A Just Official Can't Settle Household Disputes

Traveling through the dark universe at extreme speeds, the Silver Shuttle arrived near its destination after half a month, exiting the dark universe to return to normal space.

Outside the portholes lay a desolate and silent star field.

In the distance, the dim and colorful Dark Cloud Star Belt drifted through the void.

Closer by, countless meteorites of varying sizes floated and drifted slowly, forming a dangerous debris field.

Far from any life-bearing planets, this was a true cosmic wasteland; it was no wonder this secret realm had remained hidden until now.

Following the coordinate guidance, the Silver Shuttle maneuvered nimbly through the asteroid field, finally approaching a small, lifeless planet with a grey-black surface—the Ash Planet.

The spaceship landed within a crater on the shadowed side of the Ash Planet.

As the hatch opened and Lu Ming and He Ya stepped out, a rough, hearty laugh erupted from behind a massive meteorite nearby.

"Hahaha! Old Lu! He Ya! You two old fogies, you've arrived quite quickly!"

Before the words had even faded, a bald giant nearly three meters tall, his muscles knotted like cast metal and clad in brown battle armor, strode over with long, powerful steps.

The ground trembled slightly with every step he took; it was the Domain Lord, Man Ji.

Man Ji walked up, first clapping He Ya hard on the shoulder before fixing his copper-bell-sized eyes on Lu Ming. He swung a palm as large as a fan toward Lu Ming's shoulder, his voice booming.

"Old Lu! You brat! You finally decided to crawl out of that turtle shell of yours on Azure Mist Planet! It's been nearly ten thousand years; I thought you were planning to rot away at home!"

However, his hand stopped abruptly just before it could touch Lu Ming's shoulder.

The smile on Man Ji's face froze, replaced by deep astonishment. He looked Lu Ming up and down, as if trying to recognize him all over again.

"You... the scent on you is wrong!"

Man Ji said in a muffled, gravelly voice.

"That stench of Universe-level decay... it's gone? Replaced by something... I can't quite put my finger on it, but it feels damn good! Old Lu, you... you son of a bitch, you broke through?! Domain Lord?!"

Watching Man Ji's shocked expression, Lu Ming smiled slightly and teased, "What, Man Ji, are you only allowed to have muscles for brains, while I, Lu Ming, am not allowed to break through to Domain Lord?"

"Hahahaha!"

After confirming it, Man Ji burst into an even louder laugh. This time, he slammed a solid palm onto Lu Ming's shoulder with enough force to shatter a mountain, yet Lu Ming didn't budge an inch.

"Good! That's great! I knew it! A stubborn old bastard like you has a life as tough as a star core; how could you possibly be blocked by the mere threshold of a Domain Lord!"

He seemed even more excited than He Ya had been.

"Damn it! You have no idea, we old guys were discussing it in private! If you hadn't broken through within this century, we were going to throw away our pride and go to the Cosmic Galaxy Bank to take out a massive loan, no matter what, to get you the treasures needed to repair your foundation! Who would have thought? You handled it yourself! Saved us a fortune! Hahaha!"

At this moment, a slightly feminine voice drifted out.

"Man Ji, can you keep your voice down? Are you afraid someone won't know we're gathering here?"

Following the voice, a blurred figure condensed from the shadows like a ghost. It was a short, thin man in a tight black suit with a face so ordinary he would be lost in a crowd.

It was the team's expert in stealth and reconnaissance, Shadow Shuttle, a peak Universe-level 9 spirit reader.

Shadow Shuttle nodded at He Ya first before looking at Lu Ming, a trace of surprise and relief flashing through his calm, ripple-less eyes.

"Lu Ming, congratulations. It seems our chances for this exploration have increased significantly."

Lu Ming smiled at Shadow Shuttle, "Shadow Shuttle, long time no see. I'll take your kind words."

He Ya laughed from the side, "Alright, half the team is here. Now we just wait for Little San, the one who discovered this place."

"Tch, that guy gathered us all, yet he ends up being the slowest to arrive."

About seven or eight days later, just as Lu Ming and the others were meditating within the crater, a subtle spatial fluctuation rippled through the air.

The void nearby rippled like water, and a sleek, deep-blue spaceship shaped like a swimming fish emerged silently; it was Carlos's ride, the Deep Blue C7 Spaceship.

The hatch opened, and a man in blue casual wear stepped out. He looked quite young and handsome, though his eyes held the shrewdness and weariness of time.

"Apologies, apologies, everyone, I'm late."

Carlos, nicknamed "Little San," a Domain Lord, walked up quickly and bowed to the group in greeting.

"Yo, our great discoverer finally decided to show his face?"

Man Ji's booming voice rang out first.

"I thought you'd found the treasure and snuck in all by yourself!"

Carlos shook his head with a bitter smile, "Man Ji, stop teasing me. Sigh, I was truly held up by some messy business at home."

He Ya, being more observant, noticed Carlos seemed genuinely troubled and asked, "What's wrong, Little San? Looking at you, it doesn't seem like a simple delay on the road."

Carlos sighed, rubbing his temples with a pained expression, "It's that good-for-nothing son of mine! You all know I only have one sprout; I finally managed to train him to the Universe-level, and his talent is decent, but his brain... sigh!"

He paused, adding helplessly, "I don't know how it happened, but during a Cosmic Mercenary assessment, he met the little princess of the Los Empire, and now he's fallen head over heels—lost his soul over her!"

Shadow Shuttle's voice drifted over.

"The Los Empire? That elementary civilization empire with decent strength? With your status as a Domain Lord, your son taking a liking to their princess shouldn't be a bad thing, right? Could the Los Empire possibly dare to refuse?"

"That's exactly the problem!"

Carlos slapped his thigh, his tone even more frustrated.

"If this were a normal marriage alliance, I could just send anyone to relay the word, and the Emperor of the Los Empire would likely be falling over himself to pack his daughter up and send her over! But that brat of mine... he's a damn simp!"

"A simp?"

Man Ji widened his eyes; that was a term Lu Ming had taught them back in the day!

Lu Ming understood it perfectly, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

He Ya couldn't help but chuckle.

Carlos looked heartbroken.

"Exactly! The kind that fawns over the other person without any bottom line! That little princess of the Los Empire is clearly keeping him at arm's length, stringing him along, making him do this and that, and even using his status as the son of a Domain Lord to solve her troubles, yet she won't give him a straight answer. My foolish son is still happily convinced this is a test, working himself to the bone to prove his worth! Before I set out this time, the kid came begging me again, wanting me to step in and pressure the Los Empire, or to send some heavy gift... it infuriated me!"

"Pfft..."

He Ya finally couldn't hold back his laughter.

"So, you were pestered by your boy until you couldn't get away?"

Carlos nodded helplessly: "Isn't that the truth! I had to talk him down with every argument I could think of just to keep him steady. I told him I'd help him figure something out after I return from this expedition. Honestly... to think that I, Carlos, have been shrewd my entire life, how did I end up with such a lovesick son!"

After hearing this, Man Ji burst into loud laughter, his voice shaking the surroundings.

"Hahaha! Little San, I never thought you'd see a day like this! Where did that slippery nature of yours go? How come you didn't pass that on to your son?"

Shadow Shuttle also revealed a rare trace of a smile: "Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes."