Qin Jingzhou ruffled his son’s big head, then sent a thought over. The transparent orb, like a bubble, popped instantly. The players tumbled to the ground like dumplings falling into a pot, but from such a low height, at most they’d get a bruise or two. It was impossible for any bones to be broken.
The players didn’t even need to exchange words. Instantly, they sat down in neat rows, waiting for Qin Jingzhou to speak and “interrogate” them. They already knew the big boss was strong, but none of them had expected him to be this strong.
The members of the Xiao Family felt especially complicated. What on earth had Jingzhou been in his previous life? Surely, he must have become an immortal by now!
Spiritual power gushed out from the Formation Node of the Spirit Vein and rushed into Xuan Qing’s body, though quite a bit still dispersed into the surroundings.
Qin Jingzhou reminded the players, “Savor this feeling. If you want this kind of environment in the old world, you’ll be waiting more than ten years.”
With a statement like that, the players wasted no time—they crossed their legs on the spot and began cultivating according to the method in the Xin Jing Philosophy.
As the dense and pure spiritual energy poured into their bodies, the first thing it did was heal the damage to both body and soul they’d suffered while closely observing the Zerg and enduring the howl of the Nest Queen. Only after this healing did the energy begin to circulate slowly, increasing their reserves and power.
With his son and the players each busy, Qin Jingzhou used his spiritual energy to shape two chairs, sat in one himself, and gestured to the other. Ling Jing sat down with a smile.
Leaning comfortably against the back of the chair, Ling Jing took the initiative to say, “Xuan Qing doesn’t have much sense of belonging to this world. After he self-destructed his Golden Core to save the entire fleet and the fleeing civilian population, he probably felt he’d fulfilled his duty. Once you showed up, he only wanted to live with you. It wouldn’t matter much what happened to this world. For a general who self-detonated his Golden Core and is still intact, neither the Empire nor the Federation would dare let him go so easily.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “That’s right. The Will of this world is willing to grant me a backdoor because I promised her to help find a way to stably resist, or even completely suppress, the Zerg.”
Ling Jing understood at once. “You’ve found a way?”
Qin Jingzhou glanced down at his son, who was curled up twitching now and then like a fuzzy ball by his feet. “More or less.” He paused, then explained seriously, “Our human race is famed for its incredibly low lower bound, but the highest possible upper bound among advanced intelligent beings. This world’s humans, to resist foreign enemies, chose to fuse with the bloodlines of divine and magic beasts. They basically mass-produced half-demons. The trade-off is rapid advancement and formidable fighting power, but at the cost of their upper limit. As a result, even in such resource-rich worlds that can support the Divine Transformation Stage, the locals can only achieve Divine Transformation-level combat power with the help of Legendary mechas.”
Ling Jing sighed. “There are gains and losses in all things. Even with the lack of top-tier fighters, being able to still defend their territory and resources and keep the fight with the Zerg in balance is something in itself. But the Will of the World giving you this kind of quest means the casualty ratio is already staggering. The humans are almost at their limit, aren’t they?”
Qin Jingzhou replied telepathically, “Exactly. I’ve thought it over these past few days and came up with a solution.”
Ling Jing observed Xuan Qing for a moment. “Sprawled out on your array, enjoying a spiritual energy bath? I remember Xuan Qing studied your array formations for over a hundred years in his previous life, so even if he’s stumped here… the local humans probably can’t learn them either.”
“They definitely can’t, but they can still make copies. I’ll leave them a template.”
Ling Jing thought for a while, then warned, “You can’t let them have it too cheap. From what I see, Xuan Qing probably hasn’t felt much warmth in this world at all.”
Qin Jingzhou laughed again. “Don’t be fooled by how soft and clingy he acts with me. In reality, his personality is quite proud. At most, he’ll listen when you or I talk to him.”
Ling Jing grinned, bent over, and ruffled Xuan Qing’s head again. Xuan Qing didn’t resist at all, even wagged his tail a couple of times.
That made Ling Jing beam with delight.
The players soon finished absorbing spiritual energy—cultivating isn’t something you can take to excess, since the spirit and body can only hold so much. Watching Ling Jing knead Xuan Qing’s big, fluffy head, Wanwan tugged on Xiao Jin’s sleeve and whispered, “Brother, I think I’ve just eaten a lemon.”
Xiao Jin consoled her, “Dad might have been an immortal in a past life. Xuan Qing, who knows how many years he spent with him? We’ve only just met Dad. There’s no way to compare.”
Wanwan just shook her head slowly. “I just want to pet Brother Xuan Qing’s fur too.”
Xiao Jin: … “Well, to be honest, I kinda want to as well.”
All in all, Xuan Qing lay sprawled on the array Qin Jingzhou made for him for half the day. When his body was bursting with spiritual energy, he finally opened his eyes. “Dad, I’m about to explode…”
Qin Jingzhou tapped his son’s forehead, “That’s enough, get up. Pack it in, we’re going home.” He still had to collect what was left of the spirit veins and array disks—take them home and sell them for a high price.
Taking the starship back to Xuan Qing’s domain, Qin Jingzhou kicked the players offline, then asked Ling Jing to return first and stand guard. He wanted to stay to watch over Xuan Qing, since Xuan Qing might advance at any moment, and all sorts of factions would likely come calling in that period.
