His younger brother, Luo Hua, was extremely excited and quickly contacted the others. Soon, the whole family had arrived. Even Hong and Thunder God came.
“What, Xiaofeng, you’re going to be gone for that long?” His mother, Gong Xinlan, could not help saying. Because they had used a large number of precious treasures to improve their physiques, both his mother and father looked very young, as if they were only in their thirties.
“It really is quite a long time.” His father, Luo Hongguo, could not help saying.
“The most important thing is…” Luo Hua hurriedly said, “It takes three years just to get there, and another three years to come back. Moreover, you’ll have to stay at the Virtual Universe Company’s headquarters in the entire universe for a very long time. Just comprehending the Initial Universe will take 100 years! This, this is simply…”
Luo Feng sat there, feeling troubled as well.
He had just received an email from the Virtual Universe Company informing him that they would pick him up from White Orchid Star in 12 days. The letter also stated that he would spend a total of 30 years comprehending the Initial Universe, but the flow of time in the Initial Universe was different from that of the Original Universe. Time flowed more slowly in the Initial Universe.
Thirty years in the Initial Universe would mean that 100 years had passed in the Original Universe.
The good news was…
People could also enter the ‘Virtual Universe Network’ from within the Initial Universe.
“Hmm?” Luo Feng felt his hand tighten and could not help turning his head towards his wife, Xu Xin. Xu Xin, who was still wearing her professional attire, was tightly holding Luo Feng’s hand, reluctance in her eyes.
“Alright, darling.” Luo Feng gently stroked the back of his wife’s hand.
“Dad, Mum, actually, it isn’t as serious as you think. Although I’m leaving my hometown, Earth, we can still be together all the time through the Virtual Universe Network.” Luo Feng forced out a smile. “The Virtual Universe Network is a 100 percent simulation. There is no difference from meeting in reality.”
“You say it’s a 100 percent simulation, but Dad, this still isn’t reality.” Luo Hai could not help saying.
Luo Feng reached out and pulled both of his sons towards him.
……
They were truly reluctant to part.
The entire family was genuinely unwilling to separate, but Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan had experienced the Great Nirvana Period, while Luo Hua and the other younger generation had experienced disasters such as the Devouring Beast calamity. After enduring one catastrophe after another on Earth, and now having a much broader perspective and learning more about the universe, they also understood that what Luo Feng was doing was the right thing.
“Third Brother, you’re doing the right thing.” In the open space in front of Luo Feng’s residence in the Nine Star Bay residential area, Luo Feng, Hong and Thunder God were together.
“I can see things very clearly.” Dressed in black, Hong’s gaze was distant. “When I was young and experienced the Great Nirvana Period, watching those tragic scenes and countless fellow humans die, I understood that someone had to stand up for humanity. It wouldn’t work if no one took the lead! That was why I later established the Extreme Martial Hall and created a system of competition to improve the strength of humanity’s martial artists.”
“However!”
“The universe is a thousand times, ten thousand times more dangerous than Earth.” Hong sighed. “The competition is also far more brutal. Look at humanity. There are millions of races, yet some races have been enslaved as entire species.”
Luo Feng nodded, and Thunder God nodded as well.
“Why were they enslaved? Isn’t it because their races did not possess genuine super powerhouses? Their races themselves weren’t strong enough!” Hong shook his head. “If their race had even one Immortal being, even if that Immortal wasn’t within their race’s territory but somewhere else in the universe, just that one Immortal would make those slave traders afraid to act recklessly. That is deterrence!”
“An indigenous race.”
“When it enters the universe for the first time, there are three possible outcomes. The first is being trampled underfoot and becoming an affiliated race. That would still be considered fortunate. The second is being directly enslaved, treated like merchandise and sold. The women are sold as maids or even for other purposes, while the men are sent to perform all kinds of extremely dangerous work. The third outcome… is to rise up and become one of the stronger races among humanity in the universe. For example, Earth as we are now!”
“Earth’s humans have not been enslaved, and no one dares to trample on us!”
“Because of you, Third Brother!” Hong looked at Luo Feng. “You are the Lord of the Milky Way! The Lord of the Milky Way is an Earth human, and this Lord of the Milky Way has also entered the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company. Moreover, you have entered the highly ranked Absolute Beginning Secret Realm. Even the Black Dragon Mountain Empire doesn’t dare to act recklessly, and even the Ganwu Universe Country places great importance on you. With all this, who would dare to bully us Earth humans? Who would dare?”
Luo Feng took a deep breath.
“Third Brother, you’ve done very well.” Hong took a deep breath and slowly said, “If a human race wants to rise, especially when it is still young and immature, someone must stand up. There must be pioneers!”
“Third Brother, Thunder God and I are still very weak!”
“Third Brother has done well because he rose to prominence in the Genius Battle, but… being a genius doesn’t mean you’re a strong person.” Hong said solemnly. “People don’t dare provoke you because of the halo and status surrounding you. Once you, Third Brother, fall, how can Thunder God and I, with our current strength, protect Earth?”
Even Universe-level slaves could be bought and sold. Hong and Thunder God were only at the Stellar level. How could they protect Earth?
“So!”
“Third Brother, for now, you are the one holding everything up.” Hong said solemnly. “Thunder God and I will also work hard. Ten thousand years from now, with the three of us protecting Earth, Earth itself will also give birth to one strong person after another. By then, the overall situation will have taken shape. Once Earth’s overall strength rises, we won’t need to rely solely on an individual’s deterrence.”
When a race could produce one Universe-level being after another, with an occasional Domain Lord appearing, slave traders would no longer dare provoke that race.
