Chapter 98

Inside the rest room of an E-class starship.

Only after the starship accelerated to sublight speed did the Xuan Kong squad finally exhale in relief.

On this Lone Wolf Island, sublight speed was already the maximum velocity achievable by most powerful beings and starships.

Unless heading for a cosmic transit point, even a Sovereign Immortal could not break the light barrier and enter the dark universe across the Outer Battlefield, which was thick with interstellar dust and debris.

Once everything was settled, the Xuan Kong squad turned their gazes toward Lu Qingshan.

“Lei Bao!”

The tallest among them, Jing Tao Hou, spoke first: “Why did you suddenly burn your Immortal Divine Power?”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

Lu Qingshan asked, slightly puzzled: “I saw that the Qiujiashou tribe’s leader was quite strong—I couldn’t defeat him quickly, so I just tried burning some Immortal Divine Power!”

In truth, this was Lu Qingshan’s first real-life battle using burned Immortal Divine Power, but he had already simulated it countless times in the Virtual Universe, so he felt no awkwardness at all.

“There’s nothing wrong with it!”

Jing Tao Hou continued: “But burning Immortal Divine Power is usually reserved for life-or-death situations. That Qiujiashou leader was merely a High-Class Military Lord—you could’ve shattered his Divine Body a few times and killed him easily. No need to waste your precious Divine Power!”

Lu Qingshan was about to speak, but Captain Xuan Kong Hou spoke up.

“Lei Bao!”

Xuan Kong Hou looked at Lu Qingshan and asked directly: “Did you lose a lot of Divine Power from burning it in battle?”

“Actually, not much!”

Lu Qingshan sensed his Divine Power and replied: “About 3.2% lost.”

When he launched his attack, Lu Qingshan had burned exactly 3% of his Divine Power—otherwise, he couldn’t have unleashed that terrifying power!

The Qiujiashou leader’s self-destruction cost him roughly 0.2% of his Divine Body, and even that was only because he failed to dodge in time and took the full force of the shockwave.

“That’s still not negligible!”

Xuan Kong Hou nodded slightly, then turned to Deputy Captain Tie Xue Hou: “Tie Xue, explain this to Lei Bao.”

“Lei Bao!”

Tie Xue Hou looked at Lu Qingshan solemnly: “Burning Immortal Divine Power is a technique only those who’ve attained Immortality can use. Military Lords like Ju Xiang can at most self-destruct a portion of their Divine Body!”

“Though burning Immortal Divine Power can temporarily boost our strength a hundred or even a thousandfold, once we become Immortals, our souls are completely fused with our Divine Power—so burning Divine Power is essentially burning our souls! If you burn 50% of your Divine Body, your soul is halved. If you lose too much soul, you may lose full consciousness and fall into deep slumber.”

“Therefore, we rarely burn Immortal Divine Power unless facing a powerful enemy or a great opportunity.”

“Lei Bao, let me put it this way: with your current Sovereign Rank—Low and your Divine Body size, if you rely solely on natural recovery, it’ll take at least ten thousand years to restore the Divine Power you just lost! Of course, the universe holds many treasures that accelerate Divine Body recovery—but all of them are exorbitantly priced cosmic rarities!”

“Based on our squad’s past experience, to restore your Divine Body within a millennium, you’ll need at least two thousand Hunyuan units; within a century, roughly ten thousand Hunyuan units; and if you want full recovery in a few days, you’ll need around one hundred thousand Hunyuan units!”

“Yet, killing that High-Class Military Lord earned you only one billion military merit points. Even adding the loot from his body, it won’t reach one hundred thousand Hunyuan units—it’s a net loss!”

“Exactly, Lei Bao!”

Jing Tao Hou added: “Even I rarely burn Immortal Divine Power in battle unless the squad is in danger. Recovering lost Divine Power takes immense time and resources—it’s always better to slowly wear down an opponent.”

“I see.”

Lu Qingshan nodded quickly: “I understand.”

Of course, though he said this aloud, he didn’t truly care inside.

