Super God Academy Conference Room.
Huang Lao sat in the seat of honor, with Du Kao and Lian Feng on either side. Ximen Lang and Leng sat opposite them.
Ximen Lang glanced at Du Qiangwei, who kept her head lowered and dared not look at him, then at Miss Qi Lin, whose expression was complicated, and finally at the Silly Goddess, who was exchanging flirtatious glances with Leng and having a grand old time. Ximen Lang remained impassive.
Sure enough, Du Kao spoke first.
"Mr. Ximen, we were too rash about what happened that night. Since you happen to be here today, we'll formally apologize to you."
As he spoke, he pulled Du Qiangwei into a bow toward Ximen Lang.
He did not waste any time or shirk responsibility. Ximen Lang nodded.
"It's fine. It's all in the past."
Seeing that the matter had been settled, Ximen Lang stopped pursuing it. Huang Lao stepped in to smooth things over.
"Ah, we got to know each other through conflict, didn't we? Speaking of which, we should thank you, Mr. Ximen. You've helped us resolve several crises and even sent us so much equipment, not to mention Suo Dun..."
"Third Generation Beast Body warrior."
Knowing that Huang Lao disliked the concept of gods, Du Kao smoothly picked up the thread.
"Right, a Beast Body warrior."
"Huang Lao, you're too polite. Calling me Mr. Ximen makes us sound like strangers. I may look like this, but I'm still young—I've only just turned twenty. You can call me A Lang or Xiao Lang. As someone who lived through that special era, you have my deepest respect."
Huang Lao did not stand on ceremony either.
"Very well, then I'll presume to call you Xiao Lang. Xiao Lang, the lady beside you..."
Ximen Lang slapped his forehead.
"Look at me, forgetting my manners. This is Leng, Angel Leng—my wife."
Leng did not hold his earlier smugness against him. She nodded at Huang Lao, which counted as a greeting.
It was not that Leng was impolite.
As a High-Ranking Guardian of the Celestial City and the Frost War God who had traversed the universe for thousands of years, she had only come here because of Ximen Lang.
Getting her to lower herself and act meekly was simply impossible.
A Pre-Nuclear Civilization? In the past, she would not even have spared it a glance.
Huang Lao and the others did not mind. The angels had ruled over the universe for tens of thousands of years; they had earned the right to be proud.
Du Kao spoke.
"Mr. Ximen, the angels' attitude toward Earth..."
"Please believe me: the angels harbor no ill will toward Earth. As for the details, wait until the Super God Academy has grown stronger before you establish contact with each other."
Hearing the word "you," Huang Lao's eyes lit up.
"So you won't represent the angels..."
Ximen Lang naturally understood what he meant. He put an arm around Leng.
"The angels are the angels, and I am me. Leng is my Guardian Angel. I have a very close relationship with the angels. That's all."
"As for why I'm here, it's just as you've seen. My heart is with Huaxia, nothing more."
"Of course, I'm more than willing to help within my means. But as for anything else... for example, risking my life for Earth..."
"We understand. We understand." Huang Lao and Du Kao nodded one after the other.
Their willingness to help Earth was already an unexpected delight. How could they dare ask for more? "Then may I ask what it is you seek?" Du Kao was the one to broach the subject.
Ximen Lang did not answer that question. Instead, he asked,
"What do you know about the Taotie?"
"The Styx Galaxy, a Spacefaring Civilization under Death God Karl..."
"I'm asking why they traveled thousands of years across the universe to come to Earth."
"???" The question left the others baffled. They had no idea what he was getting at.
"You don't seriously think they flew for thousands of years, traversed who knows how many Large Wormholes, and exhausted countless resources just to come to Earth for a little oil or gold, do you?"
At that, they seemed to understand something.
"Slaughter."
"Slaughter?!"
"Yes, slaughter. Carl likes researching death, so they came here to create death for Carl's amusement. It's that simple." (Many people believe that Carl targeted Earth because of the Super God Academy, but the Taotie had already listed Earth as a target for their thousand-year conquest before the academy arrived. That is not the approach taken here.) The words struck them like a thunderclap, and all of them clenched their fists.
"Earth was listed as a target for their great conquest thousands of years ago. Earth is nothing special; it's merely an insignificant one among dozens of targets. Just like the fleet that came to Earth this time—it's only one of the many fleets they have dispatched."
Only now did everyone gain a relatively concrete understanding of the Taotie. But it was even more despairing, wasn't it? Huang Lao exhaled a breath of stale air.
"So?"
"So you don't need to worry that I'm trying to obtain something from Earth. In fact, if I were willing to speak up, countless civilizations would fight desperately to join my ranks."
It sounded arrogant, but it was true. Even the angels would not stop him. They might even help Ximen Lang.
Ximen Lang simply disliked that sort of thing. Wasn't it better to live freely on his own? Why create trouble for himself?
As for resources? He himself was a resource! With that, Ximen Lang pulled out the Chakra Refining Method and the Ninjutsu Encyclopedia and handed them to Huang Lao.
"What are these?"
"The Chakra Refining Method. You can think of it as the inner force from wuxia novels, except this version can be cultivated quickly."
Ximen Lang continued explaining.
"As for the other one, it's the Ninjutsu Encyclopedia. The name sounds rather Eastern, but it's only a name. You can change it however you like."
"Of course, most ninjutsu won't pose much of a threat to Super Soldiers, but they should still come in handy against the Taotie."
At the end, Ximen Lang added,
"Everyone can use them~"
At those words, Huang Lao's breathing grew rapid.
A grand gift—undoubtedly a grand gift! And it had arrived at exactly the right time!
Seeing Huang Lao's grateful gaze, Ximen Lang waved his hand.
"There's no need to thank me. Hurry up and train. Time waits for no one, and the Taotie are about to attack. The various specialties of the ninjutsu are all explained as well. Decide how to use them yourselves."
"I only have one point to emphasize: Medical Ninjutsu. You need to take this seriously. It can save lives."
Indeed, the thing Ximen Lang valued most in the Ninjutsu Encyclopedia was undoubtedly Medical Ninjutsu.
There was no other reason. It was simply because this could save lives. Earth's situation in the future would certainly be grim. With it, many fewer people would die.
Saving one person was better than saving none.
And with that, Ximen Lang's visit to the Super God Academy came to an end.
"All right, since we've finished discussing everything, then we..."
Du Kao and Huang Lao quickly exchanged a glance with A Jie and Qi Lin.
A Jie understood.
"It's rare for Mr. Ximen to visit. How about this? Why don't you take a tour of the Super God Academy?"
Ximen Lang was somewhat tempted as well. A tour would be nice. He was quite curious about the members of Xiong Bing Lian.
A Jie was sharp. Seeing Ximen Lang's reaction, he immediately signaled Qi Lin.
"Qi Lin, why don't you show Mr. Ximen around?"
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