Chapter 78 — TVF Chapter 78

Dog-Blooded Love Story 1

Watching the surging siege ladders all around, the soldiers charging for the city gates—especially his eldest son and his eldest son-in-law leading the way—Qin Jingzhou remained calm. “Ten years as a Transmigrator, taking over North Great Qi… Not bad,” he thought.

Just the profits from manufacturing and selling medicine over the years had brought in millions of taels of silver. That was more than enough starting capital.

He planned to leave pacifying the South to his eldest son, with his son-in-law as support. His second son would continue as the family’s Grand Steward, while his daughter focused on researching new medicines.

Back then, Yang Shi’s farewell letter was clear: she wanted Qin Jingzhou to look after her family, including her son, and was willing to give him the Original Emperor’s notes as compensation.

Qin Jingzhou didn’t particularly care about the late Emperor’s research notes, but since Yang Shi had handed them to him, he leafed through them and passed them on to his youngest daughter, San Niang. As a result, San Niang, relying on these notes, developed a blood pressure medication nearly as effective as the benazepril of modern times.

So, once he ascended the throne, he spent most of his time personally teaching his children and grandchildren.

His eldest son and son-in-law led the way into the city. After capturing the remnants of the false Emperor—mainly the Dugu Clan and the other noble families tied to them—they came to welcome their father into the city.

His pharmaceutical work had gained him such fame that, seeing the sincerely grateful citizens along the roadside offering food and water, Qin Jingzhou felt a rare sense of satisfaction. It seemed his hard work had not been for nothing.

Oh, and by the way—after being shot by Qin Jingzhou, Si Chenghui fell from the city gate tower. Somehow, Si Chenghui was lucky enough to survive the fall, though he broke his spine.

In modern times, spinal injuries often robbed people of the will to live. In a feudal era… While Qin Jingzhou was still patiently teaching his descendants, Si Chenghui passed away. Qin Jingzhou always had the feeling that, paralyzed in bed, Si Chenghui didn’t regret betraying him—he just regretted having Transmigrated at all, as if he had crossed over just to serve as a counterpoint to another Fate’s Son.

After bidding farewell to his children, Qin Jingzhou didn’t forget Jin Zhengming, who was now enjoying retirement. He added a special effect to his own departure—it looked like daylight ascension as he left that world.

Before he left, the Imperial Academy had officially divided into literary and martial tracks, requiring students to study both, though with different emphases.

Leaving the mission world behind, Qin Jingzhou glanced at his rewards and couldn’t help but sigh. “Ancient children are shy about expressing their feelings. I did so much for them, but all I get are tearful, choked faces. I can tell they're sincere, but something always feels missing… Not like that second daughter I had in my first mission world.”

As soon as he said this, the System perked up. “Brother Zhou, there’s a big job. Modern setting. Want to see the mission briefing?”

The System usually picked tasks that were tedious but manageable, with decent rewards and low difficulty, so Qin Jingzhou trusted its choices. This was the first time even the System seemed unsure and asked whether he wanted to accept.

This task was issued directly by the World Will.

For thirty years now, the domain passage to the outside had been leaking negative energy. With time, the seeping negative energy increased, causing serious and irreversible effects on the plane.

This plane had always had spiritual energy and boasted many extraordinary inheritances and Extraordinaries.

When negative energy first appeared, these Extraordinaries immediately sensed trouble. All the great powers sent Observers, and many were lost. The reports that came back made every faction gravely concerned. The Elders and official advisors in charge of the extraordinary powers analyzed the situation and almost unanimously agreed: The effects of negative energy were becoming impossible to hide from ordinary people. Worse, it looked like negative energy would soon pour in like a tidal wave, threatening to flood and destroy the world.

Reading to this point, Qin Jingzhou actually chuckled, “The task briefing calls it ‘negative energy,’ but it's basically antimatter for a typical material world. When matter and antimatter make contact...”

The System replied instantly, “Annihilation…”

“So those Extraordinaries in the mission world are overly optimistic. After destruction, at least remnants and surviving life are possible. After annihilation, nothing is left.” Qin Jingzhou continued, “But for antimatter to rush in like that, there must be a reason.” He thought for a moment. “My guess is, there’s an antimatter-based plane nearby.”

Then the System suddenly chimed in, “Ah, the mission briefing just updated! Brother Zhou, you guessed it! The negative energy—antimatter—is radiating from a steadily approaching antimatter world!”

After Qin Jingzhou read the information transmitted by the System, he couldn’t help but grin, “So now the mission is a joint order from two World Wills… Does the reward double?”

“Triple.”

“The requirement is to save the world?”

“Yes.”

