Heart-to-Heart

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

If he made it sound too easy and gave Sister Fang and the others the wrong impression, he'd be the one suffering in the end.

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

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

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

"Sister Fang, don't worry. I checked—Green Spirit Planet isn't within the Klin Family's territory.

Commerce is thriving there, plus it's a testing ground with a constant flow of people. They wouldn't even bat an eye at this little bit!"

"But I'm in the Dark Universe right now, planning to find a remote spot to break through first.

Oh, and I'll make a trip back later to sort out your identities and resources—that'll make things easier!"

Although Earth had already made contact with the universe, Luo Feng, for safety's sake, had only opened intermittent routes on Bailan Planet.

Equipment was received there, but catching a ride was no easy feat for most—it was largely a one-way street.

Chen Qing had no complaints, though. With the Virtual Universe, he could stay put and still manage.

Sister Fang's anonymous helmet was almost up for renewal, and it wouldn't sit right to keep using someone else's stuff.

Unable to disclose the coordinates outright and unwilling to show his face near Earth, Chen Qing could only agree to meet on Bailan Planet.

Jiang Fang turned her head and gave Yao Rao an inexplicable glance.

"That works. Yao Rao still lacks a secret technique. Put some effort into it when the time comes."

Yao Rao shot her best friend a look, leaned back, crossed her long, shapely legs, and squinted with a charming smile.

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

Chen Qing frowned. Seeing Sister Fang fold her arms like she was settling in for a show, he had a rough idea—whether he'd feast or just get scraps depended on today.

"The Dojo's merits go without saying, but it was never a real crutch for Senior Hong, and even less so now.

Besides, Senior's realm isn't like ours. In less than ten thousand years—maybe even a thousand—only the concept of 'Earth' might remain in his heart."

Setting aside the Luo Family's influence in the original story, how many old acquaintances did Hong still have on Earth?

Back in the day, common folk beyond the fifth degree of kinship were strangers, let alone Hong, who had his own path to walk.

But in Yao Rao's heart, Hong held a different place—like a teacher, like a father. Emotionally, this was the best angle to exploit.

From the way Yao Rao closed her eyes, Chen Qing knew he'd hit the mark. He quickly turned to Sister Fang, his face dead serious, as earnest as could be.

Jiang Fang smiled in approval and nodded to encourage him.

If it weren't for the slender leg she had grabbed under the table, Chen Qing might have burst out laughing.

After a moment of silence, just as Chen Qing was carefully distinguishing reality from the virtual, Yao Rao opened her eyes, ignoring Jiang Fang's flushed face.

"And you? What makes you different? What makes you think you're better than the Dojo Master?"

Chen Qing's hand movements paused. Jiang Fang quickly withdrew her 'weapon of mischief.'

They both stared at him, as if standing shoulder to shoulder as sisters, though in truth, she too wanted to know the answer.

Seeing their serious expressions, Chen Qing tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

"Some things aren't fit to be discussed here, nor practiced here."

Those words stunned them both, their faces going blank. Sister Fang's pupils even dilated for a split second.

"Let's put it this way—aside from resources, breakthroughs before the Domain Lord level depend on aptitude, soul, will, and force application.

Your willpower goes without saying—it's no exaggeration to say you crawled out of a pile of corpses. Your blade techniques have reached the artistic conception level. The next step is the domain."

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

"The soul isn't something we need to worry about yet. It might have some connection to aptitude. But aptitude is the main factor!"

Yao Rao nodded. The Dojo Master had passed on some information, after all—he'd always been the pioneer of the Dojo.

Plus, basic information on cosmic bloodlines could be found in the Virtual Universe.

"The upgraded Nine Basic Forms has the effect of improving physique. I don't know the exact extent, but it can definitely raise it to third-tier, maybe even second-tier!"

Watching their mouths fall open, Chen Qing licked his dry lips, feeling a little smug. But he couldn't afford to neglect one for the other.

He had the deepest understanding of the first layer of Creation. After all, having a domain at the Planetary level was already over the top, let alone the Creation Domain. Basic was also a consolidation of his own efforts.

"So you two have no problem reaching the Star level. With a better physique and improved force application, a little effort gets you to the Universe level easily—even the Domain Lord level!"

Chen Qing took a deep breath and placed both hands on the edge of the table.

"Leave the rest to me. As long as nothing unexpected happens to you, I'll have your answer within ten thousand years!"

"You want to keep us as ornaments?"

A hundred thousand years—Yao Rao let out a slow breath, her tone turning much lighter. Half a year of hard work had indeed sped up her training considerably.

Now she had finally reached the sixth layer of the Planetary level. She shot a glance at Jiang Fang, almost having been overtaken.

Jiang Fang assumed the 'ornaments' comment was directed at her and helplessly rolled her eyes. You've been holed up in the Dojo for nearly a hundred years, and I never saw you cut loose.

"Sister Demon jokes. What I want is comfort like this now—if I truly sought that, I wouldn't be me."

There are countless beauties across the universe, but what I want to keep is the obsession from my past life. You two are the closest people in my heart. As for those big men, forget it!

Yao Rao let out a soft laugh, but it felt more sincere. Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief inside.

The conversation afterward was much lighter, and it also let Chen Qing learn more about what happened during the Nirvana period.

Aboard the Vanguard, Chen Qing rubbed his chin. The "blind date" had been a success. After chatting, they even took a stroll around.

In the end, he splurged on a 20-billion-credit estate in the main city of Qiu Long Star! Hell, Earth as a high-level life planet was only worth three trillion!

But since the two women were out for the first time, it couldn't be just a day trip—even a vaccine needs three shots!

Feelings are best nurtured in reality. The three of them also needed to refine their secret techniques, and his own energy accumulation just happened to require time.

Actually, these weren't the real headache. The real annoyance was Nine Star Bay. Luo Feng spent only a hundred billion on land to build his estate.

Now the empty land around it had been bought up by the Virtual Universe Company, and the price had shot up several times over!

If it weren't for making it convenient for his own women to visit each other, and if he didn't have a bit of a quirky taste, who would choose this place!

Just wait—later, the land would need to be bigger. Live in one plot, leave one empty!

There were also two sets of top-tier second-level equipment, auxiliary intelligence, communication fees, and Azure Wave Marrow—roughly 40 billion.

As for the spaceship, forget it for now. No need to make things awkward for Luo Feng over coordinates. He'd wait until he had spatial storage items.

"Master, we are about to reach the destination. After leaving the Dark Universe, we will fly at sub-light speed for three days to reach the small asteroid cluster!"

With Spirit Butterfly's voice, the operations room began simulating the starry sky.

This was the place he had chosen to break through. It deviated from the flight path, making it inconvenient for space pirates to hide!

Three days later, the Vanguard slowed down. Chen Qing surveyed the surroundings several times before selecting a spot.

With C9's ship and a set of third-level equipment on him, his defense was a bit lacking.

But then again, who could blame him for having a hundredfold gene level? He'd be embarrassed to break through on a planet.

After organizing his belongings, Chen Qing sat cross-legged in the ship's main hall, sinking his mind into the Origin Core.