Opening Up to Each Other

Chen Qing had no idea what Jiang Fang was thinking, but that didn't stop him from bragging.

If he made everything sound too easy and gave Sister Fang and the others the wrong idea, he'd be the one suffering for it.

"So you got rid of the stolen goods on Green Spirit Planet?"

Jiang Fang leaned forward, sounding a little flustered. "Where are you now?"

"What stolen goods? They're spoils of war!" Chen Qing protested helplessly.

"Don't worry, Sister Fang. I checked. Green Spirit Planet isn't part of the Klin Family's territory.

"Business is booming here, and it's also an assessment site, so there's a lot of traffic. They won't even notice a little something like this!"

"I'm in the Dark Universe right now, looking for a secluded place to break through.

"By the way, I'll come back once I'm done and sort out your identities and resources. That'll make things easier!"

Earth had made contact with the wider universe, but for safety, Luo Feng had only opened intermittent routes through Bailan Planet.

Some equipment came through that way, but unless you had the right connections, you couldn't hitch a ride. Most traffic only went one way.

Chen Qing didn't mind. With the Virtual Universe, he could stay connected without going anywhere.

Sister Fang's anonymous helmet was about to expire, and it didn't feel right to keep using someone else's equipment!

Chen Qing couldn't explain the matter of his coordinates, and he didn't want to show his face anywhere near Earth, so they agreed to meet on Bailan Planet instead.

Jiang Fang turned and gave Yao Rao a strange look.

"That works. Yao Rao still needs a secret technique, so you'll have to put some effort into it."

Yao Rao rolled her eyes at her best friend, leaned back, crossed her long, shapely legs, and smiled seductively.

"Young man, what do you think of the Limit Dojo?"

Chen Qing frowned. Sister Fang had folded her arms and settled in to watch the show. He had a feeling how this went would decide whether he got meat or just soup.

"The Dojo's contributions go without saying, but it hasn't always been a source of support for Senior Hong. And now, even less so!

"Besides, Senior Hong's level is nothing like ours. He won't need ten thousand years. In a thousand years, the only thing in his heart may be the concept of 'Earth.'"

Leaving aside the Luo Family's power in the original story, how many acquaintances did Hong even have left on Earth?

In the past, ordinary people barely knew their relatives beyond five generations. And Hong had his own path to follow.

But in Yao Rao's heart, Hong was different—as much a father as a teacher. Emotionally, that was the best angle to take.

Judging by Yao Rao's closed eyes, Chen Qing hurriedly turned to Sister Fang, wearing an expression of utmost seriousness.

Jiang Fang smiled in approval and nodded, urging him on.

If he hadn't felt the lovely leg caught beneath the table by both hands, Chen Qing might have grinned right then.

After a brief silence, just as Chen Qing was carefully distinguishing reality from the virtual world, Yao Rao opened her eyes. She ignored Jiang Fang's flushed face.

"What about you? How are you any different? What makes you think you're better than the dojo master?"

Chen Qing's hands stopped moving. Jiang Fang quickly pulled back her misbehaving hands.

Both women stared at Chen Qing, as if standing by their friend. In truth, they wanted to hear his answer too.

Seeing how serious they were, Chen Qing tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers.

"Some things aren't suitable to discuss here. And you shouldn't practice them here, either."

That silenced the two of them. Their expressions went blank, and Sister Fang's eyes even widened for a moment.

"To put it simply, before reaching Domain Lord, breaking through depends on talent, the soul, willpower, exertion, and things like that, aside from resources.

"Your willpower needs no explanation. You've both crawled out of piles of corpses, so to speak. Your blade techniques have also reached the Artistic Conception Level. The next step is a domain."

And then there was Earth's special nature, Chen Qing added silently.

"The soul isn't something we need to worry about yet. It should be tied somewhat to talent. Talent is the most important thing!"

Yao Rao nodded. The dojo master had shared some information with her, since he had always been a pioneer for the Dojo.

Besides, basic information about cosmic bloodlines could be found in the Virtual Universe.

"The upgraded Nine Basic Forms can improve your physiques. I'm not sure by how much, but getting you to the third tier should be no problem. Maybe even the second!"

Looking at the two women's open mouths, Chen Qing licked his dry lips, feeling a little smug. Still, he couldn't afford to neglect one thing for another.

He had comprehended the first level of Creation most deeply. After all, a Planetary Level warrior possessing a domain was already a little beyond the norm, let alone a Creation Domain. The Basic Forms had also helped him organize what he'd learned.

"So reaching Star Level won't be a problem for you. Once your physiques improve and your exertion catches up, putting in some effort should make Universe Level easy—even Domain Lord Level!"

Chen Qing took a deep breath and braced both hands against the edge of the table.

"Leave what comes after to me. As long as nothing happens to you, I'll have an answer for you within ten thousand years!"

"You want to keep us as pretty ornaments?"

A hundred thousand years, huh? Yao Rao let out a breath, her tone much more carefree. Six months of effort had made her cultivation speed up tremendously.

She was now at the sixth layer of Planetary Level. After speaking, she glanced at Jiang Fang. She'd nearly been overtaken.

Jiang Fang thought she was talking about being a pretty ornament and rolled her eyes helplessly. You've been in the Dojo for nearly a hundred years, and I've never seen you fool around.

"Sister Demon, you're joking. I want you to comfort me the way you do now. If I really wanted that, I wouldn't be me."

There were countless beauties in the universe, but the ones he wanted to keep close were the attachments he'd carried over from his previous life. These women were the closest to his heart. As for those few men, forget it!

Yao Rao smiled softly, and this time her smile seemed more sincere. Chen Qing relaxed a little too.

The conversation that followed was much more relaxed, and Chen Qing learned more about what had happened during the Nirvana period.

Aboard the Vanguard, Chen Qing rubbed his chin. His "blind date" had gone very well, and after they finished chatting, they'd wandered around too.

In the end, he'd splurged on a 20-billion-unit mansion in Qiu Long Star's main city! Damn, Earth was a high-level life planet, and its entire value was only thirty trillion!

But it was the two women's first time out. They couldn't just make it a one-day trip. Even getting vaccinated took three shots!

It was better to build feelings through real experiences. The three of them also needed to improve their secret techniques, and Chen Qing needed time to build up his energy anyway.

Those things were fine. What bothered him more was Nine Star Bay. Luo Feng had spent only a thousand billion on land for his mansion.

Now the Virtual Universe Company had bought up all the surrounding plots, and the price had gone up several times over!

If he hadn't wanted his women to be able to visit each other easily—and if he didn't have a bit of a quirky streak—who would choose this place?

Just wait. Next time, he'd buy a bigger plot: one building to live in, and one to leave empty!

There were also two sets of top-tier second-order equipment, an Auxiliary Intelligence, phone bills, and Azure Wave Marrow—about forty billion in all.

He'd skip buying a spaceship for now. That way, Luo Feng wouldn't have to worry about the coordinates. He'd wait until he had a spatial item.

"Master, we're about to reach our destination. After leaving the Dark Universe, we'll travel at sublight speed for three days and arrive at a small asteroid cluster!"

At the sound of Spirit Butterfly's voice, the control room began simulating the starry sky.

This was where he'd chosen to break through. It lay far from the main routes, making it a poor hiding place for Star Pirates!

Three days later, the Vanguard slowed down. Chen Qing surveyed the area before settling on a spot.

With a C9 spaceship and a set of third-order equipment, his defenses were a little lacking.

But he had a hundredfold gene factor. He'd feel embarrassed breaking through on a planet.

After putting his things in order, Chen Qing sat cross-legged in the spaceship's main hall and let his mind sink into the Origin Core.