241: I am the big boss behind the earth!

Mr. Lu, Mrs. Lu, and their eldest son, Lu Xiangyang, all gasped as they looked at the documents.

This was too grand a gesture!

Lu Yuchen, however, only turned his gaze to the side.

"Xiaoya."

"Do you want to go to Jingda University?"

Lu Xiaoya was startled at first, then her eyes, which had been filled with excitement, gradually dimmed.

She glanced at the documents on the table, full of endless temptation, then looked at her uncle's perpetually lazy face.

She remembered that day on the sports field, her uncle's back, like a Heavenly God descending to the mortal world.

She recalled the terrifying power capable of destroying heaven and earth.

She remembered the phrase... "How dare an ant."

Jingda University?

Scholarship?

What did these count for in the face of true power?

She took a deep breath, and after a moment of hesitation, made up her mind on her innocent and charming face.

She shook her head emphatically at the middle-aged man who was already certain of victory, and at her parents, who were full of anticipation.

"I don't want to go."

She turned around, looking at Lu Yuchen, her voice firm.

"Uncle! I don't want to go to Jingda University!"

"I want to... become someone like you!"

The smile on the middle-aged man's face froze.

He had lived for so long, and this was the first time he had seen someone refuse such a temptation.

And it was a girl not yet twenty years old.

He looked at Lu Xiaoya's eyes, full of determination and resolve, then at Lu Yuchen, who had an expression of "See, I told you so," and finally, could only sigh long and helplessly.

"So be it."

He slowly rose, and solemnly cupped his hands to Mr. Lu.

"Today, we were presumptuous."

"However, the nation's doors are always open for Mr. Lu."

"Farewell."

With that, he did not linger for another moment, leading his subordinates and turning to leave.

...

Night deepened.

Inside the Lu family villa's living room, the lights were brightly lit.

Yet, the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt as if water could drip from it.

"Xiaoya, you... you really weren't hurt today?" Mrs. Lu was still worried, holding Lu Xiaoya's hand, looking her over from left to right, her eyes filled with lingering fear.

"Grandma, I'm really fine." Lu Xiaoya said, half-laughing, half-crying, "Lu Yuchen checked me, not even a single hair was missing."

"That's good, that's good."

Mr. Lu Jianguo and his eldest son, Lu Xiangyang, remained silent, but their tightly furrowed brows and the continuous puffing of smoke betrayed their inner turmoil.

After an unknown amount of time.

"Slap!"

A crisp slap echoed throughout the study.

Everyone was stunned.

Lu Xiaoya covered her burning cheek, looking incredulously at her uncle, who had been doting on her these past few days; her eyes, which had held a hint of stubbornness, were instantly filled with hot tears.

"Un... Uncle... you..."

"Shut up!"

Lu Yuchen's voice was icy cold.

He looked at his niece, who was crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain, his usually lazy eyes now filled with endless disappointment.

"Do you know your mistake?!"

"I... I'm not wrong!" Lu Xiaoya stubbornly lifted her head, but tears fell uncontrollably.

"Not wrong?"

Lu Yuchen sneered, his laughter filled with mockery.

"To commit suicide in front of others for a few irrelevant ants?"

"What do you take your life for?!"

"What do you take the concern of us, your family, for?!"

"Do you think this is some Jianghu drama?!"

"I'm telling you!"

His voice suddenly rose, echoing to the sky!

"From the moment you stepped into the Cultivators world, you faced cruelty!"

"Pity, sympathy, these mortal emotions will only become stumbling blocks on your path forward! They are your greatest... weakness!"

"Today, if I hadn't arrived in time, you would likely be a cold corpse by now!"

"You simply weren't prepared to step into this cruel world of Cultivators!"

Every word pierced her heart, every sentence like a knife!

Cruelly, it carved into the girl's heart.

"I... I..." Lu Xiaoya opened her mouth, but didn't know how to refute.

She looked at the teachers and students in danger; she simply... couldn't bear it.

Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu looked at their granddaughter's wronged expression, their hearts aching, but they also knew that Lu Yuchen was right.

In this world that had become so strange, kindness, sometimes, truly could kill people.

...

After a long while, the atmosphere in the study finally eased slightly.

Lu Xiangyang looked at his younger brother, then at his daughter, who was still silently shedding tears, and finally let out a long sigh.

He turned his gaze to Lu Yuchen, his voice tinged with weariness.

"Lu Yuchen, after today's events, our Lu family is probably completely targeted by the authorities."

"How long can that so-called non-disclosure agreement last? Once those relatives and friends know about our family's situation, know that we've all become 'Cultivators' as described in movies and novels..."

"By then, we might not even be able to leave the house."

"Should we... move?"

This was a very realistic problem.

Lu Yuchen, however, shook his head upon hearing this.

"No need."

He slowly rose and walked to the window, gazing at the boundless night sky, his deep eyes flickering with a heart-pounding light.

"Move where?"

"This world will soon usher in an unprecedented great change."

"At that time, all order will be broken."

"Everything, just as usual."

He offered no further explanation.

He merely added a sentence silently in his heart.

"Since the Spiritual Qi of this Earth has also begun to recover."

"Then let me be the hidden hand, to fully ignite this grand play."

"Earth, version 2.0, needs an update."

...

At the same time.

Countless light-years away from Earth, on a massive planet, entirely dark gold in color and many tens of thousands of times larger than Earth.

Inside a magnificent imperial city, entirely cast from an unknown black metal.

A figure dressed in ancient eunuch attire, with a respectful demeanor, was kneeling on one knee, tremblingly reporting to a majestic figure in a Xuanbird black-gold robe, seated on a ninety-nine-step platform.

"Your Majesty!"

"The Sky-Gazing Bureau reports!"

"According to ancient prophecy, it is now... time for the Ancestral Star to revive!"