Found Something, But Also Didn't

In the outer space of Earth, the Dark Lord stood silently, watching the spacecraft coming and going. No detector had discovered his presence.

"This is the place. Looks quite ordinary," the Dark Lord thought to himself. But since he was here, he would take a look and understand.

"Reverse!" With the Dark Lord's command, the spacetime around Earth began to rewind.

"Oh? This kid is Chen Qing. A hundredfold gene?" As time reversed, Chen Qing retreated through the void. When he reached the seaside, he paused for a moment, as if separated from the rest of the area, then returned to normal before his breakthrough.

"Hmm? Planetary level? A normal human, no mistake. It's the will of the Primal Universe!" The Dark Lord's heart stirred. It seemed the matter of the Primal Universe's will was closely tied to Chen Qing. But why?

Soon, time rewound to the Great Nirvana period. The Dark Lord found nothing unusual. The images continued to recede.

The first shattering, the second shattering...

Until finally, when a void formed, spacetime suddenly blurred.

"Words become law? A Most Powerful!" After glimpsing a blurry figure, the Dark Lord stopped, ignoring the rebounding spacetime.

"There's quite a bit here. But where is Chen Qing?" The Dark Lord found it hard to believe. Chen Qing's embryonic stage coincided almost exactly with the time his teacher had mentioned. It would be strange if there were no issues.

Moreover, his cultivation was bizarre. He had never encountered any opportunities, yet he had cultivated some strange abilities. But the Dark Lord simply couldn't pinpoint the problem.

"Good kid. Quite interesting. How many eras has it been since something piqued my curiosity?" The Dark Lord muttered to himself, then vanished from that space.

At Thunder Mountain, Chaos City Lord listened to his junior brother's words, pondered for a moment, and then said, "The Most Powerful my junior speaks of is indeed Mountain Sitting Guest's style. Though I don't know his purpose, at least there's no malice. For now, let's leave him be."

"Right. As long as we're certain Earth belongs to humanity, and none of those few have issues, it's fine. But that kid Chen Qing—no matter how you look at him, he's strange!" The Dark Lord snorted lightly. Though curious, he felt an inexplicable irritation. "Nothing seems abnormal, yet everything feels abnormal!"

"Let's set Chen Qing aside for now. Earth's value to the race is still significant. But those little fellows care about it a lot. I need to discuss this with Giant Axe."

"What's there to discuss? We discovered it ourselves, and it's within our domain. The Martial Arena has no right to interfere!"

"Update isn't easy. Remember to share on 101 Reading Network."

"You're speaking up for them so quickly! But Giant Axe is Giant Axe. Besides, Earth isn't safe in their hands either."

"You decide. I won't go. I'm going to have a good talk with those little fellows."

Cuilang Planet was as bustling as ever. The storm over the Fire Phoenix Organization quickly passed. With the Commerce Department stepping in, other forces didn't even have the courage to speak up.

Riding this wave, not only the Pinghai Company but even the Field Family had gained a firm foothold.

At a manor outside the city, Thor paced around, grumbling, "That Chen the Fourth—looks all proper on the surface, but what law did he break in private that even the Primal Universe couldn't stand it and locked him up?"

Hong sat leisurely brewing tea. He blew on the tea dust, slowly savoring it, his movements fluid and graceful.

"Second brother, are you envious?"

"Envious?" Thor's voice rose a few notes, then softened. "Of course I'm envious. Besides, more people mean more help. What's the point of sitting here fretting?"

"Just personal opportunities," Hong said, pouring a cup of tea for Thor. Just as he was about to pull his hand back, he suddenly noticed another figure beside him, as if it had always been there, the world revolving around him. And, like his second brother, he was bald!

Hong steadied his mind, casually took out another cup, and poured tea as if nothing had happened.

"Big brother, we have a guest... Holy shit!" Thor was startled by the dark figure beside him and jumped straight over to Hong.

"Indeed, strong willpower!" With the newcomer's words, Thor's mind went hazy for a moment, then quickly recovered. Hong, however, showed no change.

"Though I've tried my best to suppress my aura, ordinary immortals can't withstand it. Hong, you are excellent." Then he looked at Thor, who seemed half-drunk. "You're not bad either. You've probably reached the fourteenth or fifteenth level of the Illusion Sea."

"Sir, have you come for my fourth brother?"

"Not entirely. I originally intended to take you as a nominal disciple, but I've changed my mind. You may become my direct disciple."

Without hesitation, Hong rose and bowed. "Greetings, Teacher!"

"Good, decisive! I thought you'd ask about your fourth brother first?"

"With you as my teacher, you naturally won't mistreat your disciple. I've already prepared myself to accept everything. The Dao is in my heart, the future is in my hands."

Seeing Hong's firm yet calm smile, he felt even more satisfied.

"I've granted you a permission—that's my personal plane. I'll contact you in the Virtual Universe later. Remember, don't rush to break through!"

"Yes, Teacher! As for my second brother..."

The Dark Lord glanced at Thor, who was still struggling. "He's not suited for my Dao. But he somewhat resembles an ancient existence in my Virtual Company. I can ask around for you."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

By the time Hong straightened up, his teacher had vanished without a trace. He let out a soft breath.

Seeing Thor already sitting cross-legged on the ground recovering, he relaxed, poured himself a cup of tea, sent an email to his third and fourth brothers, and waited patiently.

At Nine Star Bay, four people sat in Luo Feng's home. Jiang Fang and Yao Rao accompanied Xu Xin upstairs, chatting.

Thor rubbed his bald head, messing up his saintly image. "That lord was truly terrifying. I was barely conscious the whole time!"

He took a sip, still looking shaken.

But Chen Qing didn't laugh, because he knew full well how formidable the Dark Lord was. He was happy for Hong, since their paths were similar.

Unlike in the original story, where Hong only had an empty title—Giant Axe died too early, and Lord of Void Gold was the one who actually taught him.

"Third brother, are you still doing your original mission?"

Luo Feng's lips curled slightly as he nodded lightly. "Still have some things to take care of!"

Judging by his expression, the harvest was good. Chen Qing had a hunch—Luo Feng was either grabbing Xueluo Crystals or training bitterly in the Maelstrom.

Chen Qing tapped his fingers as he thought. It seemed the person who greeted him last time was most likely the Dark Lord. Pretty idle too—didn't scare me to death!

But a bit of a failure. In the original story, he held out for centuries. With me stirring things up, it's happening way earlier!

No wonder the Primordial Matriarch locked herself away. She probably felt it wasn't safe either. But in the end, the race's decision rested with Giant Axe.

Giant Axe was fine—a straightforward man who did things properly. But he couldn't fend off moral blackmail. In the original story, even when Luo Feng had strength, some still refused to hand over Earth.

They really didn't treat Luo Feng as one of their own. Giant Axe had to throw in a treasure to smooth things over. Pity it was never followed up—no way to settle the score even if you were pissed!

"Big brother, hand the Nine Basic Forms over to your teacher. I only have one request—whoever makes an unreasonable demand, just write it down!"