Lu Qingshan

Yan Feng Universe Country, Thunderlight Sea Starfield, Thunder Star!

Thunder Star was incomparably prosperous. In the entire Thunderlight Sea Starfield, perhaps only Imperial Capital Star could surpass it!

And within the most central region of Thunder Star, in a quiet room at the top of a towering castle, a middle-aged man clad in golden battle armor sat cross-legged in meditation.

The middle-aged man had short black hair, a resolute face, and an exceptionally distinct lightning mark between his brows.

This man was none other than the master of Thunder Star, the third strongest expert in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield, Lu Qingshan!

After meditating for several hundred years without sensing the slightest improvement, Lu Qingshan helplessly opened his eyes and gradually sank into his memories.

It had already been more than eight million years since he had transmigrated into this world!

Over those eight million years, he had constantly cultivated, sparred and battled countless experts, and even competed everywhere for fortuitous opportunities...

When he had first begun cultivating, Lu Qingshan's progress had indeed been astonishingly fast!

At fifty, he had entered the first level of the Lightning Domain. At twelve hundred, he had crossed the threshold of the Law of Lightning Origin, and he had even been hailed as the number one genius of the Thunderlight Sea Starfield!

Moreover, the Lu Family had originally been one of the top ten great families in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield, producing a World Master-level expert in every generation. Lu Qingshan's future had been absolutely bright!

Back then, he had indeed been full of ambition, convinced that he could become one of the most supreme beings in the vast universe!

But reality proved that he simply was not cut out for it!

At fifteen hundred years old, Lu Qingshan had participated for the first time in the Universe Human Peak Talent Tournament organized by the Giant Axe Dojo. In the end, he ranked only 471st within Yan Feng Universe Country, far from breaking into the top thousand of the universe-wide rankings. He could only join Yanfeng Holy Land!

However, being familiar with the original story, he understood well the importance of entering the core ranks of the five great powers. Thus, after his peers successively advanced to the Universe level, he remained at the Stellar level for several thousand more years!

It was not until he was sixty-five hundred years old that he again participated in the Universe Human Peak Talent Tournament held by the Virtual Universe Company.

This time, his strength had indeed improved enormously. He had even defeated every opponent in Yan Feng Universe Country's talent selection battle. Yet in the end, he still fell just short and failed to break into the top thousand of the universe-wide rankings.

Left with no choice, he could only continue cultivating within Yanfeng Holy Land while advancing to the Universe level.

Over the long years that followed, he had also participated several times in the Universe Human Peak Powerhouse Battle, which only Universe-level experts could enter. Yet each time, he failed to use it to enter the core ranks of the human race's five great powers!

After striving time and again, Lu Qingshan finally realized that there was an immense gap between himself and those top geniuses of the universe.

So, in the days that followed, he gradually lost his fighting spirit and became a salted fish merely drifting through life.

Of course, even salted fish had dreams!

For Lu Qingshan, his dream after becoming a salted fish was to cultivate steadily until he reached the Immortal realm. Then, when Luo Feng rose to prominence in the future, he would offer him some help and could finally lie flat for good!

Because of this, although Lu Qingshan had lost his fighting spirit, he had never stopped cultivating.

After several million years, he had rather smoothly cultivated to the peak of the World Master level and gained the recognition of the Law of Lightning Origin. He had even become the third strongest expert in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield!

But unfortunately, taking that final step to become a true Immortal god was still an incomparably difficult matter for Lu Qingshan.

Fortunately, he knew the plot and was aware of certain opportunities that could aid his cultivation.

Among them, one of the most important opportunities was entering the Initial Universe for enlightenment!

Although quotas for World Master-level enlightenment in the Initial Universe were extremely precious, Lu Qingshan's family produced World Master-level experts in every generation and had already accumulated wealth over hundreds of millions of years.

Furthermore, after becoming a World Master-level expert, Lu Qingshan had continually taken in talented disciples and worked hard to nurture the family's younger generation. Now, after several million years, aside from lacking a true Immortal god to preside over it, the Lu Family's strength in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield was no weaker than that of the Lightning Sea Empire's imperial family!

With the family's accumulation over hundreds of millions of years, coupled with Lu Qingshan's efforts over several million years, he was no longer far from obtaining a quota for enlightenment in the Initial Universe.

"Time really passes quickly!"

Lu Qingshan could not help sighing softly. "At the family's recent rate of wealth growth, even without any special opportunities, another two hundred thousand years or so of accumulation will be enough for me to save up thirty thousand chaos units!"

Although World Master-level quotas for enlightenment in the Initial Universe often sold for more than thirty thousand chaos units at auctions, Lu Qingshan's efforts over the past several million years had not been in vain.

Besides becoming an external member of the Virtual Universe Company, he had also become acquainted with more than ten Immortal gods from the Yan Feng branch of the Virtual Universe Company.

Of course, the most important point was that his sixth disciple, whom he had accepted more than five million years ago, had now become an Immortal god in the core ranks of the Virtual Universe Company!

Therefore, he only needed to spend thirty thousand chaos units to obtain a World Master-level quota for enlightenment in the Initial Universe through the Virtual Universe Company's internal channels!

In truth, given Lu Qingshan's current strength, there were other ways for him to accumulate wealth more quickly, such as heading to the extraterritorial battlefield to earn military merits...

On the extraterritorial battlefield, known as a meat grinder for races, if he could survive for tens of thousands of years, Lu Qingshan's strength would be more than enough to earn wealth worth several thousand, or even tens of thousands, of chaos units!