Qin Jingzhou organized his thoughts. “With the material and antimatter worlds getting closer, negative energy appears to be invading from one side, but positive energy is leaking into the antimatter world as well. The outcome of matter-antimatter collision is inevitable. To save both worlds, you either have to adjust their trajectories or build a barrier to block the exchange of matter and energy.”

The System hazarded, “Like a neutron wall?”

“You could understand it that way.” Qin Jingzhou nodded. “Interesting, I’ll take it.”

The System was thrilled. “Awesome! By the way, didn’t you just want a more proactive child? This… I think you’ll get your wish!”

Qin Jingzhou’s interest was piqued. “Oh?”

With doomsday approaching and it up to him to save the world, that was the backdrop.

But in Qin Jingzhou’s eyes, the emotional entanglements of his identity in this world were even more interesting than the world-ending crisis itself.

Given that the Extraordinaries here had foreseen the world’s fate, of course, they would do everything to save themselves. No one could escape the world, so saving the world was saving themselves. If the ship sank, no one aboard would survive.

The Extraordinaries and the authorities of every nation joined forces and scoured all their legacies to devise a feasible “delay plan.” This was to use special means to fully seal the domain passage and slow the influx of negative energy as much as possible.

This passage was located deep in the tallest mountain of the world’s largest range; before it started spewing negative energy, it had looked like an ordinary bottomless chasm.

Around the chasm, Spiritual coffins were packed densely—the coffins that housed the Extraordinaries.

Within the Spiritual coffins were living Extraordinaries. Both inside and outside the coffins and all around, Spiritual runes drawn with spiritual stone dust connected the coffins in a binding web. These interconnected runes formed the sealing Array—the joint creation of all extraordinary forces and the authorities, built at any cost.

It’s important to note: those Extraordinaries inside the coffins were alive. They willingly sacrificed their own lifespans for the world, holding danger at bay.

As each Extraordinary’s life ran out, another volunteer took their place.

Qin Jingzhou was about to say something but simply sighed in the end. “It’s so tragic.”

He read on. There were all sorts of Spiritual coffins—larger ones had denser runes, causing the power within to drain even faster, so the Extraordinaries sealed in the biggest coffins were always those with the highest cultivation.

Currently, the largest coffin’s master—called the Main coffin in this world—was the original host’s only son, Xuan Qing.

Every time an Extraordinary was swapped out there was a solemn ceremony, with repairs to the runes; replacing the Main coffin master was the most crucial of all.

Before the ceremony, Xuan Qing and the young woman Yuan Lingmei—who’d come to attend—fell instantly in love.

Xuan Qing, determined from the moment his talent was tested, chose this path voluntarily. He and Yuan Lingmei were doomed from the start, but having that brief moment together before his sacrifice was enough for them.

And then, something went wrong.

Xuan Qing’s half-brother developed a crush on Yuan Lingmei and tried to “take her by force.” Yuan Lingmei resisted; in the struggle, Xuan Qing’s brother accidentally caused Yuan Lingmei to fall from a great height, dying on the spot.

Knowing the gravity of his crime, Xuan Qing’s brother did all he could to hide the body and the cause of death, but the truth couldn’t be hidden forever.

Xuan Qing waited in vain for a final meeting with his beloved. After going into the Main coffin, he discovered the Peace pendant he’d given to Yuan Lingmei was shattered.

You have to understand: Extraordinaries sealed in Spiritual coffins could not see outside, but they retained certain senses—communication was no issue. The sealing Array had functioned for a hundred years, and at certain intervals Extraordinaries could chat with their friends or relatives from outside the coffins.

Xuan Qing asked his mother to investigate Yuan Lingmei’s whereabouts, and the truth emerged.

Xuan Qing’s mother and stepfather, both Extraordinaries from extraordinary families, knew the importance of the Array and Xuan Qing’s own power. They did not cover up for Xuan Qing’s brother.

His stepfather dragged his own son before the Main coffin and told Xuan Qing his punishment: ten years in the Black coffin.

The Black coffin was different—being shut in it was like being locked in a pitch-black room, entirely cut off from the world, all senses nullified.

For most, a decade in a Black coffin was worse than death, and survival was unlikely.

Extraordinaries in the Spiritual coffins could communicate via the connecting runes. Persuaded by the others, Xuan Qing couldn’t accept it but saw no other solution, so he could only have his mother and stepfather apologize to Yuan Lingmei’s family.

Hearing his father’s verdict, Xuan Qing’s brother was dumbfounded.

A moment later, gaining a little composure, he broke down, shouting that he’d shattered Yuan Lingmei’s soul to prevent discovery. If Yuan Lingmei hadn't liked Xuan Qing, he’d never have wanted her at all!

He declared, “It’s not fair—I don’t see why Mom and Dad always favor you and prioritize you in everything!”

Not just Xuan Qing’s mother—even the stepfather was speechless.

