Chapter 1: Lu Qingshan

Yanfeng Universe Nation, Leiguang Sea Star Region, Tianlei Star!

Tianlei Star is incredibly prosperous; throughout the Leiguang Sea Star Region, only the Imperial Capital Star might surpass it.

In the most central area of Tianlei Star, within a quiet chamber atop a majestic castle, a middle-aged man clad in golden battle armor sat cross-legged in stillness.

The middle-aged man had short black hair, a resolute face, and a striking lightning mark on his forehead.

This man was none other than the lord of Tianlei Star, the third strongest in the Leiguang Sea Star Region—Lu Qingshan!

After centuries of quiet cultivation with no sign of progress, Lu Qingshan reluctantly opened his eyes and slipped unconsciously into memory.

It had been over eight million years since he crossed over into this world!

During those eight million years, he had relentlessly cultivated, sparred with countless powerful beings, and even competed fiercely for opportunities…

At the beginning of his cultivation, Lu Qingshan’s advancement was astonishingly rapid!

He entered the first level of the Lightning Domain at fifty, crossed the threshold of the Lightning Origin Law at twelve hundred, and was hailed as the greatest genius of the Leiguang Sea Star Region!

Added to the fact that the Lu family was among the top ten great clans of the Leiguang Sea Star Region, producing a World Lord in every generation, Lu Qingshan’s future was undeniably brilliant!

Back then, he had been fiercely ambitious, convinced he would become the pinnacle of the vast universe!

But reality proved he simply wasn’t cut out for it.

At fifteen hundred, Lu Qingshan first entered the Universe’s Peak Genius Battle hosted by the Great Axe Combat Arena, ultimately ranking only 471 within Yanfeng Universe Nation—far from breaking into the top thousand overall—and was forced to join the Yanfeng Sacred Ground.

Yet knowing the original story, he understood the critical importance of joining the core ranks of the Five Great Powers; thus, even after his peers advanced to Cosmic Level, he remained stuck at Stellar Level for thousands of years!

Until he was six thousand five hundred, he participated again in the Universe’s Peak Genius Battle hosted by the Virtual Universe Corporation.

This time, his strength had improved dramatically—he defeated all opponents in Yanfeng Universe Nation’s selection—but still fell just short, failing to enter the top thousand overall.

With no other choice, he remained in the Yanfeng Sacred Ground to cultivate, eventually breaking through to Cosmic Level.

In the long years that followed, he participated in several Cosmic-Level Universe’s Peak Stronger Battles, yet never managed to join the core ranks of the Five Great Human Powers!

After repeated efforts, Lu Qingshan finally realized he was vastly inferior to the universe’s top geniuses.

Thus, in the years that followed, he gradually lost his drive and became a lazy, aimless fish.

Of course, even a lazy fish has dreams!

For Lu Qingshan, his dream after becoming a lazy fish was simply to cultivate steadily to the Immortal Realm, then offer some help when Luo Feng rose to power, after which he could lie down and rest forever!

Precisely because of this, although he had lost his drive, Lu Qingshan never ceased his cultivation.

After hundreds of thousands of years, he smoothly reached the peak of World Lord, gained recognition from the Lightning Origin Law, and even became the third strongest in the Leiguang Sea Star Region!

But sadly, taking the final step to become a true Immortal God remained an impossibly difficult task for Lu Qingshan.

Fortunately, he knew the plot and was aware of certain cultivation opportunities.

The most important of these was entering the Initial Universe for contemplation!

Although World Lord-level Initial Universe contemplation slots were extremely rare, the Lu family had produced a World Lord in every generation for eons, accumulating resources over hundreds of millions of years.

Moreover, since becoming a World Lord, Lu Qingshan had taken in numerous talented disciples, diligently nurturing his clan’s younger generation; now, after hundreds of thousands of years, except for lacking a true Immortal God to stand as pillar, the Lu family’s power in the Leiguang Sea Star Region rivaled even that of the imperial clan!

With the family’s hundreds-of-millions-year accumulation and Lu Qingshan’s own hundreds-of-thousands-year efforts, he was now close to securing an Initial Universe contemplation slot.

“Time really flies!”

Lu Qingshan couldn’t help murmuring: “At the current rate of family wealth growth, even without special opportunities, another two hundred thousand years of saving will let me accumulate thirty thousand Huan Yuan units!”

Although World Lord-level Initial Universe slots often sold for over thirty thousand Huan Yuan units at auctions, Lu Qingshan’s centuries of effort were not in vain.

He had become an external member of the Virtual Universe Corporation and cultivated relationships with over a dozen Immortal Gods in the Yanfeng branch.

Most importantly, his sixth disciple, whom he took in over five million years ago, had now become an Immortal God in the core ranks of the Virtual Universe Corporation!

Thus, he needed only spend thirty thousand Huan Yuan units to obtain a World Lord-level Initial Universe contemplation slot through the Virtual Universe Corporation’s internal channels!

