Chapter 281: Small Gathering: Zhu Zhuqing Wants a Child

In the time since the World Advancement, every city across the entire continent now looks very similar.

During the day, people are busy with the various repair and reconstruction tasks brought about by the World Advancement.

At night, people gather together to enjoy each other's company, drink, chat, and talk freely about the changes in the world.

The entire continent presents a scene full of vitality, with the common people living and working in peace and contentment.

Although the World Advancement brought enormous changes, people still maintain an optimistic and resilient attitude.

Jerry, meanwhile, is in Wuhun City researching other effects following the World Advancement.

After the concentration of soul power between heaven and earth became stronger, it also affected the profession of Alchemist.

For medicinal herbs of the same age, the medicinal efficacy has increased significantly, and the difficulty of refining them has also increased.

These are not problems for Jerry; he can refine herbs of even higher ages, let alone these herbs that are less than ten years old—even if their medicinal properties have increased significantly, it is the same.

Afterwards, he organized a new set of medicinal herb data and updated it directly to the database.

Using the same method, he posted an announcement, pinned it, marked it as featured, and then sent out a targeted notification.

Tang San still cannot see it.

Compared to other matters, the matter of medicinal herbs is not really a matter at all.

With these urgent matters handled, Jerry finally had some rare leisure time.

He prepared to invite his master, senior sister, and junior sisters to have a meal together.

Of course, they were not going out to eat; Jerry was doing all the cooking himself.

After sending the notifications, Jerry moved his divine sense, and the kitchen began to work.

Various chairs flew out from the house and were arranged neatly in the courtyard.

Jerry personally brewed a pot of good tea, waiting for everyone to arrive.

Before long, everyone had arrived one after another.

After Master Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo arrived, their eyes lit up when they saw Jerry brewing tea, and they sat down directly to pour and drink for themselves.

The tea leaves Jerry had given them had long since been finished.

Of course, a portion had also been given away.

I do not know when it happened, but the benefits of the tea leaves were exposed, and various Elders came to visit one after another.

In name, it was a visit; in reality, it was to ask for tea leaves.

At first, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo did not notice their true purpose, thinking that their popularity had suddenly improved and that people were now coming to visit them.

While happy, they took out their treasured tea leaves to entertain everyone.

As time went on, Chrysanthemum Douluo discovered the problem.

They would always mention the tea leaves intentionally or unintentionally during their chats, followed by all sorts of flattery, which made Chrysanthemum Douluo feel a bit carried away, and he would directly give them some tea leaves.

Those who had been given tea leaves would not come to Chrysanthemum Douluo's place for a period of time, and once the tea leaves were finished, they would continue to visit Chrysanthemum Douluo.

For the sake of the tea leaves, these Elders were not afraid of Chrysanthemum Douluo showing off anymore, but they would leave immediately after getting the tea leaves.

This made Chrysanthemum Douluo feel a bit surprised as to why his popularity was sometimes good and sometimes bad.

When he found out that Ghost Douluo was in the same situation, Chrysanthemum Douluo also realized the purpose of these people.

Chrysanthemum Douluo started complaining directly: these "old sixes" don't even ask directly anymore, they just come to mooch!

After knowing the purpose of these people, Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't be bothered to entertain them anymore and used various excuses to avoid them.

But he couldn't avoid them every time, so much so that the top-grade tea leaves in the hands of the two of them were soon bottoming out.

With the tea leaves from the Hundred-thousand-year Tea Tree running low, they could also accept the tea leaves from the Ten-thousand-year Tea Tree; they were not picky at all.

Some even came to ask to buy them, but this kind of tea leaf was not abundant to begin with; it was enough for their own consumption, but selling it was out of the question.

After the tea leaves in the hands of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were exhausted by the other Elders, the two of them learned from the other Elders and ran to the Great Elder to mooch.

Once or twice was fine, but after too many times, the Great Elder lost his patience and threw them both out.

Chrysanthemum Douluo felt that the two of them had disturbed the time the Great Elder and Poseidon spent alone, so he didn't think much of it.

The two of them, who had been without tea for a while, were experiencing this situation because they saw Jerry's tea.

"Master, Elder Ghost, why do you two look like you haven't had tea in a long time? Didn't I prepare a year's supply for you?"

Seeing their actions, Jerry asked with a face full of confusion.

"Sigh! It's a long story; I spent all day hunting geese, only to have my eyes pecked by them."

Master Chrysanthemum Douluo sighed and explained the reason to Jerry.

After hearing this, Jerry burst into laughter.

"So, who exactly was it that spread the news about the top-grade tea leaves?"

After saying this, Jerry looked at his master with a grin.

This sentence directly reminded Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Except for them, only the Great Elder had the top-grade tea leaves produced by the Hundred-thousand-year Tea Tree.

So, who spread it was obvious!

"Damn it, that old silver coin, the Great Elder—it turns out he was the one who spread it. I was wondering what was going on; after going twice, I got kicked out. It turns out he knew our purpose all along."

