Qingge, it certainly was.

At that moment.

“Host, you can try using the card.”

The system entered its beginner guidance mode, coaxing gently.

Su Chen remained composed, his consciousness stirring.

The card with Ying Qingge’s image slid out from the slot, flipping to reveal its back.

The back bore a few words:

[Empress Card Exclusive Rewards: Extraordinary Physique · Imperial Extreme Body; Meridian Dragon Transformation Technique; Secret Art · Ultimate Tempering]