Chapter 13: Settlement and Secret Techniques

“Teacher!”

After Warren and the others left, Huges looked at Lu Qing with respect and said: “My cultivation base is still insufficient—I can only arrange for you to be assigned to the company’s transportation department! As for missions within the Chaos City, I simply have no way to help!”

“I understand.”

Lu Qing nodded slowly, then said: “Huges, you’ve done well enough. This job suits me perfectly.”

Hearing Lu Qing’s words, Huges felt a wave of relief.

Without his teacher Lu Qing’s guidance and help back then, he could never have risen from an ordinary life planet all the way to becoming an immortal spirit within the core ranks of the Virtual Universe Company.

This was the first time Lu Qing had ever asked him for a favor, and naturally, he wanted to make his teacher satisfied.

Though he was now a high-rank military lord, within the Virtual Universe Company he was still just a minor figure, utterly unable to arrange the most suitable mission for Lu Qing.

Even this transportation department assignment was secured only after he learned Black Peak King was overseeing the mission distribution—he sent a gift to Black Peak King through Warren, and only then succeeded in placing Lu Qing in the department.

“Teacher, rest assured!”

Huges immediately said: “Our transportation department offers excellent benefits. The only downside is that most of our work requires traveling through space aboard starships. Of course, we can still cultivate in seclusion while aboard—the auxiliary AI handles all ship controls.”

“According to company regulations, as a junior military lord, you earn one thousand years of rest for every one hundred thousand years of service. During your rest period, you may use the company-issued F-class starship, but you cannot modify it, and the company will not reimburse energy costs incurred outside of official duties!”

Hearing Huges’s explanation, Lu Qing couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

Other prodigies, upon becoming immortals, went on to dominate the outer battlefield—but now it was his turn: piloting starships as a courier and driver, even with vacation time strictly regulated.

Yet Lu Qing had already worked for many years at the Yanfeng branch, so he was thoroughly familiar with the company’s internal procedures and wasn’t overly surprised.

At this point, Huges continued: “Teacher, though our transportation department’s vacation time is short, the rewards are extremely generous! According to company rules, a junior military lord earns at least three thousand credits for every one hundred thousand years of service. If you accomplish notable feats during duty—like repelling alien strongholds—you can earn astonishing bonuses!”

“Credits can be exchanged for precious cultivation techniques and cosmic rarities—they’re extremely valuable within the Virtual Universe Company! Typically, one yuan unit equals one credit.”

“At least three thousand credits every one hundred thousand years?” Lu Qing paused in surprise.

Not because the reward was too small—but because it was too high!

For immortal spirits with eternal lifespans, time had nearly lost all meaning.

A typical immortal’s entire fortune in the universe might amount to only tens of thousands of yuan units.

Yet in this transportation department, one could accumulate such wealth after merely working over a million years!

What if one worked for ten million years—or hundreds of millions?

“Teacher!”

As Lu Qing pondered, Huges gestured around and continued: “Thunder Island is where all the company’s elite gather!”

“So many palaces!”

Lu Qing looked out—distant palaces crowded densely, with a massive mountain range at the center.

“The colossal mountain at Thunder Island’s core is where the supreme elites of the Virtual Universe Company reside!”

Huges gazed at the towering mountain: “Cosmic Sovereigns dwell halfway up the slopes; the summit is reserved for our company’s supreme elites; the foothills are where immortal spirits live.”

“Among us immortal spirits, status and authority vary greatly—the closer your residence is to that mountain, the stronger its owner.”

“Generally, a King-ranked immortal may build a residence ten kilometers in diameter at the mountain’s base; a Marquis-ranked immortal may build one five kilometers wide in the middle zone; as military lords like us, we can only build one-kilometer-radius residences far from the mountain.”

Following Huges’s explanation, Lu Qing quickly grasped the residential distribution pattern on Thunder Island.

Immortal spirits’ residences spread outward in concentric circles around the central mountain—inner residences occupied larger areas but were fewer in number; outer residences were far more numerous but much smaller in area.

While explaining Thunder Island, Huges soon led Lu Qing to a hillside beside a river, then pointed to a building nearby: “Teacher, that’s my residence on Thunder Island. Many of our transportation department’s immortal spirits have built homes nearby—why not construct your own here too? Then we can look out for each other as master and disciple!”

“Good.” Lu Qing nodded slightly, then swiftly selected an empty plot and began designing his residence according to his own vision.

Whoosh!

A vast, square courtyard suddenly appeared before Lu Qing and Huges—its paths paved with pebbles, surrounded by blooming flowers, with a pond at the center.

The courtyard’s architectural style resembled Jiangnan gardens Lu Qing had seen in his past life, and the pond was its very essence.

Above the pond stood stone bridges, pavilions, water terraces, and artificial hills…

In Jiangnan gardens, the pond was the essence.

Though only one kilometer in diameter, this garden encompassed the very essence of every Jiangnan garden Lu Qing had ever seen.

“Come, let’s go inside and take a look.” Lu Qing smiled, leading Huges inside.

After a brief tour of the estate, the master and disciple sat again in the reception hall.

“Teacher!” Huges asked quickly: “When you trained in the Chaos City and passed the Heavenly Bridge’s tenth level, you must have earned over one hundred thousand credits, right?”

“Yes.”

