Led Astray

The days spent quietly growing stronger always passed quickly. Five months had flown by since Wang Cheng obtained Ten Thousand Lines Flow.

Wang Cheng had hardly gone out during those five months. Jiang Mingyue had taken care of everything.

Although a pair of wings had grown from her back, she had no trouble walking around openly like that.

Aside from her translucent wings, Jiang Mingyue looked no different from an ordinary human. Anyone who saw her would assume they were just a pair of accessories.

Of course, she had already stood out enough in the Mingyue Community in her maid outfit. Now that she had a pair of wings as well, everyone in the community thought Wang Cheng had some unusual tastes.

Wang Cheng didn't care. He hardly interacted with anyone anyway, so people could say whatever they wanted.

Over those five months, Wang Cheng had also witnessed Jiang Mingyue's changes.

She had never been very talkative, but after taking her revenge, she had grown even quieter. For a while, Wang Cheng had even felt that she was like a walking corpse, mechanically going through her tasks.

Fortunately, that state didn't last long. After a little over ten days, Jiang Mingyue changed.

She still didn't say much, but her state of mind was completely different. She began cultivating—and she cultivated like mad.

After completing the tasks Wang Cheng assigned her each day, she spent almost all her remaining time absorbing Cosmic energy.

With the bloodline of a Domain Lord level race, Jiang Mingyue could grow stronger naturally even if she did nothing. Once she started actively absorbing Cosmic energy, her rate of growth became astonishingly fast.

She was still nowhere near Wang Cheng, but in just five months, she had already reached Planet level eighth order!

Although Planet level was the easiest stage to advance through, reaching the eighth order in five months meant advancing three orders—a pace far beyond that of Earthlings. After all, Thor and Hong had been at Planet level for decades, and by now, one was only at Seventh Order and the other at Sixth Order!

Of course, Jiang Mingyue had a stronger physical foundation than the two of them. But in a real fight, she would definitely lose. She was so absorbed in taking in Cosmic energy that her movement techniques, Body Force Generation, and combat skills were all still at the level she had reached as a High-level War General. Ever since she realized how quickly she could absorb Cosmic energy, she had stopped paying attention to any of those things!

Five months later—

Wang Cheng called Jiang Mingyue over just as she finished cleaning and was about to go absorb Cosmic energy.

"Getting ready to keep cultivating?" Wang Cheng asked with a smile.

Jiang Mingyue paused at his question, then nodded.

She had never hidden her cultivation from him, so there was no point denying it. What puzzled her was that Wang Cheng had never asked about it before. Why bring it up today?

"Brother Cheng, don't worry. I won't let it get in the way of my other duties!" Jiang Mingyue promised.

"I never said you couldn't cultivate!" Wang Cheng smiled. "But you've done so much work for me. I can't just watch you go astray, so I thought I'd give you a heads-up!"

"Go astray?" Jiang Mingyue looked at Wang Cheng, confused.

"I've noticed that when you cultivate, you only train your Gene Energy and ignore everything else. Do you think that's enough?" Wang Cheng asked.

"..."

Jiang Mingyue didn't say anything, but her expression made it clear that she did.

"You were a High-level War General before, so you should know that sheer strength isn't the only factor that determines who's stronger!" Wang Cheng looked at Jiang Mingyue in confusion. It was such a simple principle; surely plenty of people understood it!

"Brother Cheng, ever since I transformed, the bottleneck in my absorption of Cosmic energy disappeared, and I can absorb it incredibly quickly!" Jiang Mingyue said without hesitation.

"I'm getting stronger at an astonishing rate. As long as I keep improving, any enemy I meet in the future will be crushed by me. Spending time training those techniques instead would just be a waste!"

"So that's what you think?" Wang Cheng nodded Slightly. In a limited sense, Jiang Mingyue wasn't wrong.

For example, on Earth, even if Jiang Mingyue spent time training other skills, ten years might not be enough for her to surpass Hong and Thor. But if she focused on Gene Energy, she could reach Stellar level in a year or two—and then Hong and Thor would have no chance against her!

"..."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Cheng said, "I'll take you somewhere."

"Hmm?"

Jiang Mingyue froze for a moment. The next instant, Wang Cheng had placed a hand on her shoulder.

Jiang Mingyue felt herself growing momentarily dazed. When she came to, she found herself atop a barren mountain.

"Where are we?"

Jiang Mingyue stared around in astonishment. A vast expanse of white mist surrounded them, stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Let's just say this is where I train," Wang Cheng said with a smile. "Wait here. I'll find you an opponent."

"Brother Cheng, what do you mean by an opponent?" Jiang Mingyue hurriedly asked.

"Exactly what it sounds like!" Wang Cheng didn't explain further. He moved in a flash and vanished from Jiang Mingyue's sight. A moment later, he reappeared with someone whose build was similar to his own.

A strange power shrouded the person's face, making it impossible for Jiang Mingyue to see what he looked like.

"You're Planet level eighth order. He's Planet level first order," Wang Cheng said. "If you can beat him, I'll give you half a year off to cultivate to your heart's content!"

"Really, Brother Cheng?" A hint of delight appeared on Jiang Mingyue's face. She really had become addicted to the feeling of constantly growing stronger. But normally, she had all sorts of odd jobs to do for Wang Cheng, so she never got to cultivate to her heart's content.

Still, as time passed, Jiang Mingyue had come to understand just how precious the "Domain Lord level Bloodline Potion" Wang Cheng had given her really was. She had nothing to complain about. It was only right for her to work for him after receiving such a great benefit!

Even so, while she didn't complain, she would certainly be happy to have half a year off!

"Of course," Wang Cheng said with a calm nod.

"What if I lose?" Jiang Mingyue asked.

"If you lose, you'll serve me for another ten years!" Wang Cheng replied with a smile.

"Deal!"

Jiang Mingyue agreed at once. The time she was supposed to serve Wang Cheng was already an astronomical number, and she couldn't be bothered to think about it. Besides, she had always believed that Wang Cheng had helped her get revenge. She had already planned to serve him for the rest of her life!

Ten more years was nothing at all!

"Then let's begin," Wang Cheng said. He instantly retreated more than a thousand meters.

Standing atop the mountain, Jiang Mingyue looked at the blurry figure opposite her, brimming with confidence.

She was Planet level eighth order, and her physical foundation alone was 128 times stronger than her opponent's. With such an enormous advantage, she was sure to win, no matter what troublesome tricks he had.

Did Brother Cheng just make up an excuse to give me time off so I could cultivate properly? Jiang Mingyue wondered. At the same time, she didn't hesitate. Her powerful aura locked onto the figure opposite her, and she charged straight at him.