Chapter 180: Great Merit, Chu Youqing's Moving Emotion

"Xun-ge, no, adoptive father, please accept my knee!"

"Lu Xun, how are you so amazing~"

"Wow, boss, you're simply handsome as hell~"

Lu Xun had just gotten out of bed when he received a pile of messages.

There were messages from Li Bufan, from Chu Youqing, and from Bai Ling.

There were also some messages from other friends.

Such a lively scene.

Lu Xun was somewhat dazed.

He looked at his phone for a while before understanding what had happened.

Fine.

Lu Xun was calm as a horse.

He couldn't be bothered to suppress the smile tugging at his lips.

Although his mindset was steady, after all he was still a youth at heart.

However, having experienced those things all along, he instead felt carefree and thought nothing of it.

These past days, Lu Xun has seen too much life and death.

He does these things not for fame.

"Students, starting this year, all students at the Third Realm and above may go to the front lines in the capital to fight, but they may not leave the capital..."

That morning, Qingbei and Wanliu Academy simultaneously released a notice.

Many schools no longer completely shut down, but instead allowed students at the Third Realm and above to go out to fight.

"Ah, why can't those below the Third Realm go?"

Li Bufan was very depressed.

He still wanted to go to the front to show his skills.

As a result, he now has no chance.

"Lu Xun, I'm going to the front with my aunt; rest well, don't worry about us."

Chu Youqing sent Lu Xun a message.

She and Murong Wan ran off to join the battle.

"No problem."

Lu Xun did not follow.

Several schools simultaneously lifting restrictions must be the doing of the Academy.

The Academy's such decision is inseparable from the massive slaughter of alien races in the Battle of Taihang Mountains.

The front lines look dangerous, but for the students it's actually alright.

Because this is the capital, the Academy will surely dispatch strong experts to keep watch.

"Let me see, where are you?"

Lu Xun came to an open place and activated the Heaven's Eye again.

He wanted to locate the underground worms.

These worms continuously transmit Lan Xing's coordinates, which is why the insect swarm's wormholes cling firmly to Lan Xing.

New wormholes keep appearing, impossible to eradicate completely.

Lan Xing has too much underground space, and the subterranean terrain is complex, so Lu Xun searched for several days but still found nothing.

Even with an omniscient view, such a vast area, plus the limited time each use of the Heaven's Eye allows,

Finding it naturally isn't that quick.

This time he still didn't find it.

But it wasn't without gain.

After several days, Lu Xun found many hiding places of the alien races.

These hiding places are extremely concealed, located deep underground, not easy to discover.

On the way back to the capital, Lu Xun told these hiding places to Xu Tongling of the Martial Manor, so they could destroy the alien races' nests.

"Little guy, you've already cocooned?"

Another gain came.

After feeding the fire worm for so long with the Phoenix True Flame, this little guy cocooned and turned into a red cocoon.

This cocoon is quite large, about the size of an ostrich egg.

"Is it sleeping?"

Lu Xun probed with his divine sense and found the fire worm curled up into a ball, sound asleep.

This is not ordinary sleep; it's more like a dormant state before metamorphosis.

The environment inside the cocoon is rapidly changing, slowly becoming like an egg.

This means the fire worm is about to undergo metamorphosis.

"I don't know what it will metamorphose into."

Lu Xun couldn't help but feel some anticipation.

He shrank the alchemy furnace and put it away on his person.

As for the cocoon the fire worm made, Lu Xun still placed it inside the furnace.

The fire worm likes a scorching environment, even after cocooning, so Lu Xun constantly maintains the temperature inside the furnace.

"Uncle Xu, how did you come?"

This afternoon, Commander Xu came to Big Dipper University again.

Hahaha, Xiao Xun, the information you provided was too accurate; we destroyed over ten alien lairs and killed hundreds of thousands of aliens...

Commander Xu was quite excited.

As it turned out,

Yesterday, after obtaining Lu Xun's intelligence, Commander Xu, taking advantage of having many strong warriors at hand, directly applied for an operation.

Their movements were extraordinarily swift, using the coordinates provided by Lu Xun, they launched a devastating strike against the alien lairs on Lan Xing.

The number of aliens also exceeded the Martial Manor's imagination.

In over ten alien lairs, there were actually hundreds of thousands of aliens.

The Martial Manor interrogated some captured aliens, and only then learned of the aliens' plan.

They were mainly the demon race.

Most of these hundreds of thousands of aliens were demon race sent this time.

