Departure

At the palace on Crystal Ice Island.

"Teacher!"

After Lu Qingshan left, a young man in a black robe standing behind Malthus asked in confusion, "Weren't you being a little too polite to Lu Qingshan? You even gave him Lord Udyr's Virtual Universe account number!"

"What do you know?"

Malthus continued, "Lu Qingshan really has helped me a lot over the past few million years. Otherwise, I wouldn't have handed him all the work in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield to manage! Besides, one of his disciples has already become an Immortal God and is now working at the company's headquarters. I may well have dealings with him in the future, so it's naturally worth building a good relationship now!"

"What's more, Lu Qingshan really is very strong. If he can enter the Initial Universe and study there for a while, he has a very good chance of breaking through and becoming an Immortal! If he really does become one, then the favor I've done him this time will be worth a great deal!"

Hearing this, the young man in the black robe suddenly understood. "Teacher, I see!"

Lu Qingshan naturally knew nothing about the conversation between Malthus and his disciple, though even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared much.

After all, if he failed to become an Immortal, he would die when his lifespan ran out in a little over a million years, so there was no need to worry about such things. And if he successfully became an Immortal, there would be even less reason to worry about them!

So, after leaving Crystal Ice Island, Lu Qingshan soon returned to his family and began selling off the many assets under its control.

Once he had amassed enough wealth, he began contacting people he was on good terms with to exchange for contribution points within the Virtual Universe Company.

Contribution points at the Yan Feng Branch were extremely valuable. Under normal circumstances, one contribution point could be exchanged for nearly ten billion Universe Coins.

In the end, Lu Qingshan spent more than twenty thousand Hunyuan Units to exchange with others for over two million contribution points. Combined with what he had already accumulated, he finally had three million contribution points.

Soon afterward, using the Virtual Universe account number Malthus had given him, Lu Qingshan contacted Udyr, the Immortal God responsible for reviewing and allocating places to study in the Initial Universe. After spending several hundred Hunyuan Units' worth of gifts to grease the wheels, he finally secured a World Lord Level study place in the Initial Universe, scheduled for a little over fifty years later.

Time passed, and soon more than forty years had gone by.

That day, Lu Qingshan was leaving his home to travel to Virtual Universe Company's Universal Headquarters.

At the entrance to the luxurious castle where Lu Qingshan lived on Thunder Star!

His children and disciples had learned long ago that he would soon be heading to the Initial Universe. Now, they had gathered there to see him off.

"Third son!"

Lu Qingshan looked at his third son, Lu Hongwen, who stood at the front. "After I leave, I'll entrust all the family's affairs to you! If anything important comes up, discuss it with Fifth Brother, Black, and the others!"

After his seventh son, Lu Hongyuan, died on the Extraterritorial Battlefield, Lu Qingshan had been left with only three sons and three daughters.

Among them, his third son, Lu Hongwen, fifth son, Lu Hongtu, and fourth daughter, Lu Wenxiu, had all reached the World Lord level. However, none had gained recognition from an Origin Law, and their strength was fairly ordinary among World Lord Level experts. His sixth daughter, Lu Wenyun, and eighth son, Lu Hongguang, were still Domain Lords, working hard to break through and become World Lords. As for his seventh daughter, Lu Wenxuan, she and Lu Hongguang were both children of his current wife, Karina. She was not yet ten thousand years old and was still just a little Universe Level youngster.

As for Lu Qingshan's disciples, they were considerably stronger.

Among the disciples currently serving Lu Qingshan's family, his second disciple, Black, and fifth disciple, Aina, had both gained recognition from an Origin Law. In addition, nine others, including his third disciple, Cobb, had also reached the World Lord level.

As for his other disciples, apart from his sixth disciple, Hogus, who had joined the Virtual Universe Company and successfully broken through to become an Immortal, the rest had either died or had yet to reach the World Lord level.

"Father, don't worry!"

His third son, Lu Hongwen, quickly assured him, "I'll take good care of the family!"

"Make sure you handle the Virtual Universe Company's affairs properly, too!"

Lu Qingshan switched to a mental transmission and reminded him, "Every year, send seventy percent of the earnings to Lord Malthus!"

Lu Qingshan would be away for around a thousand years to study in the Initial Universe, so he naturally couldn't continue managing the Virtual Universe Company's many affairs in the Thunderlight Sea Starfield. After discussing it with Malthus, he had handed all the work over to his third son, Lu Hongwen.

"I understand!"

Lu Hongwen answered in a mental transmission as well. "Father, don't worry. I'll make sure everything with Lord Malthus is handled properly!"

After assigning the family's affairs, Lu Qingshan turned to his wife and two daughters. "Karina, Wenyun, Wenxuan, I hope you've reached the World Lord and Domain Lord levels by the time I return!"

"Brother Qingshan, Father, don't worry!"

