Are You Idle?

"Master, please have tea!"

In a magnificent palace, the Palace Master Biluo sat expressionless on the grand armchair at the head, calmly accepting Jiang Fang's teacup as she watched the two women kneeling before her.

"Gulp gulp"

As the entire cup of tea was finished, Chen Qing, standing at the lower end, exchanged a glance with Original Ancestor beside him. Original Ancestor quickly turned his head away.

Chen Qing suddenly felt that what he held in his hands wasn't tea—it was a Fire God Source Crystal!

With things already at this point, Chen Qing had no choice but to steel himself and take the empty teacup from Palace Master Biluo's hand.

But in that 0.00001 second when he noticed there was still another cup beside it, Palace Master Biluo's eyes narrowed slightly, and Chen Qing's hairs stood on end!

A Sovereign's mind was incredibly fast—how could they make the same mistake twice? In an instant, he understood everything through the Virtual Universe.

Enduring the torment of reality while withstanding Palace Master Biluo's special attention, Chen Qing bent over and steadily handed the tea to Yao Rao.

"Master, please have tea!"

"Gulp gulp"

The apprenticeship ceremony passed quickly. Once the three women had left, Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"I remember from your Earth records, you only need to take a sip."

Before he could even sit down, Original Ancestor's calm voice carried a hint of oddness.

"Then why didn't you, elder, remind me?"

"I thought you knew!"

Chen Qing imagined it and couldn't help but shudder again. That woman truly lived up to being a Sovereign—far more composed than himself. Besides, what problem could virtual things have?

But thinking back to that gulp gulp sound, why was it so amusing?

"Right, I have things to do. Focus on training when you're free!"

Before the words faded, Original Ancestor vanished without a trace. Chen Qing's cup froze mid-air: Do I look that idle?

Chen Qing went into seclusion. After taking them as disciples, Palace Master Biluo quickly made plans for the two women.

Considering their special circumstances, the primary goal now was to break through to World Lord. With the help of honey, their Domain Lord-level energy accumulation only took a little over five months.

Combined with genetic factors, this was even faster than Luo Feng soaking in nutrient fluid!

But the days ahead wouldn't be easy. To break through to World Lord, the Palace Master demanded they go into seclusion directly, and she constantly explained laws to them in the Virtual Universe.

If their progress fell even slightly short, there was no need for scolding or beating—just a glare from those silver eyes, and the two quailed like quails. Aside from training, nothing sparked any passion.

Frustrated Chen Qing had no temper left and could only begin his own training. Having already grasped the essence of water, lightning, and wood, it was time to put in some effort.

Prepared, Chen Qing didn't start training immediately. Instead, while calming his mind, he tried to settle his heart and guard his emptiness. Over the years, he had come to enjoy sensing that primal fluctuation, like the universe breathing.

Though Green Lotus hadn't yet been conceived, with his past experience, Chen Qing quickly entered that ethereal state.

Without deliberately comprehending laws, he quietly perceived this fluctuation.

So this was wind. Fire was very mischievous, but very passionate...

Chen Qing seemed to see different laws, or different facets of laws, yet also seemed to see nothing at all.

This stillness lasted ten years. When Chen Qing awoke, he felt as if he had just slept, his body much lighter.

"So fire is like this..."

Awake, Chen Qing picked up his original secret techniques and began normal training. Every move and stance was so familiar, and he even had different ideas about the techniques.

When he immersed himself in essence again, he felt no bottlenecks. Even where doubts arose, he could lift his head and "see" them, quickly finding the answers he sought.

Chen Qing began to understand that he had found another path in cultivation: imprinting the heart on heaven and earth, or returning to Green Lotus's instinct.

With a calm heart, guard the void; reflect heaven and earth with the heart, just as a World Lord resonates and connects to the Origin Land—connect with the heart.

The calmer the heart, the clearer heaven and earth became. Laws were no longer like fishing for the moon in water. The deeper the understanding of laws, the easier their application, only a thought away.

"How does this feel like a thought of emptiness?" Chen Qing scratched his head. But it wasn't a bad thing—at least his will had noticeably improved.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it. Chen Qing smiled wryly and turned back to his secret techniques.

Nine Star Bay—Chen Qing hadn't been here in a long time. Rarely, after the Virtual Company's qualifiers, everyone took time to congratulate Luo Feng.

Hong and Thor were still in the Initial Universe and rarely met these days. This qualifier had nothing to do with them either.

"Old Fourth, I really envy you. Your whole family hides in a secret realm, and the environment isn't even worse than the Initial Universe!"

Listening to the laughter of the three women upstairs, Luo Feng couldn't help but sigh.

Chen Qing shot Luo Feng a sidelong glance. After confirming there was no other meaning, he silently lowered his head. Envy my ass—even a monk wasn't as dedicated as him. He'd almost cultivated himself into a block of wood.

Decades had passed. Chen Qing wasn't the type to shut himself in for death-seclusion, but unfortunately, Jiang Fang and Yao Rao were. Like before the college entrance exams back home—endless homework.

They had barely broken through to World Lord when they used the excuse of congratulating Luo Feng to get released by Biluo.

"Alas, it's a long story. Third Brother has spent so long in the Xueluo World—your gains must be considerable!"

When it came to gains, Luo Feng broke into a smile. He had already passed the eighth floor of the Heavenly Bridge, which counted as exceeding his mission quota. There were also the tens of thousands of Xueluo Crystals, but unfortunately, Fourth Brother had no use for them, and First and Second Brothers had their own opportunities, so there was no need to go out of their way.

"You can't even see your own eyes—anyone could tell without you saying a word!"

Thor hugged his wine jug and teased from the side. "Now Third Brother is cutting quite the figure. Everyone else is falling, but you're the only one swimming upstream. The public zone is buzzing with it!"

"Second Brother is joking. But if there's a chance, First and Second Brothers must visit the Xueluo World sometime!"

"Is that so?"

Hong responded softly, exchanged a glance with Thor, and nodded seriously.

Chen Qing didn't dampen their enthusiasm from the sidelines. Though their gains certainly wouldn't match Luo Feng's, becoming Blood Warriors should be no problem—at the very least, a twofold improvement was guaranteed.

Speaking of the Virtual Company's missions, Luo Feng would soon be heading to Demon Sound Mountain. Chen Qing wondered how far he'd get this time. Probably no extra Golden Soul Fruits, so he wouldn't go much further than in the original story—after all, it wasn't about body amplification.

Thinking of body amplification, a glint flashed in Chen Qing's eyes. If exertion was internal control, then amplification was external resonance!

Over the years, he had sensed the fluctuations of the universe, coupled with his research on The Basics, so he wouldn't be mistaken in this regard. Currently, the universe relied on treasures to adapt the body to these fluctuations—extravagant, to say the least. And the results were mediocre at best, mostly around fifty or sixty times amplification. There was still plenty of potential to tap.

If he could optimize his own body's genes, there was no reason he couldn't succeed here. After decades of comprehending laws, it was time for a change of pace. But before that, he'd have a taste of something more tangible.

Three months—just three short months out of decades. Chen Qing arrived contentedly at his personal dimension, ready to pay a visit to the lonely old man.

Before even a minute had passed, the Original Ancestor was seated before him. But before he could speak, the Palace Master Biluo appeared beside him in a huff.

"Are you that idle?"