One? A Little Bastard?

"What are you thinking about?"

Wind Dragon watched Lu Chen grin foolishly, then swung his tail straight into Lu Chen's head, making him stagger.

"Energy vortices are treasures to them. Even though you have the Beast King's inheritance, getting one won't be easy."

Wind Dragon's words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's joy instantly became utterly tasteless.

"Wuwu... my hundred-thousandfold happiness is gone."

"No, if geese fly overhead, they must leave feathers; if rabbits pass through, they must leave meat. I want my happiness back."

Unable to swallow his anger, Lu Chen began rummaging through this floor.

"I'll use other treasures to trade for the hundred-thousandfold happiness I lost."

But after searching for a long time, he did not find a single decent item.

It was as though the first floor of the Tower of Time existed only to store this stone stele and the planet.

"Why is there nothing? My hundred-thousandfold happiness, come out already."

Just then, Lu Chen noticed the Small Planet floating in midair.

From the outside, the Small Planet was nothing but a hazy blur, as though something within it was developing.

"Huh, Wind Dragon, I suddenly thought of something. Didn't you say that inside the Tower of Time, one could enter a planet to temper the mind? How am I supposed to do that now?"

Lu Chen stopped what he was doing and looked at Wind Dragon. This question mattered even more to him.

"Do I need to gather enough essence energy, or do I need something else before I can enter the Small Planet?"

"Well, ummmm... to be honest, I'm not too sure either."

Wind Dragon hesitated, his words a mess. "Oh, right. I heard Lord Beast King say that touching the stone stele would work."

"Hm? The stone stele? Are you serious?"

"Yes, the stone stele."

"Wind Dragon, I think you're the stupid dragon here. You just said the stone stele was damaged, and now you're telling me to touch it."

Hearing the flaw in Wind Dragon's words, Lu Chen seized the chance to mock him.

Wind Dragon could not quite save face after hearing Lu Chen's ridicule and began to argue back. "Can't my memories get confused sometimes too?"

"Why don't you try using that new move, Kamen Rider? Maybe you can become one with the stone stele and the stele person, then enter the planet?"

"This? I'll give it a try."

"Kamen Rider."

Lu Chen gave a low shout, placed his hand over the guard of the Primal Chaos Greatsword, and circulated the spiritual energy within his body.

Slowly, Lu Chen's will aligned with that of the stone stele and the Primal Chaos Greatsword.

The stone stele and the Primal Chaos Greatsword became a bridge connecting Lu Chen to the planet.

Lu Chen's consciousness could touch the Small Planet through that bridge.

"Squeak... squeak."

Perhaps it sensed the touch of Lu Chen's consciousness, or perhaps for some other reason.

The Small Planet floating in midair sent Lu Chen faint traces of affection.

"This might work! Wind Dragon, let's go."

Lu Chen spoke softly and, bringing Wind Dragon with him, prepared to enter the Small Planet along the stone stele bridge.

"Squeak squeak... squeak squeak."

Before they could enter, Lu Chen sensed rejection coming from the Small Planet.

Lu Chen was somewhat puzzled. "We can't go in?"

Before Lu Chen could react, a gentle force kicked him out of the stone stele bridge.

"@&...!*, Wind Dragon, what happened? It kicked me out?"

Lu Chen watched as he and Wind Dragon were thrown out of the stone stele bridge, irritation rising in his heart.

"That Small Planet was clearly so affectionate just now. Why did it suddenly become so violent?"

"It's probably because we didn't provide enough energy offerings. The planet's will sees us as dangerous and is instinctively rejecting our entry."

"Will? A planet can develop a will too?"

Listening to Wind Dragon, Lu Chen scratched his head, thoroughly confused.

"But this planet really did react differently. Just now, I thought the creatures inside the planet were answering me. Thinking about it now, it was probably the planet's will."

"That's right. I once heard Lord Beast King say that all things can develop consciousness. As long as consciousness appears, it is called a demonic beast, and then it can cultivate."

As Wind Dragon listened to Lu Chen's confusion, he recalled the Beast King's records regarding the evolution of all things into demonic beasts.

"If a planet develops consciousness and successfully cultivates, then it becomes that planet's Heavenly Dao. It controls the development of all things on the planet and protects the living beings within it."

"Then what do we do now? Should we try communicating with it and see what it needs?"

Lu Chen reached out, wanting to touch the planet.

Lu Chen's attempt to force his way into the Small Planet had left it with a bad impression of him.

Now, facing Lu Chen's touch.

The planet seemed somewhat afraid and dodged backward by some distance.

"Hah, I refuse to believe this. Wind Dragon, have you ever heard of the slobbering dog experiment?"

Seeing the Small Planet keep avoiding him, Lu Chen refused to accept it.

Wind Dragon was puzzled when he heard Lu Chen. "Slobbering dog? What is that? I don't think I've heard of it."

"It's an experiment I heard a storyteller talk about when I was young. It can be used to train canine demonic beasts and increase familiarity between humans and demonic beasts."

Lu Chen recalled the storyteller's method.

He circulated spiritual energy through both hands, forming dozens of extremely dense balls of spiritual energy before him.