Ling Jing knew that since the players had trained in such dense spiritual energy, their cultivation would surely progress at lightning speed. When they returned to the original world, they’d definitely benefit. She needed to look after things there, especially with Su Huaizhen lurking around. She squeezed Xuan Qing’s big paw, then slipped through the crystal wall, back to the other world.
With the huge manor left with just father and son, Xuan Qing was in a great mood. His giant tail curled around his father’s wrist, and he rolled over to reveal his plush belly. “Dad, honestly, I used to worry a lot about advancing. I’d probably have to face a heart demon, and I didn’t feel confident about overcoming that tribulation, plus this world is just so boring…”
Qin Jingzhou rubbed his son’s belly, interrupting. “What about now?”
Xuan Qing’s starry eyes sparkled. “Dad, with you here, I’m not afraid of anything!” Starships are always one pilot per vessel. Even if he authorized someone else to fly his starship, he would have to file it with the officials first. He’d been out in his starship for almost two days now, and the various factions watching him would never let this chance slip by.
He withdrew his tail and shook his head lightly. “I’ve fought and won so many times against impossible odds I can’t even remember. If it weren’t for my superior having some integrity and some genuine appreciation for me, plus being willing to protect what little dignity I had left, those people would have locked me up as soon as my Golden Core shattered, interrogated me and wrung out all my secrets.” His anger grew as he went on. “The skills in my mind are useless in this place! Were it not so, I’d have conquered this universe myself and left them with nothing to scheme about!”
Qin Jingzhou chuckled, “You’re my student.” He pinched his son’s ear. “Shows you’ve got a ways to go before adapting to the situation.”
“Exactly!” Xuan Qing blurted out his real feelings. “I just want to rely on you, Dad, and stay by your side… and keep learning!”
Well, he admits it baldly and isn’t even embarrassed.
Qin Jingzhou was about to reply when the estate’s security system made an announcement. “Unidentified ship approaching, should I shoot it down?”
Xuan Qing answered right away. “No need.” He grinned. “Dad, I bet my superior sent someone to check up on me, but it’s always my enemies who arrive first.”
Qin Jingzhou patted his son’s head. “They’re certainly not welcome guests, but we mustn’t neglect the rules of hospitality.”
Xuan Qing shook out his fur. “Mm, I’ll go bring them in.”
As the newly “rejuvenated” Xuan Qing appeared outside the manor, the hovering ship and several other starships hiding behind the planetary asteroid belt all came alert. Xuan Qing’s beast core had shattered, he’d been on the verge of death—so the rumors were true. He really had an extraordinary inheritance or treasure.
The hatch on the ship opened. Four warriors in advanced battle armor—about equivalent to late Golden Core stage—flew out. They didn’t waste a word, just attacked straight away. Their plan all along had been to kidnap Xuan Qing. Who could expect a general with so many battle merits and a record as fleet commander to stand there and surrender?
Now fully healed and on the verge of the Nascent Soul stage, Xuan Qing was thrilled to have enemies to fight. His pupils contracted excitedly, and his fur puffed up.
Qin Jingzhou stood inside the manor, head tilted as he watched the show. In less than five minutes, his son had taken the four armored warriors apart, leaving them helpless except for their heads.
Though Xuan Qing was proud by nature, he had no taste for killing.
He knew these mecha warriors were only following orders. None of them emanated any bloodlust, and since he was in no danger, he couldn’t be bothered to take these poor foot soldiers’ lives.
By the way, in this world, humans with divine and magic beast genes were extremely tough, and their technological level had reached the point where they could travel among the stars. Regrowing a lost limb… was a minor operation that even the smallest local clinic could manage...
The leaders aboard the starships behind didn’t worry when they saw this. The more powerful Xuan Qing appeared, the greater the secret he must be hiding.
He was prepared to play his “just-in-case” trump card.
Then, Xuan Qing swept the dismembered warriors aside with a few swings of his tail, and looked up at the new arrival—a lone mecha warrior. Xuan Qing’s expression grew more serious. “So you’ve become their lapdog too.”
The mecha warrior sighed. “Why resist? Without external help, how do we fight the Zerg?”
Xuan Qing gave a sharp “hmph.” “Save your nonsense! You’re just doing a job for pay. Don’t preach to me about ideals. After a few years, you’re even more revolting than before.”
The mecha warrior fell silent for a moment. “So what if you survived disaster and grew a little stronger? Today, I’m here to teach you a lesson.”
Xuan Qing snapped furiously, “The only one qualified to teach me is my dad!” He hesitated half a beat, then shouted, “And my dad’s girlfriend counts for half!” With that, he charged in, brimming with fighting spirit.
Qin Jingzhou watched his son and the newcomer get stuck into a brawl, then said to his System, “Xiao Qing never could argue.”
“If he can use his fists and his mouth just as well, that’s fine.” The System had been unusually quiet lately. “Just now when Xuan Qing said 'hmph,' didn’t he mean 'tsk'? But he’s so used to mimicking your 'hmph,' it just slipped out.”
Qin Jingzhou let out a hearty laugh, glancing up at the few starships in orbit. Their hulls were flickering, energy cannons charged and ready to bombard his son’s ship as well as some more distant vessels. He condensed a giant hand from spiritual energy, swatted it down, and sent the attacking spacecraft crashing out of the sky. In everyone’s ears, his voice rang out. “You are not allowed to ambush my son.”