In truth, with his current strength, there were other ways to accumulate wealth faster—such as earning military merit in the Outlands Battlefield…

In the so-called clan meat grinder of the Outlands Battlefield, if he survived tens of thousands of years, Lu Qingshan could easily amass thousands—or even tens of thousands—of Huan Yuan units!

But all this depended on surviving!

Lu Qingshan had once ventured into the Outlands Battlefield, but after only decades of wandering, he encountered multiple life-threatening crises; once he earned enough merit to gain freedom, he immediately retired.

After all, he was no Luo Feng from the original story, who possessed countless methods and could even shatter the Master of Chaos City’s token in dire moments!

As an ordinary World Lord, wandering the Outlands Battlefield was far too dangerous—he was better off quietly accumulating wealth within human territory.

Moreover, before entering the Initial Universe, he needed sufficient accumulation in the Lightning Origin Law; otherwise, even with a contemplation slot, becoming an Immortal would remain extremely difficult!

“Too bad my cheat hasn’t activated yet!”

Lu Qingshan’s consciousness immediately turned to a progress bar in his mind: “Otherwise, I’d already be an Immortal—or even a Cosmic Sovereign!”

Yes!

As a transmigrator, Lu Qingshan had a cheat too—a progress bar in his mind, nearly fully loaded.

Though he didn’t know what kind of cheat it was, any cheat would surely aid his cultivation.

But sadly, just as the bar neared completion, it got stuck!

Over countless eons, Lu Qingshan had tried countless methods, yet never managed to activate his cheat.

Gradually, he gave up, and now relied solely on his own slow cultivation.

After all, if he could live until Luo Feng’s era and successfully cling to Luo Feng’s leg, the benefit would be equal to any cheat!

…

“Father!”

As Lu Qingshan recalled his past hundreds of thousands of years, a deep voice suddenly sounded beside him.

“Hmm?” Lu Qingshan frowned slightly.

He forbade all interruptions during cultivation; only his children and direct disciples could come to him now—no one else had permission.

Yet his children and disciples were no fools; without a critical matter, they would never disturb him.

“Come in,” Lu Qingshan said firmly, snapping back to awareness.

The chamber door opened automatically, and three figures entered—his children.

“What is it?” Lu Qingshan was surprised.

He had married six wives in his life and fathered fifteen children; over time, most had perished, and now only one wife, four sons, and three daughters remained alive.

Of those currently on Tianlei Star, only these three were present.

If not for a major event, these three would never have come to him now.

“Father!”

The third son, Lu Hongwen, wore a look of sorrow: “Seventh brother has perished!”

“What?” Lu Qingshan froze.

His seventh son, Lu Hongyuan, was the most gifted and insightful of all his children; in just over a million years of cultivation, he had already gained recognition from the Wind Origin Law—even faster than Lu Qingshan had been in his youth.

Yet now, Lu Hongyuan was dead?

“What happened?” Lu Qingshan asked immediately.

“Father!” Lu Hongwen replied quickly: “This matter!”

At these words, Lu Qingshan’s gaze turned to Lu Wenyun beside him.

Lu Wenyun and Lu Hongyuan shared the same mother and were closest; yet Lu Wenyun was only a Domain Lord—if she failed to reach World Lord, she would die in another ten thousand years.

“Father!”

Lu Wenyun, seeing Lu Qingshan’s gaze, whispered: “Seven brother went to the Outlands Battlefield to hone himself over two hundred years ago. Just now, he sent his final message via Virtual Universe, saying he faced an unavoidable fatal crisis. His communication cut off mid-sentence. I checked the token he left me—the aura is completely gone!”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan immediately waved his hand and summoned a token engraved with Lu Hongyuan’s name—the aura was indeed entirely vanished.

“Hmph!”

Lu Qingshan snorted coldly: “I’ve warned you all repeatedly—the Outlands Battlefield is deadly. Never go there without sufficient strength! Did you treat my words as wind?”

“He’s been gone so long, and not one of you told me?”

“Father, Seventh Brother asked me to keep it secret!”

Lu Wenyun hurried to explain: “He went to the Outlands Battlefield to surprise you!”

“Surprise?” Lu Qingshan blinked.

“Yes!” Lu Wenyun explained quickly: “He knew you’ve been saving to buy an Initial Universe slot. He went to the Outlands Battlefield to earn military merit to help you obtain it!”

“This…”

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan’s anger vanished, replaced by helplessness and sorrow.

After a moment of silence, he asked again: “Wenyun, did your seventh brother leave any final words?”

“He gave me his Cosmic River Bank account and password, asking me to pass them to you, and requested the family show some care for his branch.”

Lu Wenyun said solemnly: “He also said he hopes you become a true Immortal God.”

“This child…”

Lu Qingshan sighed, his sorrow deepening further.

(End of Chapter)