The demon race intended to use these hundreds of thousands of people to breed underground on Lan Xing, then gradually transform the underground environment of Lan Xing to make it like their homeworld's environment.

Furthermore, they planned to capture large numbers of human women to bear demon offspring for them.

Since the demon race they dispatched this time is itself similar to humans, the demon offspring born this way would look extremely like humans.

They possess both demon and human bloodlines, allowing them to disguise themselves as humans, infiltrate human society, and then cause great destruction.

Do not underestimate this move.

If they truly succeeded, Lan Xing's underground would become their world, and Lan Xing's underground would slip out of control.

The demon offspring plan is equally malicious.

Fortunately, this wave directly wiped out all these demon race members.

Lu Xun can be said to have rendered a tremendous service.

"Xiao Xun, your merit this time is too great; the superiors directly awarded you a three-star military merit medal, plus one hundred million units of Dark Energy and ten universal passage permits—you can give them to whomever you like, or even sell them."

After Commander Xu finished explaining the circumstances, he awarded Lu Xun the reward.

The military merit medal rose from one star to three stars.

A three-star medal is not easy to obtain.

Many Fourth Realm cultivators may never manage to raise their military merit to three stars in their lifetime.

This medal carries many privileges, including an annual Dark Energy subsidy.

Besides that, there is also one hundred million units of Dark Energy, which equals one hundred cubic units of Dark Energy.

Ten passage permits mean ten qualifications to enter the Rainbow Bridge.

Passage permits are extremely hard to obtain.

The Martial Manor gave Lu Xun ten of them all at once.

Lu Xun's achievement this time is indeed substantial.

With such generous rewards, Lu Xun naturally accepted them with great delight.

This is what he deserves; Lu Xun need not stand on ceremony.

"These alien peoples should still have some nests; Xiao Xun, if you discover any, please inform me."

Commander Xu wore a smile all over his face.

Toward Lu Xun, he grew ever more appreciative.

The aliens hide deep underground, and their hiding places often have various seals concealed.

Even if top-tier experts are dispatched, it is not easy to find them.

Mainly because it takes too much time.

Moreover, in recent years the aliens have not caused much trouble, so the Martial Manor did not pay them much heed.

Who would have thought these guys were hoarding a big move, yet Lu Xun found them.

As for how Lu Xun found them, Commander Xu did not inquire deeply.

Talents of this era always have some secrets.

"Okay, Uncle Xu... by the way, I have a matter; I'd like to ask Uncle Xu for a favor."

"Please speak."

Upon hearing that Lu Xun wanted help, Commander Xu quickly said.

"This passage permit, I'd like to ask Uncle Xu to help find a way to pass it to someone...."

Lu Xun took out a Rainbow Bridge passage permit.

That is actually a bronze token.

"Alright, I'll handle this."

Commander Xu readily agreed.

"You kid, why be so polite? Besides, the Rainbow Bridge will open for you all tomorrow—go ahead without worry. The insect race side need not worry; an Eighth Realm expert has returned to cleanse the wormholes. With no aliens causing trouble, the insect race won't stir up big waves. Alright, I'm off—good luck, Xiao Xun!"

Commander Xu patted Lu Xun on the shoulder and then left.

"Now Chu Youqing shouldn't be worried anymore, right?"

After Commander Xu left, Lu Xun thought.

That passage permit of his was actually entrusted to Commander Xu to give to Chu Youqing's father, Chu Yuping.

Chu Youqing's father had lost influence in the Chu family and this time failed to obtain a passage permit.

Her parents have lately been worried and grim-faced each day.

Lu Xun then suggested that he would exchange his military merit for a passage permit for Chu Yuping.

But Chu Youqing thought her mother might not accept it.

Murong Yan previously had an unpleasant fallout with Lu Xun; although she later changed her mind, they might not even accept what Lu Xun gave.

Even if it's just a pass.

Chu Youqing giving it would also be useless; Murong Yan should be able to figure that out.

Lu Xun has recently caused quite a stir; even if Murong Yan is in Rong Cheng, she should have heard something about it.

So Lu Xun thought of going through the Martial Manor to give it.

After keeping one of the nine passes for himself, Lu Xun gave the remaining eight to Xie Yuyan.

He had Xie Yuyan help him auction them off.

The pass is a bestseller, and with a quota system in place, it's the kind that money can't buy.

As soon as the news was released, it triggered a scramble, and they sold out completely that very night.

The eight passes sold for several dozen units of Dark Energy.

The price was neither high nor low.

Mainly, the major clans aren't badly lacking passes, but those who desperately want them often can't afford them.