After all, he possessed the Infinite Divine Sea avatar!

Though its current diameter wasn’t large, its recovery ability was still excellent.

The 3.2% of Divine Body Lu Qingshan lost would be fully restored by the Infinite Divine Sea avatar in just a few days—no need to worry at all.

“For our squad, the best combat method is multiple members attacking one enemy.”

Tie Xue Hou continued: “By shattering the enemy’s Divine Body, we can each control a portion of it with our Divine Power, preventing the enemy from reassembling and self-destructing.”

“Of course, shattered Divine Body parts still resist fiercely. In a one-on-one fight, even if you shatter the enemy’s Divine Body, you can’t stop it from reforming—that’s why teamwork is essential.”

“This way, our losses are minimized and our gains maximized!”

“Of course, if we had an Immortal-level auxiliary lifeform assisting, killing a Military Lord would be much easier.”

“But cultivating an Immortal-level auxiliary lifeform requires enormous resources—even within our squad, few have managed to cultivate one.”

“You’re just being too picky!”

Shadow interjected: “You all want to cultivate Auxiliary Lifeforms at High-Class Military Lord or Sovereign Rank levels—of course success is harder!”

“If everyone just cultivated a basic Immortal-level auxiliary lifeform, you’d all have succeeded by now!”

Hearing this, Jing Tao Hou chuckled: “We’re just trying to get it right the first time and save resources.”

Hearing the squad’s conversation, Lu Qingshan silently nodded.

Before arriving at the Outer Battlefield, many in the Xuan Kong squad had already roamed the Outer Battlefield for over a hundred thousand years.

With their strength, accumulating two or three million Hunyuan units was easy—even a small portion of their wealth could cultivate an Immortal-level auxiliary lifeform.

Like Lu Qingshan’s earlier cultivation of Ka Shi, which cost only tens of thousands of Hunyuan units.

But basic Immortal-level auxiliary lifeforms offered little help against High-Class Military Lords or Sovereign Immortals, so they clearly wanted to save more wealth to cultivate stronger ones.

“Enough!”

Captain Xuan Kong Hou waved his hand, interrupting the discussion, then smiled: “Regardless, our squad has gained a powerful new ally!”

“Come on, everyone—raise your cups! To Lei Bao’s first victory!”

“Cheers!”

The Xuan Kong squad, delighted, raised their cups and drained them in one go.

Though Lu Qingshan had killed the Qiujiashou High-Class Military Lord by burning Immortal Divine Power, his earlier strike had annihilated 8% of the enemy’s Divine Body—enough for the squad to recognize his formidable strength.

With the power he displayed, Lu Qingshan could rank among the top three in the Xuan Kong squad.

Even Jing Tao Hou, with his massive Divine Body, couldn’t match Lu Qingshan’s short-term burst power!

Of course, if it came to a life-or-death battle burning Immortal Divine Power, Jing Tao Hou would outlast everyone in the squad—except against a Sovereign Immortal.

“Our gains this time were decent too!”

Xuan Kong Hou continued: “Though some Qiujiashou warriors self-destructed, they still left behind plenty of loot.”

“But Lei Bao contributed the most in this battle—and he burned Immortal Divine Power—so he takes the majority of the loot. The rest of us split the remaining twenty percent.”

“Captain, that’s not right!” Lu Qingshan immediately refused.

He knew that even without him, the Xuan Kong squad could have easily killed the Qiujiashou squad.

They’d let him act only to test his strength.

On the Outer Battlefield, warrior squads typically collect all loot after battle, then distribute it fairly based on contribution once safe.

Lu Qingshan had already gained a huge advantage in military merit points by killing those Qiujiashou Immortals—logically, he should receive less in loot distribution.

But now…

At that moment, the rest of the Xuan Kong squad all spoke up.

“No problem!”

“It’s only fair!”

Since Lu Qingshan had burned his Immortal Divine Body, according to their squad’s rules, he deserved the lion’s share—no one objected.

