In the space above Earth, the Dark Lord stood silently, watching the ships passing before him. Not a single probe detected his presence.
"This is the place. It looks quite ordinary!"
The Dark Lord thought to himself, but since he was already here, he would understand once he took a look.
"Time Reversal!"
At the Dark Lord's command, time and space around Earth began to flow backward.
"Hm? This kid is Chen Qing, with a hundredfold gene level?"
As time reversed, Chen Qing moved backward through the void. When he reached the seaside, he paused, as if separated from all the other places. Before his breakthrough, everything returned to normal.
"Hm? Planetary Level? He's an ordinary human, all right. It's the Primal Universe Will!"
The Dark Lord's thoughts stirred. It seemed the Primal Universe Will's actions had a lot to do with Chen Qing, but why?
Soon, time rewound to the Great Nirvana, but the Dark Lord still found nothing unusual. The images continued to retreat.
The first shattering, the second shattering...
Just as everything finally became a void, time and space suddenly blurred.
"Words become law? A supreme being!"
After seeing a blurry figure, the Dark Lord stopped. He paid no heed to the backlash from time and space.
"There are quite a few things here, but where is Chen Qing?"
The Dark Lord could hardly believe it. Chen Qing's time in the womb roughly matched the period his teacher had mentioned. How could there be nothing wrong?
Besides, his cultivation was strange. He had encountered no opportunities, yet somehow cultivated some peculiar things. Still, the Dark Lord couldn't see what was wrong.
"Good kid. You're interesting. After all these eras, something has finally made me curious!"
The Dark Lord muttered to himself, then vanished from that area in an instant.
At Thunder Mountain, after hearing his junior brother out, the Chaos City Lord pondered for a moment before speaking.
"What you said about the supreme being does fit Mountain Sitting Guest's style. Although we don't know what he's after, he means no harm, at least. We can leave him alone for now."
"Exactly. As long as we've confirmed Earth belongs to the Human Race, that's what matters. The others are fine. It's just that Chen Qing kid—he seems strange no matter how you look at him!"
The Dark Lord gave a soft snort. Though curious, he also felt inexplicably displeased. "Nothing seems unusual, and yet everything feels unusual!"
"Let's set Chen Qing aside. Earth is still of great value to the race, but those little fellows care a lot about it. We should discuss it with Giant Axe."
"What's there to discuss? We discovered it ourselves, and it's within our territory. The Martial Arena has no reason to interfere!"
"You're already speaking up for them so quickly! But Giant Axe is Giant Axe, and Earth wouldn't be safe in their hands, either."
"Do whatever you think best. I'm not going. I want to have a good talk with those little fellows!"
Cuilang Planet was as bustling as ever. The turmoil surrounding the Fire Phoenix Organization soon passed. With the Commerce Department stepping in, the other forces didn't even dare speak up.
Riding that wave of momentum, not only did Pinghai Company establish itself, but the Field Family also gained a firm foothold.
In a manor outside the city, Thor paced back and forth, grumbling.
"That Chen the Fourth looked so proper on the surface. What crime did he commit in private to make even the Primal Universe Will unable to stomach it? They just locked him up!"
Hong sat leisurely, brewing tea. He blew away the tea dust and took a slow sip, his movements smooth and practiced.
"Second Brother, are you envious?"
"Envious?"
Thor raised his voice, then lowered it again.
"Of course I'm envious. Besides, one more person means one more helping hand. What's the point of sitting here fretting?"
"It's just a personal opportunity."
Hong poured Thor a cup of tea. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, he suddenly noticed another figure beside them. The man seemed to have been there all along, with the world revolving around him. What stood out most was that he was bald, just like Second Brother!
Hong composed himself and calmly took out another cup, pouring a serving as usual.
"Big Brother, we have a gue—damn!"
Startled by the dark figure beside him, Thor leaped straight to Hong's side.
"Your willpower is truly impressive!"
At the newcomer's words, Thor's mind went hazy for a moment, but he soon recovered. Hong, on the other hand, was unaffected.
"Even though I've done my utmost to conceal my presence, an ordinary Immortal couldn't withstand it. Hong, you're very impressive!"
Then he looked at Thor, who seemed drunk. "You're not bad either. You've probably reached the fourteenth or fifteenth level of the Illusion Sea."
"My lord, did you come for Fourth Brother?"
"Not entirely. I originally planned to take you on as a registered disciple, but I've changed my mind. You can become my personal disciple!"
Hong rose without hesitation and bowed. "Greetings, Master!"
"Good. Decisive! I thought you'd ask about your fourth brother first."
"With you as my teacher, you naturally wouldn't treat your disciple unfairly. Besides, I'm ready to embrace everything. The Dao is in my heart, and the future is in my hands."
Seeing Hong's calm, resolute smile, the Dark Lord was even more pleased.
"I've granted you access to a private plane of mine. I'll contact you through the Virtual Universe in a little while. Remember, don't rush to break through."
"Yes, Master! What about my second brother...?"
The Dark Lord glanced at Thor, who was still struggling. "He isn't suited to my Dao. But he reminds me of an ancient being in my Virtual Company. I can ask about him for you."
"Thank you, Master!"
By the time Hong straightened up, his teacher had vanished without a trace. He let out a quiet breath.
Seeing Thor sitting cross-legged on the ground, recovering, Hong relaxed. He poured himself a cup of tea, sent emails to Third Brother and Fourth Brother, and waited.
At Nine Star Bay, four people sat in Luo Feng's home. Jiang Fang and Yao Rao were upstairs chatting with Xu Xin.
Thor rubbed his bald head, making a mess of his saintly image.
"That lord really is terrifying. I was barely conscious the whole time!"
He took another sip, still looking shaken.
Chen Qing didn't laugh at him, though. He knew how powerful the Dark Lord was, and he was happy for Hong. After all, their paths were similar.
Unlike in the original story, where Hong had only the title of disciple while Giant Axe died too early, leaving Lord of Void Gold to teach him.
"Third Brother, are you still working on your old mission?"
Luo Feng's lips curled slightly. He nodded. "There are still a few things I need to do!"
Looks like he's gained quite a bit. Chen Qing knew Luo Feng was either snatching Blood Luo Crystals or cultivating in the Maelstrom.
Chen Qing tapped his fingers as he thought. The person who'd greeted him last time was probably the Dark Lord. He sure had plenty of free time. He'd nearly scared Chen Qing to death!
But this was a bit of a failure. In the original story, Earth could hold out for several hundred years. This time, though, his actions had brought everything forward by so much!
No wonder the Primordial Matriarch had locked him up. She must have felt it was unsafe, too. But in the end, it was Giant Axe who made the decision for the race.
Giant Axe was all right. The big, rough man was fairly decent in how he handled things. But even he couldn't withstand the others' moral pressure. In the original story, even after Luo Feng had become powerful, some people still refused to hand over Earth.
They really didn't consider Luo Feng one of their own. They even made Giant Axe cough up a Supreme Treasure to smooth things over. Unfortunately, the story never explained what happened afterward. There was nowhere to vent his frustration or settle the score!
"Big Brother, give your teacher the Nine Basic Forms. I only have one request: if anyone makes an unreasonable demand, write down their name!"
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