Lu Qing nodded slightly: “But I spent some credits earlier to purchase cultivation techniques from the Virtual Universe Company’s archives, to fully comprehend the complete Lightning Origin Law.”

Though in the original story, Luo Feng and others received tenfold credit rewards for passing the Heavenly Bridge during their Chaos City training, that bonus applied only to young human prodigies.

When Lu Qing and his group entered the Chaos City, they were already at the peak of the World Lord realm—they could not have received the tenfold credit reward!

Even so, they still profited enormously.

After all, they had spent only thirty thousand yuan units to enter the Chaos City; merely passing the ninth level granted around fifty thousand credits—truly a windfall.

This was precisely why joining the core ranks of the Five Great Powers required such rigorous screening.

“Teacher, credits are extremely important within the company!”

Huges continued: “Now that you’ve just broken through, you’ll need new weapons, equipment, and cultivation techniques—all require substantial credits. Browse the company vault yourself later.”

“Also, as a newly minted immortal, you’re entitled to a one-thousand-year vacation. Use this time to return home and settle family matters.”

“After returning home, you should leave behind a few divine power tokens—then, in emergencies, you can teleport directly via your divine realm. I’m currently completing a company transportation mission, so I can’t accompany you back home.”

“I understand.” Lu Qing nodded slightly.

After chatting a while longer, Huges introduced Lu Qing to a few friends in the transportation department, then took his leave.

Once Huges departed, Lu Qing quickly returned to his residence’s cultivation chamber.

He was about to spend credits to purchase items when he suddenly received a new email.

“Lu Qing:

Congratulations on becoming a formal member of the Virtual Universe Company’s Transportation Department. Formal members enjoy numerous benefits, including but not limited to access to F-class starships and one thousand years of vacation…

Your registered starship is ‘Blood Red No. 3.’ Please note: without an official company mission, you must not depart from human territory aboard Blood Red No. 3—doing so will be considered betrayal of the human race!

The next one thousand years are your vacation. Afterward, you must report promptly to the Virtual Universe Company’s Universal Headquarters.

…

Virtual Universe Company, Transportation Department.”

After reading the email, Lu Qing gained clearer insight into his upcoming duties, then promptly opened the company vault.

Ding!

The vault opened—immediately, a virtual screen appeared before Lu Qing with eight categories: “Cultivation Techniques,” “Weapons,” “Materials,” “Tools,” “Biologicals,” “Tech Weapons,” “Rare Treasures,” and “Other Special Items.”

Each major category contained numerous subcategories—for example, “Biologicals” included “Plant Life,” “Metal Life,” and others.

The vault contained everything imaginable.

As Lu Qing browsed the vault’s information, he had his auxiliary AI, Deep Blue, continuously memorize everything.

His previous clearance level in the Virtual Universe had been low, so Deep Blue’s data was sparse—now that the opportunity arose, he intended to learn everything.

While having Deep Blue memorize treasure data, Lu Qing also pondered inwardly.

“Originally, I planned to retire completely after becoming an immortal—these credits should be spent entirely on survival items!”

Lu Qing thought to himself: “But now that I’ve joined the Multiverse Chat Group, and Han Li—who possesses the Heaven-Palm Vase—is among them, I might as well attempt to further comprehend the Time Origin Law.”

“Though the pace of comprehending origin laws slows after becoming an immortal, with the mysterious green liquid from the Heaven-Palm Vase and the vast span of time, I still have a chance to master the complete Time Origin Law.”

With this thought, Lu Qing immediately opened the “Cultivation Techniques” section.

Techniques came in many forms: auxiliary, combat, cultivation…

What Lu Qing sought now was an auxiliary technique to aid in comprehending the Time Origin Law.

As he began searching, the screen instantly filled with technique descriptions—

“Chaos Principles,” price: 100 billion credits…

“Notes on Space-Time,” price: 100 billion credits…

…

“Fire Forges the Starry Sky,” price: 1 billion credits…

Countless cultivation techniques lined the screen—the highest-tier all priced at 100 billion credits; the cheapest, only a few hundred credits.

After careful selection, Lu Qing quickly chose three techniques.

Spent ten thousand credits to purchase the first two volumes of “Thunder Overview”—a technique created by the originator of the Thunder Chaos Stele, greatly aiding comprehension of the Thunder Chaos Stele;

Spent thirty thousand credits to purchase the first three volumes of “Thunder Analysis”—a precious technique created by the Thunder Line’s master, Thunder King, greatly aiding Thunder Line cultivators in comprehending the Time Origin Law;

Spent 800 credits to purchase the complete set of “Time Primer”—a foundational technique created by a legendary human prodigy who, while comprehending the essence of the Time Origin Law, distilled it into 108 sword forms that perfectly analyzed the 108 fundamental aspects of the Time Origin Law.

“Now that I’ve broken through to immortality, it’s time to return home and take a look.”

With this thought, Lu Qing immediately returned his consciousness to reality, submitted his application, and soon departed the Virtual Universe Company’s Universal Headquarters aboard “Blood Red No. 3.”

Previous chat group permission corrected: Lu Qing is group owner; the other four are administrators.

Earlier outline omitted the fact that the protagonist’s mind had loaded eight million years of data—forgot to mention it…

Today was busy, and this chapter is nearly 4,000 characters—next chapter will be delayed.

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(End of Chapter)