Seeing this, Lu Qingshan could only accept.

But he resolved inwardly: whenever the Xuan Kong squad faced danger in the future, he’d risk his second avatar’s destruction to help them.

Thus, the Xuan Kong squad quickly divided the loot from the battle, and Lu Qingshan promptly checked his military merit points.

“Master!” The auxiliary AI Shen Lan’s voice echoed in Lu Qingshan’s mind: “You’ve earned 1.185 billion military merit points.”

On the Outer Battlefield, killing an Elite World Master granted 1 million military merit points; a World Master General, 10 million; a Low-Class Military Lord, 100 million; a High-Class Military Lord, 1 billion…

Lu Qingshan had just killed two Immortals and over ten World Master-level warriors—hence the massive accumulation.

The largest share, naturally, came from the Qiujiashou leader with High-Class Military Lord power—he alone contributed one billion military merit points!

…

After the celebration ended, Xuan Kong Hou smiled: “Now that we’ve seen Lei Bao’s strength, I think we have no reason to waste more time on Lone Wolf Island!”

“I agree.”

Deputy Captain Tie Xue Hou nodded: “There are too few strong beings on Lone Wolf Island. We’ve been here for days and only encountered two enemy squads—our merit accumulation will slow drastically if we stay.”

“Yes, Captain, let’s head to the Main Continent as soon as possible!”

“Lei Bao, what do you think?” Xuan Kong Hou asked Lu Qingshan.

“I’ve long wanted to explore the Yan Yan Main Continent!” Lu Qingshan replied with a smile.

He sought to hone himself through battle—so he needed stronger foes.

“Then it’s settled—we head straight for the Main Continent!” Xuan Kong Hou ordered.

…

After deciding, Lu Qingshan’s group immediately changed course, heading toward the Yan Yan Main Continent aboard their starship.

But Lone Wolf Island was far from the Yan Yan Main Continent—without entering the dark universe via cosmic transit, the journey would take considerable time.

Of course, during the voyage, the Xuan Kong squad used detectors to scan the surroundings; if they spotted suitable targets, they’d stop to accumulate military merit.

In the blink of an eye, over two months passed, and the Xuan Kong squad finally reached the Yan Yan Main Continent.

During those two months, the squad encountered two more viable opportunities.

Once, a squad of five Immortals and seven World Masters—though outnumbering the Xuan Kong squad, they had no Sovereign Immortals, and were entirely wiped out.

Another time, a squad of five Immortal deities, fewer in number but including two Sovereign Immortals; the Xuan Kong squad killed only one Military Lord, while the other two were protected by the two enemy Sovereigns. After deliberation, the squad decided to let them go—any real fight would have cost them dearly, even if they won.

Upon reaching the Yan Yan Main Continent, battles for the Xuan Kong squad increased rapidly.

But most squads roaming the Yan Yan Main Continent were led by Sovereign Immortals—so without burning Immortal Divine Power, the Xuan Kong squad’s gains remained modest.

Thus, time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, over a thousand years passed.

A Thousand Silent Years

Over the course of these thousand years, the Xuan Kong Squad has endured thousands of battles, large and small.

With Lu Qing's addition, the overall strength of the Xuan Kong Squad has indeed improved significantly.

Of course, on Yanji Continent, powerful warriors emerge endlessly; there are many teams stronger than the Xuan Kong Squad, so the squad has also faced several perilous battles.

……

“Lei Bao, I really owe you my life this time!”

In the ship’s rest room, the slender Nightmare said with relief: “If you hadn’t burned your Immortal Divine Power in time to help, I would have been severely wounded—even if I didn’t perish!”

Nightmare is the only illusionist in the Xuan Kong Squad, and during battles she is always protected by the others behind them.

In the recent battle, Nightmare, alongside Leng Xin, fought a High Military Lord—but that High Military Lord was utterly unaffected by Nightmare’s illusions, endured Leng Xin’s multiple attacks, then charged straight to Nightmare’s side and detonated himself!