Grabbing the energy balls, he activated his Movement Technique, followed after the Small Planet, and began chasing it relentlessly.

His consciousness continuously connected with the planet as he used the energy balls to draw the Small Planet in, expressing his goodwill toward it.

Every time he caught up, Lu Chen would touch the planet once.

At the same time, his hands swiftly fed one energy ball into the planet.

The spiritual energy generated within Lu Chen's body was all innate spiritual energy produced by the Azure Emperor Divine Tree.

To the planet, these balls of spiritual energy were immensely nourishing.

After going back and forth like this.

The planet began to grow docile, gradually and cautiously approaching Lu Chen.

The planet began allowing Lu Chen to stroke it and no longer avoided him.

As Lu Chen stroked the Small Planet, he continued feeding it balls of spiritual energy.

Then he looked at Wind Dragon, somewhat smug. "Wind Dragon, what do you think? The experiment I mentioned is pretty good, right?"

"I never should have expected anything from your experiment. Isn't this just using meat buns to tease a dog?"

Wind Dragon had already understood the truth of the experiment from Lu Chen's actions and felt rather helpless.

"Even if it is, so what? I still succeeded."

Lu Chen looked at the Small Planet and continuously teased it with an energy ball in hand. "Isn't that right?"

"Squeak..."

The Small Planet let out a happy sound and swallowed the energy ball from Lu Chen's hand.

Its plump, round body rubbed back and forth against Lu Chen's arm, expressing its affection.

Lu Chen felt even happier at the Small Planet's actions. "See? It agreed itself."

Wind Dragon covered his eyes with his tail. He could not bear to watch Lu Chen's behavior and quickly changed the subject.

"Why don't you try again and see if you can enter now?"

"Alright, I'll try again."

Hearing Wind Dragon's words and seeing that the planet was no longer avoiding him.

Lu Chen tossed an energy ball toward the Small Planet, grabbed Wind Dragon, and tried to rush into the Small Planet.

The Small Planet noticed Lu Chen's intention, swallowed the energy ball in one gulp, and instantly fled.

Sure enough.

Lu Chen was thrown out by the Small Planet once again.

"Pah, I wasted so much spiritual energy." Seeing that he still could not enter, Lu Chen was somewhat furious. "Looks like I'll have to find another way to please this little bastard."

"Squeak squeak squeak... chirp chirp."

Hearing Lu Chen call it a little bastard, the planet grew curious and slowly drifted over.

"Huh, it reacted to 'little bastard'?"

"Little bastard?"

Lu Chen tried saying it again.

"Chirp chirp."

"'Little bastard,' come here."

The planet clearly liked this name. It immediately showed delight and rushed straight toward Lu Chen.

Seizing the opportunity, Lu Chen grabbed the Small Planet in his arms.

"Little bastard, how about I call you that?"

"Chirp."

This time, surprisingly, the Small Planet did not resist upon hearing those words.

Its movements clearly expressed delight.

"So cute. Wan'er will definitely like him."

Lu Chen liked the Small Planet's appearance. For the moment, he gave up on forcing his way inside and kept stroking the Small Planet with both hands.

"Hmph... and you still call him little bastard. What an oddball. He's never treated me this nicely even after all this time."

Watching Lu Chen's actions, Wind Dragon's mood became rather unpleasant.

"Chirp chirp chirp."

The Small Planet seemed comfortable under Lu Chen's stroking and cried out happily at him.

"Ah, Wind Dragon, you're so old already. Why are you still fussing over this? At worst, I'll pet you too in the future. Hahaha."

Hearing the lemony jealousy in Wind Dragon's words, Lu Chen laughed loudly.

"Who wants you to pet me? Go pet your little bastard."

The sourness in Wind Dragon's words grew even stronger.

Seeing Wind Dragon's jealousy continue to build, Lu Chen said, "Wind Dragon, I mean it. With our relationship, I definitely won't favor one over the other. If I get any treasures in the future, I certainly won't forget you."

"Treasures? Are you serious?"

Lu Chen immediately raised a hand in promise. "Absolutely true."

"Hahaha, good... ahem, I'm not considering this for myself. I'm considering it for Wan'er."

Hearing Lu Chen's words, Wind Dragon gradually calmed down, though he still took the chance to put on airs and brought Nantian Wan'er into it.

"By the way, Wind Dragon, I have another question."

"Of course. Wind Dragon, you're so powerful, you must be exceptionally knowledgeable."

Seeing Wind Dragon's mood stabilize, Lu Chen showered him with praise, intending to tease him while he had the chance.

"Naturally. What other question do you have? Ask away."

Seeing that Wind Dragon had already put on airs, Lu Chen asked his question. "Do you know whether every planet develops a will?"

"Ummmm, I don't know about that. I'm not powerful enough to come into contact with a planet's will."

Wind Dragon immediately looked troubled upon hearing Lu Chen's question, cold sweat streaming down his face.

But then he turned and saw Lu Chen's twisted expression, his face nearly red from holding back laughter.

"Ahem, while I may not know that, I do know another piece of secret history."

Wind Dragon had already put on airs. To preserve his dignity, he coughed and prepared to reveal a hidden record from his memories.