“Keep going!” Hong said solemnly.
“Don’t worry, Third Brother. I’ll catch up with you soon too.” Thunder God grinned.
“The three of us will work hard together.” Luo Feng also grinned.
For Earth, this was an important era.
An era of transformation.
Whether the Earth human race would rise from the bottom and become a middle or even upper-middle level race among humanity’s countless races, or remain at the very bottom, doing the hardest and most dangerous work for the least money, or even become enslaved without receiving any money at all, would depend on these next 10,000 years!
Hong, Thunder God and Luo Feng had long been aware of this.
They were the strongest on Earth. If they did not shoulder this responsibility, then who would?
Night.
At the West Lake Residence in Yangzhou City, the moonlight was bright and enchanting tonight, shining into the bedroom through the window.
Inside the bedroom, beneath the thin blanket, two figures were tightly entwined, as if they were crazily releasing all the reluctance in their hearts. After a long, long time…
Luo Feng draped a dressing gown over himself and walked onto the bedroom balcony. He silently raised his head and looked at the sky, gazing at the moon.
This was the moon of his homeland!
The moon of Earth!
And for at least the next hundred years, he would not be able to see this sight again.
“You’re leaving tomorrow?” Xu Xin, also wearing only a dressing gown, embraced Luo Feng from behind and gently pressed herself against his back.
“Mm.”
Luo Feng gently nodded. “Yes… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what? We’re already an old married couple.” Xu Xin walked to Luo Feng’s side and looked at the moon with a smile. “Time passes so quickly. In the blink of an eye, we’ve already been married for ten years.”
“It really has been fast.” Luo Feng nodded.
More than ten years had passed since their marriage. During those ten years, there had been sea monsters attacking the base cities, the Devouring Beast calamity, the fleet of the Nuolan Shan family arriving at Earth, the life and death struggle over treasures in the World Within a World, and the peak Genius Battle that had just lasted five or six years. Behind every one of these scenes was his wife’s silent support.
“Do you remember when we were in high school?” Xu Xin smiled. “At that time, you were still a senior martial arts academy student.”
“At that time, you were still a simple little girl too.” Luo Feng laughed.
“Mainly because of my grandfather. He made me attend an ordinary high school and forbade me from going to a noble school.” Xu Xin said. “Grandfather also forbade me from revealing my family’s circumstances, and he forbade me from dating or anything like that… But honestly, our Xu family really did rise because of my grandfather. He was a very wise man.”
Luo Feng nodded.
After the Great Nirvana Period, when the base cities had just been established, the Xu family originally had little background. Yet Old Master Xu had supported the family step by step until it reached that level. He truly was an extraordinary man.
“You used to secretly watch me from behind all the time.” Xu Xin smiled.
“Haha.” Luo Feng laughed as well.
“I caught you so many times. Whenever you saw me, you would become shy. You were even worse than me.” Xu Xin could not help saying.
……
The husband and wife talked about many things that night. They even flew away from Yangzhou City and visited many other places on Earth.
They went to Egypt to see the pyramids, visited the ancient Great Wall, and looked at some ruined cities in the wilderness where they had once left their footprints…
Finally, they stood before the Yellow River.
There were many aquatic monsters in the Yellow River, but Luo Feng silently stood on the bank, grabbed some soil from the riverbank and scooped up some Yellow River water with a bowl. He stored them all inside his spatial ring. Xu Xin silently watched from beside him.
“Let’s go. Let’s head back.” Luo Feng held Xu Xin’s hand.
Whoosh!
A domain formed a light shield around them. It transformed into a golden shooting star and flew towards Yangzhou City.
……
18 September 2071.
The peak powerhouse of Earth’s humanity, ‘Luo Feng’, boarded a spaceship and left Earth.
This departure would last for a very, very long time. By the time he returned, the world would have undergone tremendous changes.
White Orchid Star.
“Master!” The servant guards greeted him respectfully.
“Mm.”
Luo Feng turned towards the two soul slaves beside him. They were both ninth-order Universe-level beings, Di Fan and Bai Kaluo. He said seriously, “Di Fan, Bai Kaluo, this time I’m going to the Virtual Universe Company’s headquarters in the entire universe to enter the Initial Universe. There is simply no way to bring anyone else inside. So I can only leave you two temporarily on Earth.”
“Understood.”
Di Fan and Bai Kaluo both nodded.
“I have already taught you the secret techniques. If there is anything you don’t understand, you can enter the Virtual Universe Network and contact me.” Luo Feng said seriously. “I think that with your talents… and the secret techniques I’ve given you, the next time I see you, you should have reached the Domain Lord level.”
Both slaves had extremely high talents. It was just that one had previously been a slave, while the other’s teacher had only been at the level of someone like Nuolan Shan. Neither had ever had a truly good teacher or obtained good secret techniques.
Many powerful beings in the universe lacked teachers and secret techniques. With a powerful teacher to guide them, the probability of producing a strong expert could increase tenfold.
“Hmm?”
Luo Feng turned his head towards the distance. An ancient, entirely black spaceship resembling an ancient battle sword slowly descended from the sky.
“I have to go.” Luo Feng turned around and solemnly looked at Di Fan and Bai Kaluo. “While I’m away, help me protect my family. As for Earth’s safety… the Virtual Universe Company’s deterrence is enough. No one will dare come and provoke Earth.”
“Yes, Master.”
Di Fan and Bai Kaluo replied respectfully.
Luo Feng then flew directly towards the ancient spaceship in the distance.