The slow-to-realize Chrysanthemum Douluo was furious and clenched his fists; if he could beat Qian Daoliu, he would probably be going to challenge him to a duel right now.

It must be said that the talent of Qian Daoliu and Poseidon is too high; in a short period of time, they have already comprehended about 60% of the Rule.

Although part of it was from reading Jerry's introductions, reading a book and comprehending it oneself are two different things.

Some people read and that's it, comprehending nothing; others read and comprehend a great deal.

This depends entirely on individual aptitude.

Besides the Great Elder and Poseidon, Jerry feels that his master Chrysanthemum Douluo has the best talent among everyone.

Immortal Herb martial soul, accumulating strength for a great breakthrough.

Even for Bibi Dong with her Twin Martial Souls, after reaching the god level, she did not Cultivation as fast as Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Immortal Herb, Immortal Herb—once it carries the word "Immortal," it means shedding the mortal to become an immortal, ascending to the heavens.

An immortal is free and unfettered; a god cannot be compared to one.

Gods have too many restrictions.

And Chrysanthemum Douluo's current state is very much in line with that of an immortal: following his heart, following his nature.

Seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo's state of Cultivation, Jerry felt that as long as he was given sufficient time, he would sooner or later surpass the Great Elder and Poseidon.

However, regarding the issue of the tea leaves, Jerry had been helpless before; he had put a great deal of effort into the cultivation of the tea trees.

But the harvest was minimal.

Ten-thousand-year Tea Trees are easy to obtain, but Hundred-thousand-year Tea Trees are hard to see.

However, after this World Advancement, it should be possible to cultivate a few more Hundred-thousand-year Tea Trees, or even tea trees over one hundred thousand years old.

Jerry discovered that these tea leaves over one hundred thousand years old were also very useful for powerhouses who had become gods.

If nothing else, the mere fact that they could help in comprehending a Rule determined the value of the tea trees.

Without having become a god, drinking this kind of tea leaf would only condense one's soul power and soothe one's mood.

Drinking it after becoming a god can accelerate the comprehension of a Rule.

This was also something Jerry discovered later.

The degree of Rules Jerry had comprehended was very high, so the hundred-thousand-year tea leaves were of no use to him anymore.

But the Great Elder had sought him out before and told him about the uses of the tea leaves, and the Great Elder had even demonstrated the Rule he had comprehended.

According to the Great Elder, long-term consumption of hundred-thousand-year tea leaves, even without reaching the god level, would leave some effects latent within the human body; after breaking through to the god level, these effects would manifest.

Although Jerry had no way to verify this, he reasoned it out, and it sounded plausible.

So he let his senior and junior sisters drink a bit more tea.

It was just that since he hadn't verified it personally, Jerry naturally didn't say it explicitly, to the point that the master's tea leaves were now being sponged off by others until they were gone, and he himself hadn't noticed the efficacy of the tea leaves.

After thinking about it, he decided to explain it to his master.

After hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo wanted to go find Qian Daoliu to fight to the death on the spot; it was only because Jerry stopped him, otherwise if Chrysanthemum Douluo had gone, he likely would have come out on his knees.

The hundred-thousand-year tea leaves were useless to him; his drinking tea was just a habit.

He took out some tea leaves to share with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, telling them to just drink them and keep a low profile; if they squandered them again this time, they would have to wait until next year.

Tea trees, on the Douluo Continent, seemed to be restricted.

Rare, scarce.

Even if one was found, the age was generally very low.

Once they transformed into a Soul Beast, the tea leaves would completely lose their efficacy.

Although tea trees could be cultivated within a Time Array, the leaves produced through accelerated growth not only changed in taste but also had no efficacy.

One could only wait for the tea trees to grow leaves naturally; there was only one Hundred-thousand-year Tea Tree, and the tea leaves produced each year were limited, which was the reason for the scarcity of the tea leaves.

Accelerating the comprehension of a Rule—this made Jerry think of Enlightenment Tea.

Although its current efficacy was much weaker compared to Enlightenment Tea, that was only because, compared to Enlightenment Tea, the Hundred-thousand-year Tea Tree was too young.

While the three were drinking tea, the senior and junior sisters also arrived.

As soon as they arrived, Jerry's Small Courtyard became lively.

The meal was soon ready, and everyone chatted while eating.

However, they basically talked about Jerry; everyone was very curious about Jerry's daily life.

Especially with this World Advancement, from the very beginning until the end of the advancement, Jerry had disappeared for a very long time.

In the past, he would have left behind a clone, but this time he hadn't even left a clone.

Jerry also told them about the World Advancement and told them to Cultivation well, to first Cultivation one Rule, and after raising the level of comprehension of that one Rule, then go on to comprehend other Rules.

Every Rule, according to his own understanding and synthesizing the explanations from the Silver Dragon King, the Fairy Queen, and the World Consciousness, Jerry had organized them all.

