36 Birthday Surprise (2)

A heavy silence settled over Shen Long and Chen Mei as they both attempted to avoid eye contact at all cost. The atmosphere was grave, and neither of them had the courage to speak up. Shen Long couldn't stand the awkwardness anymore, and thus he decided to speak up.

Trying to sound as natural and casual as possible, the conversation revolved only around their upcoming plans. They both tried their hardest to conquer the awkwardness as there wasn't that much time left. Their shyness prevented them to work efficiently, and Shen Long couldn't afford to waste too much time to help her.

Shen Long could not afford to lose his upcoming duel. Even though his cultivation level was well below Zuo Qifeng's, it would be too embarrassing for Shen Long to be completely destroyed. His determination to resolve the corruption was immense as he couldn't stand watching the Justice Department bullying others, especially his friend - Luo Qingben.

Socializing, specifically with girls, had always been Shen Long's biggest weakness. Shen Long could get along just fine with his male friends, but it was a completely different story for females. His personality would change whenever he was near a girl, perhaps due to his lack of experience. This, however, was an endless cycle. Shen Long rarely talked to any girls because he was too afraid, but the only way to lessen his anxiety was to speak to girls.

Despite Shen Long had forcefully started the conversation just now, the conversation was still very fragmented and awkward. Wasn't sure what to do, nor what to discuss, the conversation died out quickly. The silence had stricken again as sweat started flowing uncontrollably out of Shen Long's face.

Chen Mei, on the other hand, wasn't feeling much better either. Just by sitting near Shen Long, her face was already flustered red. Her elegance and her cold attitude earlier had completely vanished by now. Being with a male made her feel extremely uncomfortable. She inwardly cursed at Li Qingyu for putting her in a situation like this.

Shen Long suddenly thought of a guide by WikiHow- How to approach your crush? - he read back on Earth. Shen Long still remembered some pieces of advice, mentioned in the article. He never had an opportunity to use them in real life as he was too afraid to even speak to them. But now, he had no choice but to use them. However, Shen Long doubted the effectiveness of the advice for various reasons. Not just that it was impractical, the ice-breaker he read also sounded idiotic and childish. He, however, still chose to give it a try as he couldn't think of anything else.

"Hey. Let me ask you a question. What do you call a really funny mountain?" Shen Long asked as he covered his face slightly. Seeing her shaking her head, Shen Long decided to reveal the answer.

"A hill-arious!" Shen Long instantly regretted telling such an idiotic joke as he saw the girl's expressionless face. After thinking through what he just said, he realised how dumb that was. Shen Long wanted to punch himself in the face, as he had no idea how his brain let him utter such braindead words. Just as Shen Long was about to go insane, he heard a slight chuckle.

"No way it actually worked... Thank you Wikihow! You are my Lord and Saviour! I should have trusted you, my brain. I knew you would help me out in this kind of situation! But still, there's no way that she actually laughed from that joke. Even I won't laugh at that joke..." Shen Long thought to himself as he was amazed by her laugh.

Shen Long's joke was so horrible that it actually made her laugh. Shen Long's question itself was already random, while the answer was even more unexpected. Chen Mei couldn't help but laugh a little after hearing such random words. "Senior Brother Long, that was a really lame joke. It still made me chuckle though."

The icebreaker by Shen Long was actually quite effective. The atmosphere became more casual as there were more interactions, compared to before. Although they still weren't familiar with each other, they, at least, now dared to speak to each other. They discussed the details of the event as Chen Mei explained the Apothecary Department's plan.

Shen Long patiently listened as she spoke in her gentle and soft voice, like a dew flowing into the ocean. Shen Long was amazed by how grand the event was as it was his first time attending. According to Chen Mei, these celebratory events were hosted once every decade. After all, the lifespan of an Immortal was too long, and celebrating every year like this would become too laborious and boring.

The celebration event was mandatory for every disciple in the palace. One could imagine the scale of the event. Besides the disciples, Daoist Fireblade's friends would also attend this gathering, so the event must be held properly. However, that wasn't their job to manage that. Qingyu would never allow these inexperienced newbies to do such a huge task. Shen Long and Chen Mei were merely responsible for the surprise element of the event.

"Master's first personal disciple, Immortal Nethphyus, had prepared a gift for Master. She discovered a secret manual while adventuring and it, according to the Matriarch, is something to do with summoning. It requires a formation to be established before the summon, and it's our job to prepare for that." Chen Mei explained as she handed over a formation blueprint with detailed explanations.

Shen Long read through the blueprint quickly as he was amazed at the complexity of the formation. To set it up, with the formation of flags and material, was a simple task, but he couldn't understand the concept behind it at all. However, he was even more confused after hearing her explanation.

"How is this a "surprising" event? We are just setting up a formation for Senior Sister Nethphyus to summon the whatever creature. Why do we even need to set up a formation here?" Shen Long asked as he couldn't understand the intention behind it.

"Immortal Nethphyus wanted the summoning event to be seen by everybody. The Matriarch would teleport the entire formation into the banquet hall tomorrow. This room is the closest to the hall, so the energy required to teleport would be minimized this way." Chen Mei explained as she looked into Shen Long's eyes for the first time. Both of them looked away immediately as their face flushed red.

The conversation ended quickly as they began to set up the formation. It was quite a simple task as Shen Long was just following the instructions of the blueprint. Shen Long, however, was extremely concentrated to prevent any errors. It had been a long time since Shen Long took an actual break from cultivation. Hence, it was quite a relaxing activity for Shen Long.

They finished constructing the entire formation in just under four hours. The prowess of the formation was extraordinary. You could see the World Essence, as well as the spiritual energy, rushing into the formation as it was like a black void. The concentration of spiritual energy in the surrounding started rising swiftly.

Just by breathing in the air, Shen Long felt more refreshed as his body was also continuously drawing in the World Essence. However, his body started glowing, emitting bright rays of light, as his body temperature began to rise as well. The "refreshing" feeling was now replaced with a burning sensation as Shen Long's vision started to blur.

As Chen Mei stood next to Shen Long, she could feel the intense heat, given off by Shen Long. She became slightly worried as Shen Long seemed like he was about to pass out.

"Senior Brother Long, are you fine? Your body is glowing... and your body temperature is rising crazily!"

"Yea... I'm fine." Shen Long mumbled as he tried to express himself. A giant thump could be heard as Shen Long now lied on the ground unconscious.