Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

On Earth, in the season that was warm and comfortable, inside a campus that looked like a garden filled with the singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers, light, delightful music was playing.

A young man in sportswear hopped forward as if he had grown springs on his legs. With a big headset on his head, he was bouncing a basketball in his hands.

It was obvious that he was quite good at the sport. Even though the basketball was pushed several meters away many times, it always bounced back to his hands, however narrowly.

The passersby of his age all greeted him, implying that he was an outgoing and popular boy.

The camera changed. Inside a quiet, clean building not far away, a calm and slim girl was practicing dancing in the slightly sorrowful melody.

Her soft body, her pitiful expression, and her agile footsteps truly made her look like an angel whose wings had broken.

The camera changed again. Outside of the campus, a weaselly gangster was running away crazily under the pursuit of dozens of brawny guys. Everything was an utter mess.

The camera changed another time. A kung fu expert and a shooting expert showed up one after another. They were both young, vigorous, carefree, and handsome.

Suddenly, the bright sky dimmed, and the clouds were rolling nonstop, as if a behemothic monster had swallowed the entire Earth into its throat.

Countless citizens craned their necks and looked at the sky in a daze.

The five boys and girls sensed the anomaly, too. As if navigated by their fate that they did not know yet, they raised their heads and looked at the sky at the same time.

The moment they raised their heads, five shooting stars suddenly darted out of the dark clouds and rushed close, hitting the five boys and girls precisely.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The perspectives from the five cameras were focused on the same picture. The five boys’ and girls’ countenance of extreme shock could clearly be seen.

A solemn and weary voice echoed next to their ears. “A long, long time ago, we banished the fiend out of our world, but we failed to completely destroy it.

“The fiend has been lurking and resting at the edge of the cosmos, growing stronger and stronger. Today, it has finally come back.

“My strength is running dry. Brave young people, the destiny to protect Earth must be fulfilled by you. Remember, you must protect Earth, and you must destroy the fiend, whose name is… Vulture Li Yao!”

“Argh!”

Li Yao suddenly woke up from the nightmare. He felt that his heart was palpitating, and he was soaked in cold sweat. Every muscle in his body was twitching violently beyond his control.

What a terrible nightmare.

Thankfully… it does not feel like the uncanny dreams I had before. It must be because I’ve been having a lot of random thoughts recently.

Rubbing his cold cheeks hard and took more than ten deep breaths, he raised his head, only to find himself in the middle of a dark cabin. Then, Li Yao finally recalled that he had already left the Ancient Sages Sector and was on his way back to the Heaven’s Origin Sector.

He made a gesture casually. Dozens of 3D light beams immediately unfolded around him, displaying the profound and boundless universe around the starship. In the space behind his bed, a very familiar planet that he had been dreaming of was gradually enlarged.

It was his hometown, the planet of the Heaven’s Origin Sector!

I’m finally back!

Wiping the cold sweat on his forehead, Li Yao took a long breath in relief.

The unsmooth journey to the Ancient Sages Sector had taken three and a half years because of the loss of directions in the dark nebula.

In the past three and half years, the Star Glory Federation had undergone drastic changes again, and he and Ding Lingdang had not met each other for a long time!

After the starship entered the range of the Spiritual Nexus in the Heaven’s Origin Sector, virtual meetings could be held without any delay for the complicated report and summary work.

When Li Yao really landed on the planet of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the summary report regarding the Ancient Sages Sector was all completed. The rest of the formalities could naturally be taken over by other staff.

He only wanted to clear his mind and get some rest.

In a famous vacation spot of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, inside a personal manor that was quiet with pleasant views, Li Yao and Ding Lingdang hugged each other hard, unwilling to let go of each other for a long time.

Although the two of them could communicate with each other through the spiritual messenger, Ding Lingdang still gave herself three days off after learning that Li Yao was coming back so that she could reunite with him.

Inside the vast private manor, they were the only two living creatures except for the ten thousand birds flying over the ocean.

Looking at Ding Lingdang who had been working as the Supreme Speaker of the Federation for four years and appeared more shrewd than before, Li Yao had a lot of mixed feelings.

His wife truly looked more and more like an intimidating queen that had the whole world under her control!

“I should’ve known that nothing good could ever happen when you were out. You said that you would find the Ancient Sages Sector and build the space gate in half a year at most, and yet you were sluggish enough to spend more than three years on it!” Ding Lingdang clenched her fists and bashed Li Yao’s chest. “Why do I feel that your legs are installed with springs? You simply can’t stay at home and have to run wild, and every time you run wild, you always go missing!”