If Nightmare had taken the full blast of a High Military Lord’s self-destruction, even if she didn’t perish, she would have been grievously wounded—she is the weakest defender in the squad.

At that critical moment, even Squad Leader Xuan Kong Marquis began burning his Immortal Divine Power to block the explosion, but he was too far from Nightmare; even with Immortal Divine Power, he could not reach her in time;

In the end, it was Lu Qing—who was closer—who burned his Immortal Divine Body and rushed to Nightmare’s side, saving her!

“Hahaha, we’re teammates—I was bound to save you!”

Lu Qing smiled and said: “If you really want to thank me, just buy me a drink later!”

“No problem!”

Nightmare quickly smiled softly: “I have a jar of ‘Nine Spirit Elixir’ I’ve kept for over three million years—I’ll make sure Lei Bao drinks his fill today!”

“Hahaha…”

Hearing this, all members of the Xuan Kong Squad burst into laughter.

Even Deputy Squad Leader Tie Xue Marquis teased: “Nightmare, both I and the Squad Leader burned Immortal Divine Power—don’t you think you should treat us to a couple of drinks too?”

“Don’t worry!”

Nightmare smiled softly again: “Everyone will get their share!”

With that, Nightmare quickly retrieved a jar of her long-stored liquor and poured a large cup for each member of the Xuan Kong Squad; the remaining half-jar-plus she handed directly to Lu Qing: “Lei Bao, the rest is all yours—drink it whenever you like!”

“By the way, Lei Bao, your burst speed has increased dramatically lately!”

Squad Leader Xuan Kong Marquis couldn’t help exclaiming: “Just now, your burst speed after burning Immortal Divine Power surpassed even mine!”

“Yes!”

Tie Xue Marquis beside him also marveled: “Lei Bao, your burst speed is terrifying—I didn’t even react before you were already at Nightmare’s side!”

Hearing their exclamations, Lu Qing merely smiled: “I’ve been developing a stealth movement technique—recently I finally made progress, so my speed has increased greatly.”

After a thousand years of fighting on the Outer Battlefield, Lu Qing had long recognized his weakness—his movement technique.

Thus, during this period, he had continuously refined the movement technique he once created, even going so far as to activate a precious Enlightenment Boost in the chat group.

More than thirty years ago, his movement technique finally achieved minor success, reaching the top tier—and now his movement is incredibly elusive, with burst speed far exceeding that of peers at the same realm.

After some casual chatter, the Xuan Kong Squad began dividing the spoils.

After securing their allotted spoils, Lu Qing asked inwardly: “Deep Blue, how much military merit and wealth have I accumulated since arriving on the Outer Battlefield?”

“Master, your current military merit is only 8.837 billion.”

The auxiliary AI Deep Blue’s voice echoed in Lu Qing’s mind: “But your accumulated spoils are substantial—you now have over four hundred thousand Hunyuan units.”

“Not bad.”

In the past nearly thousand years, Lu Qing had focused on honing himself through combat, always targeting enemy Marquis Immortals after battles—so his military merit accumulation remained modest.

But since he was at a disadvantage in military merit, he received compensation in spoils distribution.

“When Lu Xiusi was also a Junior Marquis, he spent one hundred thousand years on the Outer Battlefield and accumulated only about two million Hunyuan units—but he likely operated in less dangerous regions than Yanji Continent.”

Lu Qing thought to himself: “I’ve already amassed over four hundred thousand Hunyuan units in just over a thousand years—by the time I reach one hundred thousand years, I might have forty million?”

Of course, Lu Qing’s wealth accumulation far outpaces Lu Xiusi’s not only because his combat zone is more dangerous, but also because the Xuan Kong Squad is stronger.

Lu Xiusi’s original squad had only himself as a Junior Marquis, plus three other Immortals like Luo Si.

Such a lineup struggled to annihilate even three or four Military Lord Immortals.

But the Xuan Kong Squad is different!

Though more members mean less spoils per person, they can also take on far more powerful foes—and thus earn far more overall.

(End of Chapter)