To be honest, the couple had always preferred the younger son, but his talent was virtually worthless, so they would never squander precious resources on him. They never imagined their pampering would spawn such a twisted sense of injustice.

For Xuan Qing, who had been willing to sacrifice everything, taking away his last human attachment was a greater blow than death. Yuan Lingmei died because of her connection to him—her soul utterly destroyed.

There’s no wound deeper than this, neither for the couple nor for Xuan Qing.

In less than five minutes, Xuan Qing suffered a qi deviation. His anguish tainted the entire sealing Array, knocking half the Extraordinaries unconscious from the shock to their Spirit, while the rest struggled to stay awake.

Resentful energy billowed out, rocking the Array. Only one section barely functioned, and the seal teetered on the brink of collapse.

Xuan Qing’s stepfather didn’t hesitate. He killed his criminal son, grabbed his wife, and left immediately.

They weren’t fleeing responsibility, but rather going down the mountain to alert all the extraordinary forces and authorities. Then, as tradition dictated, they constructed two Spiritual coffins and willingly became part of the Array, having the supervisors place their coffins next to the Main coffin.

As soon as this was done, Xuan Qing in the Main coffin calmed a little and the sealing Array slowly recovered.

Luckily, the original scheme had allowed for emergencies, or disaster would have struck. Still, this incident let a fresh wave of negative energy in.

With resentful energy sky-high and negative energy pouring forth, just dealing with those things left the Extraordinaries and the authorities overwhelmed. Placing the two new coffins also cost many Extraordinaries and special combat personnel their lives, leaving the Mountain Gate and the Array undermanned.

This gave just the window that a pair of young lovers had been waiting for.

Qin Jingzhou shook his head. “So the star-crossed lovers are the Fate’s Son and Daughter? The male and female leads of this world?”

The System confirmed, “That’s right.”

The couple, Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi, came to the mountains to investigate Yuan Lingmei’s death.

It wasn’t hard to guess Yuan Lingyi’s relationship to Yuan Lingmei, given the name. The two were twin sisters and extraordinarily close. Yuan Lingyi would have risked her life to discover the truth about her sister.

The lovers exhausted every method to sneak into the mountains. There, they stood surrounded by thousands of Spiritual coffins, black runes writhing across their surfaces like living things.

At one glance, Yuan Lingyi’s eyes bled tears.

Xuan Qing, already half-mad and able to split soul from body at will, saw Yuan Lingyi… and snapped.

By his level, recognition was by soul, not face. As a twin, Yuan Lingyi’s soul was nearly identical to Yuan Lingmei’s, but after Yuan Lingmei died, her largest soul fragments clung to Xuan Qing and to Yuan Lingyi.

Too bad Xuan Qing, maddened as he was, couldn’t see this; Yuan Lingyi was unaware herself.

The Array broke again. The mountains shook as if the end had come.

Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi barely escaped, both suffering from negative energy contamination.

Soon, the authorities informed them of everything. The pair resolved to utterly destroy Xuan Qing and then take his place inside the Main coffin. Since negative energy poisoning was incurable, though they couldn’t live together, at least they could die together—a tragic romance amid disaster.

Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi fought bitterly and finally defeated Xuan Qing. Once inside the Main coffin, the negative energy’s onslaught worsened, and the linked Spiritual runes bound their Spirit, forcing them to bear not only their own pain but also that of the still-unconscious Extraordinaries.

Right before they lost their minds, they finally understood why Xuan Qing went mad: Only the Main coffin bore this anguish. To suffer this pain for years, cut off from hope—no wonder anyone would lose their mind.

When Xuan Qing went mad, the seal had already all but collapsed. By the time Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi fell too, any hope of saving the world was gone. Destruction became inevitable.

Having read this utterly brutal “bad end,” Qin Jingzhou gave a soft sigh. “It’s a story where the hero defeats the dragon, only to become the dragon themselves.” He asked, “What’s the current point in time?”

The System answered, “Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi are infiltrating the mountain for the first time, about to meet Xuan Qing.”

Qin Jingzhou smiled. “It looks like the World Will tried to save itself by rewinding time.”

“Yes. But rewinding time alone can’t change its fate or the antimatter world’s.”

Qin Jingzhou turned to the original owner, Ying Jingzhou’s soul. “Any final wishes?”

Ying Jingzhou had watched the entire story along with him. He hesitated, then said, “If possible, please do a father’s duty for me.”

Qin Jingzhou agreed readily. “Don’t worry. I'm getting old; I don’t like tragedies.”

Ying Jingzhou suddenly smiled and waved. “Thank you.”

As Ying Jingzhou’s soul departed, the System commented, “No wonder he won the heart of Xuan Qing’s mother.” Ever since binding with Zhou-ge, it had seen much and no longer complimented people lightly.