But all of that depended on one condition: surviving!

Lu Qingshan had once gone to the extraterritorial battlefield before, but after only a few decades of adventuring, he had encountered several life-or-death crises. Thus, once he had accumulated enough military merits to gain his freedom, he immediately chose to retire.

After all, he was not Luo Feng from the original story. Not only did Luo Feng possess countless methods, but in a crisis, he could even crush the City Lord of Chaos's token!

As an ordinary World Master-level expert, adventuring on the extraterritorial battlefield was simply too dangerous. He might as well steadily accumulate wealth within human territory.

Moreover, before heading to the Initial Universe, his own accumulation in the Law of Lightning Origin had to be sufficient. Otherwise, even if he obtained the chance to enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, becoming an Immortal would still be extremely difficult!

"It's a pity my cheat hasn't arrived yet!"

Lu Qingshan's consciousness quickly turned toward a progress bar in his mind. "Otherwise, I would probably have become an Immortal long ago, perhaps even a Universe Venerable!"

That was right!

As a transmigrator, Lu Qingshan also possessed a cheat: the progress bar in his mind, which was nearly finished loading.

Although he did not know what type of cheat it was, as long as it was a cheat, it would surely help his cultivation.

But unfortunately, ever since the progress bar had nearly finished, it had gotten stuck there!

Over endless years, Lu Qingshan had already tried countless methods, yet he had never managed to activate his cheat.

As time passed, he gradually gave up and could only rely on himself to cultivate slowly.

After all, as long as he could live into Luo Feng's era and successfully latch onto Luo Feng, the effect would be no worse than any cheat!

"Father!"

Just as Lu Qingshan was recalling his life over the past several million years, a deep voice suddenly rang out beside him.

"Hm?" Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.

During cultivation, he forbade anyone from disturbing him. The only people who could come here at such a time were his children and personal disciples; no one else had the authority to enter.

But his children and personal disciples were not fools. Unless something extremely important had happened, they would never come disturb him!

"Come in!" Lu Qingshan said in a deep voice after coming back to his senses.

The door to the quiet room opened automatically, and three figures soon entered from outside. All of them were his children.

"What is it?" Lu Qingshan was rather surprised.

By this point in his cultivation, he had successively had six wives and as many as fifteen children. Yet as time passed, most of those relatives had already fallen. Only one wife, four sons, and three daughters were still alive.

As for the children currently staying on Thunder Star, only the three before him remained.

If something major had not happened, these three would never have come to see him at this time.

"Father!"

The third child, Lu Hongwen, who stood at the front, revealed a trace of sorrow on his face. "Seventh Brother has fallen!"

"What?" Lu Qingshan was slightly stunned.

His seventh son, Lu Hongyuan, was the most perceptive and gifted of all his children. After cultivating for barely over a million years, he had already gained the recognition of the Law of Wind Origin, even a little faster than Lu Qingshan had been back then.

But now, Lu Hongyuan had actually fallen?

"What exactly happened?" Lu Qingshan quickly asked.

"Father!" Lu Hongwen hurriedly replied, "Sixth Sister knows the most about this matter. It would be better for her to tell you!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan immediately turned his gaze toward Lu Wenyun at the side.

Lu Wenyun and Lu Hongyuan shared the same mother and were indeed closest to each other. However, Lu Wenyun was currently only a Domain Lord. If she could not break through to the World Master level, she would reach the end of her lifespan in a little over a hundred thousand years!

"Father!"

Seeing Lu Qingshan looking at her, Lu Wenyun immediately said softly, "Seventh Brother went to the extraterritorial battlefield more than two hundred years ago to temper himself. Just now, he sent his final message through the virtual universe, saying that he had encountered a fatal crisis he could not escape! Before he could finish speaking, Seventh Brother's communication was cut off. Then, when I checked the token Seventh Brother left with me, the aura on it had completely dissipated as well!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Qingshan immediately waved his hand and took out a token engraved with Lu Hongyuan's name. The aura on it had indeed completely dissipated.

"Hmph!"

Lu Qingshan snorted coldly, then said in an icy voice, "I warned you long ago that the extraterritorial battlefield is incomparably dangerous. Without sufficient strength, you must never go there to adventure! Did you take my words as nothing more than wind past your ears?"

"Seventh Brother had been there for so long, yet not one of you informed me?"

"Father, Seventh Brother asked us to keep it secret!"

Lu Wenyun hurriedly said, "He went to the extraterritorial battlefield this time because he wanted to give you a surprise!"

"A surprise?" Lu Qingshan was slightly taken aback.

"Yes!" Lu Wenyun quickly explained, "Seventh Brother knew that you had always been gathering funds to purchase a quota for enlightenment in the Initial Universe. He went to the extraterritorial battlefield this time to accumulate military merits and help you exchange them for a quota for enlightenment in the Initial Universe!"

"This..."

After hearing Lu Wenyun's words, the anger in Lu Qingshan's heart immediately dissipated, replaced by helplessness and sorrow.

After a moment of silence, Lu Qingshan finally asked again, "Wenyun, did your Seventh Brother leave behind any final words?"

"Seventh Brother gave me his Cosmic Star River Bank account number and password, asking me to pass them on to you. He also hoped that the family would show some care to his branch in the future!"

Lu Wenyun said solemnly, "Seventh Brother also said in the end that he hoped you would become a true Immortal god!"

"This child..."

Lu Qingshan sighed, and the sorrow in his heart deepened further.