Karina and the two girls quickly replied, "We'll make sure to train hard!"

"And you, too!"

Lu Qingshan turned to his disciples. "Make sure you don't slack off in your cultivation. If you have any questions, you can ask Black and Aina directly. Their insights into the Lightning Origin Law are already almost as deep as mine!"

"Yes, Teacher!" his disciples replied respectfully.

"All right, it's about time. I should be leaving!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Qingshan waved his hand, and an E-class spaceship appeared in midair before them.

Then Lu Qingshan blurred and shot straight toward the spaceship in the air.

Just then...

"May Father achieve immortality!"

"May Teacher achieve immortality!"

His children and disciples all called out respectfully.

Whoosh!

The hatch opened. Lu Qingshan waved to everyone, then went straight inside the ship.

Whoosh!

A streak of dark golden light shot upward, pierced through Thunder Star's atmosphere, and sped into the boundless depths of the universe.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, more than a decade went by.

That day, Lu Qingshan was once again quietly cultivating in the spaceship's lounge, as he usually did.

Although this kind of cultivation brought him no obvious improvement, he understood the truth that "a rope can cut through wood with enough time, and water can wear through stone." In order to become an Immortal, he had never once slacked off in his cultivation.

Just then, the voice of his Auxiliary Intelligence, Deep Blue, suddenly rang in his ears.

"Master, the spaceship is about to reach Virtual Universe Company's Universal Headquarters!"

"We're finally here!"

Lu Qingshan slowly opened his eyes, then sighed. "Time really does fly!"

The E-class spaceship he was traveling in wasn't particularly powerful. In the Dark Universe, it could only maintain a maximum speed of twenty times the speed of light. Fortunately, Virtual Universe Company's Universal Headquarters wasn't very far from Yan Feng Universe Country, and it would take him only a little over a decade to get there.

A decade or so wasn't a short time, but to a World Lord Level expert like him, with a lifespan of tens of millions of years, it was insignificant.

Besides, he had been cultivating throughout the journey, so the time hadn't gone to waste!

Inside the spaceship's main hall.

Lu Qingshan wore a dark golden inner armor formed by Kash, a World Lord Level Metal Lifeform, with a perfectly fitted dark golden Alloy Battle Suit over it. Standing in the hall, he looked quite extraordinary.

Apart from buying a place to study in the Initial Universe, the thing Lu Qingshan had spent the most on over the endless years was raising Kash, the World Lord Level Metal Lifeform.

Kash was the most defense-oriented Auxiliary Lifeform Lu Qingshan had been able to find. It was even somewhat stronger than a Cloud Vine of the same level. Raising Kash to the World Lord level had cost Lu Qingshan more than three thousand Hunyuan Units.

But it had been worth it!

If he hadn't had Kash, he would probably have died on the Extraterritorial Battlefield long ago!

"Beginning cosmic shuttle. Entering the Original Universe."

Auxiliary Intelligence Deep Blue's voice rang out again. "Five... four... three... two... one!"

The entire spaceship shuddered slightly. More than ten seconds passed before it returned to normal.

"Deep Blue, activate 100% external-scene simulation!"

As soon as the ship entered the Original Universe, Lu Qingshan immediately gave the order.

He had never been to Virtual Universe Company's headquarters, so he was looking forward to seeing what it looked like.

Soon, the entire hall turned transparent and disappeared, and a fantastical starry sky appeared all around him.

Deep in that vast starry sky floated a boundless supercontinent!

Beside the enormous continent, the stars and planets, once unimaginably huge, now seemed insignificant, like tiny specks of starlight scattered around it.

Lu Qingshan gazed into the distance. Even though he had been prepared, he was still shaken by the vast continent.

It was far more impressive than the fragments of continents and barracks bases he had seen on the Extraterritorial Battlefield!

"The Virtual Universe Company truly deserves its place among the five great superpowers!"

Lu Qingshan couldn't help exclaiming, "The construction of this headquarters continent is truly astonishing!"

"Master!"

Auxiliary Intelligence Deep Blue's voice sounded again. "According to the information I've found, Virtual Universe Company's headquarters continent is several dozen light-years in diameter. The stars, planets, meteorites, and other celestial bodies floating around it are actually technological weapons of terrifying power. They pose an enormous threat even to beings as powerful as Universe Country Lords!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan couldn't help shaking his head inwardly.

His standing was still too low, so the information Deep Blue could retrieve from the Virtual Universe was rather basic.

Those celestial bodies were indeed extremely powerful technological weapons. But in truth, what had allowed Virtual Universe Company's Universal Headquarters to stand here for endless ages was the support of the Human Race's Universe Masters and even the super-strong beings at the level of the Universe's Strongest!

There'll be another chapter this afternoon. From now on, updates will be posted between six and seven in the afternoon.