However, this information had not been made public; currently, only the few people who had become gods knew.

Afterward, everyone left, but Zhuqing returned.

Zhuqing told Jerry that she wanted a child.

Hearing that Zhuqing wanted a child, Jerry was very surprised; in fact, how could he not want a child himself?

Jerry was also very troubled; although Zhuqing had also become a god, she was only a primary-level god, her strength was too far from Jerry's, and the two of them were not on the same level of life.

Zhuqing's God Body was still at the Third Layer, within the scope of a flesh-and-blood body, but Jerry's God Body was at the Third Layer, having already detached from flesh and blood and transformed into an energy body.

The two were not on the same level; wanting offspring could be said to have a zero percent chance.

As of now, the only one who had a chance to conceive offspring with Jerry was the Fairy Queen.

However, their relationship was more like relatives, and the blood-relative kind at that.

After the Fairy Queen was truly resurrected, she really had no blood relation to Jerry, but in his mind, Jerry had always treated the Fairy Queen as a relative.

The Fairy Queen's personality was also cold, so their relationship stopped there.

Jerry told Zhuqing about his situation; after hearing it, Zhuqing was silent for a long time, then took the pills Jerry gave her and went back to go into seclusion.

Zhuqing did not speak much, but her heart was very proud.

Jerry had spoken very clearly, and she understood it all, but deep down there was a thought that she was not worthy of Jerry, and that she wasn't even qualified to bear Jerry a child.

Being proud at heart, she was naturally very uncomfortable, so she took the pills provided by Jerry and went back to go into seclusion, hoping to catch up with Jerry's progress.

The reason Zhuqing felt she could catch up with Jerry's Cultivation progress was because Jerry had told her that the world's Cultivation level had an upper limit.

After Cultivation to the upper limit, it meant the path of Cultivation had reached its end.

At this time, if one wanted to continue Cultivation, there were only two methods: first, leave this world and search for a higher-level world; second, World Advancement.

Jerry told Zhuqing that he would not leave this world.

Zhu Zhuqing thought for a moment; if Jerry did not leave this world, his Cultivation would reach its limit sooner or later, and his power level would then be fixed.

Waiting for the world to advance again, without opportunities, would take millions of years.

Wouldn't this time be exactly the time she needed to catch up?

Therefore, Zhu Zhuqing was full of confidence about catching up to Jerry.

Jerry did not oppose her thoughts either; after all, under normal circumstances, it was truly as she had said.

But could the Douluo World with Jerry in it still be considered normal?

Not opposing it was also fine, as it gave Zhu Zhuqing motivation for her Cultivation.

Zhuqing possessed a precious character trait: once she set her mind on something, she would complete it regardless of the cost.

This character trait was also the fundamental reason she could become strong.

Whether it was in Spirit Master Cultivation or serving as the Star Luo Empress.

Zhuqing had never once stopped to rest.

If one were to rank the strength of his senior and junior sisters now, Zhu Zhuqing would undoubtedly rank first.

Ye Lingling, Ning Rongrong, and Xue Ke had martial souls that were inherently inclined toward support, and the three of them were truly not diligent in their Cultivation.

Ever since her mother was resurrected, Xiao Wu had been looking after her, and after becoming a god, Xiao Wu was carefree, her true nature revealed, and she also rarely practiced Cultivation.

Qian Renxue had great talent, but she had fallen behind from the start; one step behind, and she would be behind every step of the way.

Therefore, the ranking of their strength was very obvious; Zhu Zhuqing ranked first, without any dispute.

In fact, Jerry had discovered the problem long ago.

After they became gods, they had no opponents, so they all relaxed their Cultivation.

Moreover, the comprehension of the Rule was not something that could be achieved just by practicing every day.

If one were lucky, one might experience an Awakening directly.

Therefore, once one reached the god level, it was no longer a matter of hard work.

The problem of having no opponents was very difficult to solve right now.

Jerry thought of Tang San and considered letting them deal with Tang San.

He then shook his head; better forget it, Tang San had the Zhujiao Guanghuan and was the Child of Luck.

Ordinary methods simply could not deal with Tang San; they would only become stepping stones for Tang San, making him stronger and stronger.

Jerry truly had no way to deal with Tang San's Zhujiao Guanghuan.

Every time he went out, he encountered all kinds of opportunities, learned everything quickly, and even if his enemies were far stronger than him, it was very difficult to kill him; there were always various coincidences and accidents that allowed him to escape.

Furthermore, he came with his own concealment; when the protagonist wanted to hide, it was very difficult for others to find him.

Therefore, even though he knew Tang San was still on the Douluo Continent, so many years had passed, and even though he had never relaxed his search, he just could not find him.

The information network of the Spirit Hall, which covered the entire continent, had failed to find Tang San.

Sigh, that damned Zhujiao Guanghuan, and this invisible luck.

Thinking of these things made Jerry feel very powerless.

……

(End of this chapter)