Standing at the summit of Ren Mountain, Qin Jingzhou gave Lin Baiming a few more instructions before leaving with his foolish son Qin Er and Xu Chen.
He’d grown used to living in the renovated “shop below, home above” style clinic, thanks to all the support from multiple parties, and had no desire to move elsewhere. Half of this newly acquired unique space he decided to rent out to the association for growing Yunling grass, while the other half would be converted into a greenhouse and a dedicated operating room.
Lin Baiming, after hearing his plans, eagerly offered both hand and foot in support, his face shining with the relief of a man who’d survived disaster. “You’re truly the world’s number one divine physician! We are so fortunate to have you!”
Qin Jingzhou answered with composure, “Healing the sick and saving lives is part of the inheritance of a divine physician. Patients and doctors alike benefit from it.”
Hearing this, Lin Baiming was thoroughly convinced, patting his chest. “I get it! Just rest easy and leave the rest to me!”
As it happened, all the stubborn elders of the Ancient Martial Association perished in the ruins, and now with the rest of the leadership and the official representatives having toured the mountain of skeletons with their own eyes, Lin Baiming held something close to the sole word in the association.
After returning home, Qin Jingzhou didn’t rest, instead continuing to take cases and save people. This brought a sigh of relief to extraordinary forces both in and out of the country, while also instilling a certain fear for him in all of them.
But there were always those who refused to bend. So, acceding to Lin Baiming’s request, Qin Jingzhou made time to show up in person, and at first meeting gave every one of the “troublemakers” a sharp slap across the face. Regardless of their level, no matter if they were in the air or on the ground, each and every one spun two and a half times on the spot after taking his slap.
Extraordinaries and ancient martial forces from near and far sent gifts and paid respects by the dozen, declaring their submission.
Soon after, Lin Baiming came with a list of tallied statistics and names: all those infected by the Huiwu had been identified. A month had passed, and these victims’ IQs had dropped dramatically, especially Old Master Lu, who had regressed to the level of a young child. Lu Liu and Gu Su were faring only slightly better, no more than a ten-year-old’s level at best.
Honestly, letting a villain like Old Master Lu spend the rest of his days in muddled confusion was too light a punishment.
Lu Jiuxiao decided on the spot. “Dad, cure them. How could it be suffering if they can’t even be awake for it?”
His silly son had a point.
So Qin Jingzhou told Qin Er to summon the person in charge of Sanjiu Network—the very company that had developed the online game he’d been playing.
Before the person arrived, several big names had already tipped him off. The message was simple: meet every demand. If you anger the divine physician, no one can save you.
Thus, when facing Qin Jingzhou, they appeared highly apprehensive.
Qin Jingzhou got straight to the point. “I hear you’re working on VR technology?”
The executives paused, then burst with delight. “Yes!”
As it turned out, by simply attaching a small metal chip to the back of the publicly sold Sanjiu Network VR headsets, the victims could gradually recover their intelligence while playing the game.
The only trouble was that the engraved metal chips had to be crafted personally by late-stage Postnatal Martial Artists or Extraordinaries.
At this time, the number of martial artists and Extraordinaries willing to help was countless, especially after Qin Jingzhou announced that anyone who produced a qualified “small metal chip” in sufficient numbers would qualify for priority treatment and the right to purchase rare pills.
In a flash, so many martial artists and Extraordinaries signed up to do the handiwork that the app crashed from overload.
Before long, with Lin Baiming taking over the association and making proper arrangements, Yunling grass production resumed its outward supply, and the raucous extraordinary world calmed down. Minor disputes continued, but large-scale conflicts, like what the Demonic Master and Lu Zhentong had caused when over ten innate realm practitioners perished, never happened again.
The “small metal chips” personally supervised by Qin Jingzhou worked wonders. “Severe cases” like Old Master Lu were basically restored to normal after six months of using the improved headsets.
Of course, regaining their faculties wasn’t necessarily good news for Old Master Lu, Gu Su, and Lu Liu.
All those truly involved in the Lu Zhentong case now lived under strict supervision—in plainer terms, they spent the rest of their lives in mental hospitals adapted for the extraordinary.
Despite their special confinement, they weren’t completely out of touch with the world. Through TV news, Old Master Lu, Gu Su, and the others could fully follow the activities of Cheng Jingzhou and Lu Jiuxiao, see the honors they received, and realize their extraordinary status.