Like Chu Youqing's father—if you let him go buy one, he simply couldn't afford it.

"Lu Xun."

In the evening, Chu Youqing suddenly appeared outside Lu Xun's dormitory.

"How did you get in?"

"I..." Chu Youqing pressed her lips into a smile, her lashes trembling, "I'm Lu Xun's girlfriend, so they let me in."

Her voice carried a hint of playfulness, mixed with a touch of shyness.

Before Lu Xun could respond, she had already lightly darted inside, curiously looking around.

This was her first time entering Lu Xun's residence.

"And your aunt?"

Lu Xun closed the door.

In the morning, Chu Youqing went to the front lines together with Murong Wan.

"She's gone back to Rong Cheng."

"Back to Rong Cheng?"

Lu Xun was somewhat surprised.

"Hmm." Chu Youqing nodded, "The Rainbow Bridge opens tomorrow; my aunt is worried about my grandfather, so she wants to go in with him."

I see.

"And..."

Chu Youqing suddenly stepped forward, her lively eyes gazing straight into Lu Xun's.

"My father called to say the Martial Manor issued him a pass, so he can also enter the Rainbow Bridge."

As she spoke, she stared unblinking at Lu Xun's face, as if trying to catch something from the subtlest changes in his expression.

"That's great; now your mother won't have to worry anymore."

Lu Xun's mouth curled slightly, his tone relaxed.

Commander Xu acted swiftly; in just a few hours he had everything arranged neatly.

"Lu Xun... the Martial Manor wouldn't do this for no reason; that pass—did you give it to him?"

Chu Youqing asked.

She had figured it out.

"Yeah, it was me."

Lu Xun frankly admitted it.

"I knew it..."

Chu Youqing's eyes grew moist.

Before Lu Xun could react, she had already flung herself into his arms.

Lu Xun froze.

This was the first time they had embraced so intimately.

"Thank you, Lu Xun."

Chu Youqing buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled.

She could feel her cheeks heating up, her heart pounding as if it might burst from her chest.

Yet she clung to Lu Xun, refusing to let go.

Lu Xun's gesture truly moved her.

Although her parents once looked down on Lu Xun, after he rose to prominence and learned of their difficulties, he thoughtfully solved their biggest problem.

Having solved it wasn't enough; Lu Xun had also considered things with extraordinary thoroughness.

By going through the Martial Manor to do this, he thereby took their dignity into account.

The Martial Manor is not something ordinary people can command.

So, in Chu Youqing's view, Lu Xun must have paid a great price.

Feeling the slight tremor of the delicate body in his arms, Lu Xun hesitated a moment, then gently encircled her slender waist.

"It's fine; your parents are also my parents. Now that I'm this capable, your mother definitely won't oppose anymore."

Lu Xun's voice was gentle as a night breeze.

"She never opposed it in the first place..."

Chu Youqing murmured softly in his embrace.

Perhaps it was because Lu Xun's embrace was too warm, she didn't really want to leave, and so she just started talking to Lu Xun like that.

Chu Youqing, in front of Lu Xun, was never short of words.

She said a lot, including some of what she saw and heard after going to the front lines today.

"Lu Xun, you don't know, how much the students of Tsinghua-Beijing admire you now—those second- and third-year upperclassmen all admire you to no end...."

Chu Youqing kept talking, until she could barely keep the corners of her mouth from turning up.

Her boyfriend was truly outstanding.

They kept talking, and ended up speaking for over an hour.

Only then did Chu Youqing notice that they had still been standing.

"Ah... Lu Xun, you must be tired from standing..."

Chu Youqing gasped as if waking from a dream, quickly loosening her arms that were wrapped around Lu Xun.

Her fair cheeks still bore a faint blush that hadn't faded, as delicate as early spring cherry blossoms.

Her slender fingers lightly tugged at Lu Xun's sleeve, gently leading him toward the sofa, her movements careful yet tinged with intimacy.

After Lu Xun sat down, she sweetly leaned into his embrace and continued talking with him.

As they kept talking, Chu Youqing's voice grew softer and softer until it fell completely silent.

Lu Xun glanced over,

she had already fallen asleep.

Light shining down from the space fortress filtered through the gaps in the curtains onto her face, giving her delicate features a soft glow.

The corners of her mouth bore a faint smile, as if she were having a pleasant dream.

Faced with this pure campus belle girlfriend, Lu Xun felt no desire at this moment, only pure affection.

He took out a blanket to cover her, and thus held her as they drifted off to sleep.