Yuan Planet Calendar, November 30, 3035, 12:37.
It was the winter month, the third autumn season.
Outside the Heritage Tower, the red maple leaves had begun dancing in the seasonal autumn breeze. No one had visited the northwest corner of the Lu Clan manor in a long time. Only Lu Zhong came here around this time every year.
With three parts regret and seven parts guilt, Lu Zhong often stood outside the Heritage Tower for a long time, praying for a miracle. The red maple leaves outside the tower had now been stained red by the autumn wind for the ninth time! His heart heavy with sorrow, Lu Zhong turned and walked away at an unhurried pace.
Just then, the sound of the main doors opening rang out behind him. Perhaps because no one had opened the Heritage Tower's doors in so many years, the noise was grating, like the sharp squeal of rusty hinges on a metal door. Hearing the sound behind him, Lu Zhong stopped mid-stride and quickly turned to stare at the doors, a glimmer of hope on his face.
The outcome did not disappoint him. The person who emerged from the Heritage Tower was none other than Lu Yan'an, who had been gone for nine years! Compared to nine years ago, Lu Yan'an was now much taller, and his face was covered in a thick beard. He looked incredibly unkempt, but none of it diminished his steady bearing. His eyes, in particular, shone with a striking brightness.
The moment he saw Lu Zhong, Lu Yan'an's eyes reddened. He hurried forward and hugged Lu Zhong tightly. Lu Zhong said nothing, merely stroking Lu Yan'an's back to help him calm down. After a long while, Lu Yan'an let go and began telling him about his time inside the Heritage Tower...
A month later, Lu Yan'an returned to the northwest corner of the Lu Family manor. By then, he had arranged everything at home. He had even made a copy of the secret techniques he had acquired and given it to the Lu Family.
Of course, Lord Shen had refused the whole time. After all, as a lofty Immortal God, it had always looked down on mediocre talents. It took a lot of persuasion, and Lu Yan'an had to sign several "unequal treaties" with it, before it reluctantly agreed to hand over copies of some non-core secret techniques to the Lu Family. Even those scraps were enough to fill the family with delight.
The Heritage Tower had now returned to its original form. A massive, black, saucer-shaped spaceship, roughly a hundred meters in diameter, hovered in the air where the quaint little tower had once stood. A winged dragon was even emblazoned on its hull! Seeing Lu Yan'an arrive, the ship's hatch slowly opened. He leaped up and landed inside.
Once he was fully aboard, the hatch slowly closed. The spaceship began to rise, then steadily accelerated, leaving Yuan Planet and heading into outer space...
Inside the control room of the Heritage Spaceship...
Lu Yan'an, dressed in a plain training outfit, stood before the control console. Lord Shen silently appeared on his shoulder and grinned at him. "Lu Yan'an, the Heritage Spaceship has left Yuan Planet's territory."
"External view, 100% simulation," Lu Yan'an said to the ship's main control system.
"Whoosh!"
Everything around them vanished from sight. Fortunately, he was standing on the floor, so he could still feel it beneath him. Nothing was visible to the naked eye.
He looked around...
An endless, vast starry sky stretched out around them. Turning to look behind him, he saw a blue-green life-bearing planet—Yuan Planet!
"Lord Shen, this is my first time leaving Yuan Planet to visit another inhabited planet. I can't help feeling... a little nervous," Lu Yan'an said.
"That's called being tense! Tsk, but it's no big deal. As the master's disciple, you'll have to get used to this sort of thing!" Lord Shen flapped its little wings on his shoulder and chuckled. "It's no surprise. In your planet's words, you're a country bumpkin in the big city. Going from Yuan Planet to a powerful, bustling place like Qiu Long Planet is exactly that! Hahaha!"
Lu Yan'an fell silent for a moment. This was the first time anyone had called him a country bumpkin. He knew a lot about the universe, but he had only read about it in books. Now that he was about to experience it firsthand, the shock of seeing his dreams become reality was enough to shake anyone's composure!
The main reason was that Qiu Long Planet, according to the books, was an incredibly prosperous place. Yet Lu Yan'an had never even visited the lesser Silver Blue Empire from the original novel. Apart from Lord Shen, he had never interacted with an alien life-form. It was only natural for him to feel nervous!
While Lu Yan'an was still on edge, Lord Shen suddenly said, "We'll reach the speed of light in ten seconds and enter the Dark Universe!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
In the vast starry sky, a black spaceship, blurred by its speed, suddenly—
The space rippled slightly.
The spaceship vanished!
It wasn't merely "vanishing" because it had reached the speed of light and become invisible to the naked eye. It had truly disappeared from this universe!
