Chapter 26: You have obtained the Narcissus Secret Tome! You have acquired the Water Spirit Root!

Tomoyo’s soft voice sounded: "What a pity. Once Sakura turns invisible, I won't be able to film her anymore..."

Ye Hui looked at the dazzlingly radiant Tomoyo. "Hmm, that’s not necessarily true."

"Eh? Really? Can you film her now?"

[Daidouji Tomoyo emotion value +26]

When it comes to Sakura, the emotion values are always this high!

Ye Hui quickly explained, "Not right now, of course... But once I manage to craft a magical camera, perhaps it will be possible. For now, once we sneak in and finish the scouting, we can film Sakura when the battle starts..."

Tomoyo still looked regretful. "I see. I was hoping to film Sakura sneaking in."

Sakura: "...... There's really no need to film such sneaky behavior, is there?"

It’s a good thing she was invisible!

Once they entered the aquarium, Ye Hui began to coordinate. "Tomoyo, you go investigate the location of the cold storage. Sakura and I will split up..."

Ye Hui chose a direction and observed intently. Both Sakura and Kero could sense supernatural power. In fact, their innate talent for sensing magic was even more precise than his. His own talent was just too unreliable.

A short while later, "Huh? Still nothing. Has my luck dropped again?" Ye Hui muttered to himself. In this so-called "secret realm," he hadn't found a trace of the Watery card's aura. This made him wonder if his luck value was so low that he couldn't even trigger events. Back when he watched the animation, as long as Sakura arrived at a location, she was guaranteed to encounter a Clow Card. But when he came to investigate, there were no results after a long time.

Fortunately, his communicator buzzed. Kero had spotted a massive cluster of magic in a pool, and Tomoyo had located the cold storage.

The ensuing battle was unremarkable. After reporting their positions, Ye Hui met Tomoyo at the underground cold storage while Sakura went to lure the Watery card over. With the Vajra Talismans Ye Hui had drawn, Sakura didn't have to worry about getting hurt; even if she was occasionally hit by the Watery card, it didn't matter. If one talisman shattered, she could just stack ten more! Let it hit her all it wanted!

Outside the cold storage, Sakura lured the Watery card in and used the power of the Windy card to trap it inside. Wind and water entangled within the cold storage. The agitation of the airflow caused the water to freeze even faster.

After some time, once all movement had ceased inside, they opened the doors. Ye Hui immediately saw an ice sculpture resembling a blue mermaid standing in place, its expression of fury frozen in time.

Kero remarked, "That should be it, right? I didn't expect one of the four elemental cards to be subdued so easily..."

Ye Hui quickly interjected, "Don't jinx it! Kinomoto, it's up to you. We can't let our guard down until the card is completely subdued!"

"Right." Sakura nodded, stood at the entrance of the cold storage, and raised her magic staff. "Return to your original form, Clow Card!"

*Crack! Crack!*

The ice sculpture shattered into fragments and was sucked into the iridescent card.

Ye Hui hadn't contributed much to this battle. Naturally, after the Watery card appeared, it drifted toward Sakura.

"As expected, if I don't participate in the battle or hold the card in my hand, the system mission won't be completed." This trial had yielded results.

However... Ye Hui had a sudden inspiration and decided to try something else. "Kinomoto, could you let me see that card?"

"Eh? Of course!" Sakura quickly handed the Watery card to Ye Hui.

As soon as Ye Hui took it, he heard a system notification sound.

[Ding! Although you did not seize the treasure before Kinomoto Sakura, you caught her off guard and snatched it from her hands! Well done, that's the spirit!]

[Congratulations on completing the side quest—"Seize the Treasure"! You have received the "Narcissus Secret Record" (Fragment). Do you wish to use it?]

Ye Hui quickly chose "Yes."

The system log refreshed again.

[You consumed a Marrow-Cleansing Pill, undergoing a transformation of your tendons and marrow. Your aptitude has improved, and you can finally become a Qi-refining cultivator within your lifetime.]

[Coincidentally, under your misguided guidance, Kinomoto Sakura set off on a journey to uphold justice. After finding a jade slip left behind by an ancient sword immortal, she became a legendary swordswoman.]

[You believe that cultivators who insist on righteousness never go far, while you only need to embrace the path of caution, constantly cultivating to eventually achieve immortality and become a great power. Future generations will judge whether you or Kinomoto Sakura were more outstanding.]

[You cultivated to the late stage of Qi refining, but hit a bottleneck. You hid within your sect, painstakingly practicing water-based immortal arts to extend your lifespan, attempting to change fate through the length of your life.]

[You managed your family's influence and gathered cultivation resources. A younger member of your clan won a jade slip for you at an auction, titled "Narcissus Secret Record."]

[Leaving the auction, your junior was hunted down, and the jade slip was damaged. You obtained the broken fragment and, on your deathbed, grasped a trace of the root of water arts.]

[Ding! You have successfully unlocked the "Water Spiritual Root." You can now practice water-based techniques, and you have gained the skill "Water Control."]

Ye Hui's eyes widened. "Is this... a massive reward jackpot?!"

Could it be that this reward was only possible because the "Myriad Dharma Immortal Sect" was a dungeon located on an oceanic island? "No, perhaps it's still because of Sakura?" After all, the system's perception was flawed; the so-called Immortal Sect was merely Tomoeda Elementary School. The "treasure" in the log was just the Watery Clow Card. Thus, the "Narcissus Secret Record" in the log might simply be the insight into the water element gained from capturing the card...

But whatever! A spiritual root? He had been longing for this for a long time! In this cultivation game, without a spiritual root, one couldn't practice cultivation techniques. The Ye Hui in the game was nominally a disciple with mixed spiritual roots, but in reality, he likely had none at all! His limit was only the Qi-refining stage.

With the game descending into reality, if Ye Hui lacked a spiritual root, he would gradually be relegated to a mascot alongside Sakura and Tomoyo. Kero, at least, had other uses as a mascot. He was different! Later on, when facing various buggy Clow Cards, his role as the arch-rival would surely be stolen by Li Syaoran! By then, he wouldn't even have the face to linger in the protagonist's team...

But now, he had a spiritual root! He could finally practice techniques and rapidly increase his cultivation realm! He wouldn't have to rely solely on side professions to boost his attributes!

"Nice! Long live the Cardcaptor! Long live Tomoyo!" Ye Hui felt invigorated. He just wanted to finish this adventure quickly, go back to check his gains, and try using the Wood card to stimulate some spiritual plants.

Kero noticed Ye Hui standing in silence for a long time, his expression shifting constantly like he was having another seizure, and quickly moved away again. "Why is this guy so neurotic!"

[Keroberos emotion value +4]