Each time the father and son received praise or awards, Old Master Lu would grow agitated. Staring at the TV screen, he’d hurl abuse at them, claiming they were putting on a show just to get at him.
As for Gu Su, after learning what she’d truly missed out on, regret arrived far too late. Unlike Old Master Lu, she had no arrogance about her; she simply felt she could never make a comeback and recognized she’d ruined her son’s life on a whim. At least with Xiang Feng to keep her company—even if he was thoroughly unwilling—she could find some balance.
A few days later, upon seeing that Lu Corporation was about to change hands, Old Master Lu was heartbroken. He repeatedly demanded to see Lu Jiuxiao, hoping he’d get Lu Corporation back.
Lu Jiuxiao didn’t respond at all, busy as he was learning pill-making from his father. He just urged Lin Baiming and the others to accelerate the process and break up Lu Corporation.
Sure enough, half a month later, Lu Corporation changed hands completely. The Lu family was expelled from the board, and the company was renamed.
Old Master Lu suffered a stroke as soon as he heard.
But, as the saying goes, misfortune lingers. Valuing his life above all else, Old Master Lu threw himself into treatment. Though surviving, in the end he was left with permanent complications—even his speech was slurred from then on.
By the time Qin Jingzhou left this world, every household owned a Sanjiu Network VR headset equipped with his special “wakefulness” chip.
As the only cultivator at the grandmaster level, he naturally lived longer than those at the innate realm. His foolish son held his hand gently as he passed away with calm acceptance.
Qin Jingzhou not only saw off his foolish son, as well as Qin Er and Xu Chen, but outlived all his acquaintances, such as Lin Baiming and the association’s vice president, with whom he’d only met a handful of times.
Before he left, he made careful arrangements for all his inheritance and finances. Then he walked to the summit of Ren Mountain within his remodeled unique space. In broad daylight, before the eyes of the masses, he ascended to the heavens.
Reaching beyond the world, he settled accounts with the World Will, joyfully receiving his reward. “After doing missions for so long, I finally get some actual cash back!”
This time the World Will was generous, not only granting him the agreed stockpile of cultivation resources, but even sticking a blessing on him: She’d never met such a patient and attentive tribulation-transcending cultivator, and praised him as the true light of the righteous path! Forever acknowledged!
With the World Will’s flattery, Qin Jingzhou became uncharacteristically bashful. “I’m really not that great.” His foolish son might have been a pain at first, but later… he found himself often charmed by that cuteness.
The system was thrilled. “Oh, Brother Zhou, you deserve every bit of this! You’re so strong and never put on airs. The World Will just spent half an hour praising you to me! All told, she thinks the reward was absolutely worth it, and would gladly give you even more if she could!”
Qin Jingzhou laughed. “That’s not necessary.”
The system kept going. “With this blessing, we can get even better missions now!”
Qin Jingzhou asked, “Really? What mission is Xiao Ling on?”
The system gleamed. “Let me check… she’s on a mission, but the World Will of her mission world is pretty cautious. I’ll reach out.”
Moments later, the system spoke again. “The World Will of her mission world is eager for your help, and promises not to waste your effort.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go give Xiao Ling a surprise.”
When he reached the mission world, greeted the World Will, and the system received the basic plot, Qin Jingzhou entered the mission world. The moment he donned his “body double”, he cracked up. “A pure scumbag and a coward. Aside from his looks, there’s absolutely nothing good about him. I’ve never seen such a waste before.”
The system chuckled. “The original host hates the world but doesn’t dare challenge those truly strong, so he takes it all out on his wife and children… Selling off one daughter for profit wasn’t enough. He tried to sell the second one too… But the eldest daughter, sold to the prince’s household, has now experienced rebirth. All she wants is to save her innocent little sister, not even to get revenge… The poison on the original host is actually the work of the eldest daughter and eldest son together.”
Qin Jingzhou sat upright and roused his spiritual energy, sweeping away the residual toxin. “So at home, it’s enemies all around? I’ll need to be on guard for the children trying again if their schemes fail?”
The system confirmed, “Exactly.”
“A start where literally nobody likes me at all,” said Qin Jingzhou. “Well, I’ll teach them all the true essence of humanity: once you scent the true fragrance, there’s no denying it.”