"Boom!"
Lu Yan'an felt the spaceship shudder slightly. It trembled for about ten seconds. The surroundings were completely dark, then the ship steadied.
"Cosmic Shuttle successful. We've entered the Dark Universe," Lord Shen said. "Turn off the external-view simulation."
"The Dark Universe?" Lu Yan'an was intensely curious. He had read about the Dark Universe, but this was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.
Lord Shen didn't wait for Lu Yan'an to ask. With a wave of its hand, it directly simulated the Dark Universe around them.
The display showed a dazzling scene: a vast expanse filled with countless points of light, like fireflies. It was a sea of "lights." Aside from those beautiful points, there was nothing else in the immense space.
"The Dark Universe and the 'Original Universe' we live in have corresponding coordinates."
"But if we travel a certain distance in the Dark Universe—for example, 'one light-second'—then shuttle back to the Original Universe, you'll find that you've traveled '10,081,000 times one light-second.'" Lord Shen continued, "The Dark Universe and the Original Universe correspond at a ratio of 1 to 10,081,000." Lu Yan'an was secretly astonished.
Traveling at the speed of light in the Dark Universe for a year meant covering only one light-year. But after a Cosmic Shuttle back to the Original Universe, they would be a million light-years away. This was how the powerful traveled. Without the Dark Universe, getting anywhere would be far too slow!
"We're expected to reach Qiu Long Planet in nearly five days. Lu Yan'an, you can get some rest or cultivate in seclusion during that time. I'll come get you when we arrive." Hearing Lord Shen say this, Lu Yan'an didn't reply. He went straight to the spaceship's meditation chamber to meditate and cultivate.
Traveling through the Dark Universe was dull and monotonous.
About five days later.
"Lu Yan'an, we'll be shuttling back to the universe in ten minutes and arriving at Zhalong Planet," Lord Shen called to the meditation chamber.
Hearing this, Lu Yan'an woke from his meditation and returned to the ship's control room.
"Cosmic Shuttle successful. We're back in the Original Universe," Lord Shen said.
"External view, 100%," Lu Yan'an said.
Lu Yan'an immediately saw the vast starry sky around him. Most striking of all was a distant planet that seemed to shimmer with every color of the rainbow. Two moons were faintly visible around it.
"That planet is Qiu Long Planet," Lord Shen said. "Lu Yan'an, once we enter Qiu Long Planet's atmosphere, follow our plan."
"Lord Shen, you said we'd need money just to enter the planet. But I don't have any currency, and I don't know the local language either," Lu Yan'an said quickly.
Yuan Planet's currency? Lu Yan'an did have some, but using it on Qiu Long Planet would be a joke! Yuan Planet's currency was nothing but wastepaper here—albeit wastepaper with somewhat pretty designs.
"You don't have any, but I do!" Lord Shen exclaimed. "I may be an Immortal God, but I still have a decent fortune. Setting aside my bank account, I've got some pocket money on me."
"Pocket money?" Lu Yan'an was taken aback.
"Right. I searched every inch of my little treasury and found a few hundred thousand Ganwu Coins," Lord Shen said.
"A few hundred thousand?" Lu Yan'an blinked twice.
He was going to be rich!
"And they're Ganwu Coins, not Black Dragon Coins, much less cheap Yinlan Coins," Lord Shen added quickly. "That's more than enough to make you a big success on Qiu Long Planet."
"As for the language, that's no problem at all. Your language on Yuan Planet became the Universal Language long ago, thanks to your senior brother's work. I just never told you. Otherwise, why would I bring you out and make trouble for myself?"
As they spoke,
the Heritage Spaceship accelerated toward the distant Qiu Long Planet.
Lu Yan'an stood in the control room of the Black Dragon Spaceship, looking at the simulated external view. He could clearly see the ship approaching Qiu Long Planet. It was almost touching the atmosphere. The planet's atmosphere was unusual; even with the naked eye, he could clearly see clouds of various colors slowly drifting through it, making the planet look dazzling from space.
"Beep!"
"Receiving a guidance signal," Lord Shen said. "Lu Yan'an, the ship will follow the signal to the planet's docking port."
"Signal received. We're going to the D-Class Zone!" Lord Shen said from Lu Yan'an's shoulder.
"Whoosh!"
The Heritage Spaceship slowly descended and finally touched down.
"Don't let anything slip. If you cause trouble, I won't help you. Just talk confidently. Your persona is that of a young master from a great family!" Hearing this, Lu Yan'an nodded. When the hatch slowly opened, he walked straight out.
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