Qin Jingzhou agreed, “He really is quite handsome.”

Putting on his alias, Qin Jingzhou gauged the spiritual energy density in the mission world and had the System produce a trove of spiritual stones for rapid cultivation.

The original host was an ordinary man with no talent for cultivation—biological father to Xuan Qing, but he had never met his son. Xuan Qing’s mother had never told anyone else the truth, so when things went wrong, no one had thought to look for him.

But now Qin Jingzhou was here, and with the first collapse of the seal about to happen, he had to intervene. If he wasn’t a high-level Extraordinary, though, no one would even notice him.

The System watched, eyes wide, as its host went from mortal to the Nascent Soul stage in the restroom of a club… The world’s three strongest Extraordinaries were at Nascent Soul stage themselves.

“Brother Zhou, you’re a genius!”

Qin Jingzhou acknowledged with a hum, tidied his appearance in the mirror. “The original really was good-looking.”

Incidentally, Ying Jingzhou had actually died of cardiac arrest.

Walking out of the restroom, Qin Jingzhou contacted his assistant to ready a plane, for he needed to head to Xicheng City—the provincial capital of Hua Country closest to the mountain and the seal.

After a long day’s journey by private jet, he reached Xicheng City Airport.

Doing the math, he found that flying himself might have been just as quick. Once his assistant booked their hotel, he ordered a helicopter to go into the mountains.

His unfailingly dutiful young assistant stared. “Boss, it’s better not to go into the mountains these days…”

The seal had functioned smoothly for over a century. Even those in the know didn’t worry too much about impending catastrophe.

Society remained orderly.

So it wasn’t strange for some well-connected regular folks to know bits of the truth.

The assistant was one of these. Seeing his boss unmoved, he opened his mouth to protest again—only to see a crystalline stone appear in Qin Jingzhou’s palm out of thin air, and was startled, then overjoyed. “Boss!”

Qin Jingzhou flicked the spiritual stone over. “Use this to book the helicopter.”

The assistant dropped his phone, cradling the stone reverently. “Yes, boss.”

The next day, Qin Jingzhou, the assistant, and two bodyguards disembarked from the helicopter and walked boldly up to the Mountain Gate.

There was a serious shortage of manpower within the mountains, but there were still guardians, and they immediately stepped forward. They weren’t fierce or hostile, but gaunt and gentle, trying to dissuade them. “Now’s not a good time. Don’t go in and get yourself killed.”

Even though the guardians saw at a glance that these four were regular people, many relatives of the coffin-bound Extraordinaries were ordinary, too, so they stayed courteous.

There and then, Qin Jingzhou condensed spiritual energy into a translucent long sword, light as air, stepped onto its blade, and instructed his now-stunned assistant and the guards, “Wait for me here. I’ll be back soon.”

The guards at the Mountain Gate straightened, respect and excitement coloring their voices. “Farewell, elder!”

Only those at Golden Core stage or above could ride the sword in this world.

With no obstacles, Qin Jingzhou soared into the mountains. Entering the enormous, hollowed-out space filled with Spiritual runes and coffins, the first person he spotted was an old acquaintance, Ling Jing, topped with his trademark golden orb.

Ling Jing had pressed himself near the rock face, trying not to attract attention, but on spotting Qin Jingzhou, grinned delightedly. “Wow, big shot!”

Qin Jingzhou smiled back, and pointed to Xuan Qing, currently floating over the Main coffin, tormenting Gu Lingfan, wreathed in black mist, eyes red as blood. “That’s my son.”

Ling Jing exclaimed, “Watch out, big boss!”

With a flick of his wrist, Qin Jingzhou swept away the almost-solid black mist, then casually pushed aside his rampaging son.

Even Ling Jing could see the tenderness in the gesture. “Fatherly love like a mountain!”

Before the words were out, Xuan Qing attacked again. Endless rage, demonic energy, and a touch of negative energy instantly turned into countless black flying swords, all aimed at Qin Jingzhou.

Qin Jingzhou frowned slightly, grasped at the air and formed a long sword from his spiritual energy. With a light swing of his arm, a glint like icy lightning flashed—a sword light sweeping across half the vast space.

Not only did every black sword vanish, but Xuan Qing’s Spirit itself was split neatly in two.

Sword in one hand, carrying the substantial lower half of his son’s soul in the other, Qin Jingzhou walked over to Xuan Qing’s upper half. “First time meeting, I am your biological father, Ying Jingzhou.”

Ling Jing sidled up beside Qin Jingzhou and muttered, “Fatherly love like a mountain… or an avalanche.”

The seven Extraordinaries who’d been doggedly holding on, plus the quick-witted Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi now glued to the ground: ...