Li Yao scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. After hearing that, he was even less sure about how he should express his intention to go to the center of the cosmos.

Ding Lingdang’s eyes were keen enough for her to notice his hesitation. She raised her eyebrows and asked, “What, anything bothering you?”

Looking at the ocean where waves were rising and falling with white foams popping up, Li Yao said hesitantly, “Yes… There is something very weird that I don’t know how I should explain to you.”

“Just tell me straightforwardly!” Ding Lingdang said. “We are best friends. Do you have anything that you can’t even let me know?”

Li Yao’s heart shook hard, as if a hole appeared on his chest, and a ray of gold sunlight directly shot into his heart. He mumbled, “Yes. Who else in the entire universe can I trust if I cannot trust and rely on my own wife?

“Alright. I’ll tell you everything exactly as it is!”

Summoning his courage, Li Yao grabbed Ding Lingdang’s hands and looked at her solemnly. Then he said in a low voice, “Honey, in fact, I’ve been keeping the secret for a long time. I’ve been meaning to tell you the truth, but I didn’t know how I should explain it because I was worried that you would look at me in a different way after you learn the secret.

“But since you are so supportive today, I really can’t hold myself back anymore. I hope that you can calm yourself down and not act rashly after hearing what I am about to say!”

“…Fine. I’ll try to be calm and not act rashly. Just tell me.” Taking a long breath, Ding Lingdang bit her lips hard and demanded, “Who is she?”

Li Yao was dumbfounded for a long time. “…Well, I’m afraid that there is a misunderstanding. This issue does not concern another woman. I only want to tell you everything about Earth.”

Holding Ding Lingdang’s hands, the two of them talked. Looking at the seagulls flying free at will in the sky, Li Yao told her everything that he knew about Earth and all his speculations.

Although he had highly abridged his experiences and ignored most of the unnecessary details, it still took him more than an hour to finish the entire compelling and extraordinary story.

Ding Lingdang listened quietly the whole time and did not exclaim in shock even in the most staggering part of the story. Eventually, it was Li Yao who was surprised in the end. “Honey, why have you been so calm? Do you not feel astounded and lost for words at all?”

“If it were somebody else, I would’ve been greatly astonished,” Ding Lingdang said. “However, even the strangest things that happen to Vulture Li Yao are always normal. Also, in such a case, your anomalies in the past have reasonable explanations. It is actually a great relief for me!”

His wife was indeed a great woman who had seen far too many things. Even such an unbelievable revelation was not enough to surprise her!

Li Yao secretly praised Ding Lingdang in his heart. Then he said again, “Then, what do you have to say about the fact that I am actually an ‘earthling’?”

“Technically speaking, you are not an earthling, are you?” Ding Lingdang replied. “You are obviously a native of the Heaven’s Origin Sector, except that your brain received a message from Earth when you were just born. Such a thing is perfectly normal in the vast universe!

“Besides, I think that the initial identity does not matter at all. Whether you are from Earth or the Heaven’s Origin Sector, is there any difference? What matters is how you identify yourself and how you view the people and the world around you.

“At the very least, for me, the one I love and want to spend the rest of my life with is merely ‘Li Yao’. It has nothing to do with your origins, regardless of whether you are from the Earth, the Heaven’s Origin Sector, the federation, the Imperium, or anywhere else!

“An earthling, a native of the Uranian Ring Sector, the ‘dominator of the three Sectors’, or a Mr. Nobody, it doesn’t matter at all. Everything will be fine as long as you are Li Yao!”

Li Yao felt that his heart was melting. He was so moved that he could not say a word for a long time. “Honey…”

Ding Lingdang put on a sweet smile. She grabbed Li Yao’s hands this time and dragged him to move forward. “In fact, I’m very happy that you are willing to share such a big secret with me.

“You know that I am a simpleminded woman. About the schemes, plans, and whatnot that you have speculated, I am neither capable of figuring out the answers to the puzzles nor interested in such complicated things. All I know is that I must support you without reserve and fight by your side to the end because you are my husband!

“You don’t need to hesitate. Based on everything I know about you, I believe that your cause must be justified. If you are really going to destroy Earth, it will definitely be the right thing to do.

“In that case, I will certainly support you. The entire Star Glory Federation will support you. Right now, we may be no match for the Imperium or the Covenant Alliance, but it shouldn’t be very difficult for us to destroy a tiny Earth, right?

“This is the promise of me, your not-so-responsible wife. Hehe. I am never really romantic, but the most romantic thing I can think of right now is to destroy Earth together with you!”