Generous Rewards

The Nightshade Race intelligence operative explained:

"Your Highness, Mr. Lu Yuan only fought two matches — one was the qualification challenge, and the other was against rank fifty. Both ended in instant kills. His next challenge has been deferred, so Mr. Lu Yuan didn't stay long."

Anastasia glanced at the Emperor Rankings stele and found that Lu Yuan was already listed at rank fifty. She felt no particular surprise at that — his strength had been on full display during the Dark Night Forest Beast Tide.

Rank one on the Emperor Rankings would be no contest for him.

After hearing the operative's account, Anastasia considered for a moment, then asked, "When is Lu Yuan's next challenge?"

"Ten days from now."

Anastasia gave a brief nod. She would return in ten days.

The operative recalled Si Tingxue's challenge and decided it was worth bringing to the princess's attention.

"Your Highness, the person who accompanied Mr. Lu Yuan appears to be the Ninth Princess of the Red Maple Empire on Great Qi Star. She only recently broke through to Battle King Rank, but it seems she has inscribed a Sovereign Grade gene — she summoned a Battle King Rank Feral Beast with a Sovereign Grade bloodline. Her strength appears to be formidable."

At those words, something shifted behind Anastasia's eyes.

"She inscribed a Sovereign Grade gene?"

Even she herself had never dared attempt that at Battle King Rank. And yet here was a princess from a Battle Emperor-tier faction who had not only dared — but apparently succeeded?

*How is that even possible?*

Anastasia's brow furrowed, a shadow of troubled contemplation crossing her face. After a long moment, she gave a quiet nod.

"...I understand."

Lu Yuan and Si Tingxue returned to Red Maple Manor, to Si Tingxue's private courtyard.

The flush of excitement had yet to fully leave Si Tingxue's face, and a faint smile still played at the corners of her lips.

Lu Yuan glanced at her, the corner of his own mouth curling upward. "I deserve quite a bit of credit for today, don't I? Aren't you going to reward me?"

Si Tingxue blinked — just opening her mouth to respond — when Lu Yuan swept her off her feet and strode toward the room.

She went rigid with shock, then erupted into protests as he carried her: "What do you think you're doing?! Let — let go of me! I have to cultivate!"

Lu Yuan paid her no mind whatsoever, stepped through the door, and shut it behind them.

The following morning, the two emerged together.

Si Tingxue shot him a glare that could have melted steel, her expression a picture of barely contained fury.

Lu Yuan pressed a hand to his forehead, a faint pang of guilt squeezing through him. *I've really been letting myself slip. Days in a row without proper cultivation — this can't go on.*

The Heavenly Calamity Cult might make their way to Great Qi Star once they discovered what had happened to their Apostle. On top of that, Aberration Events were growing more frequent by the day.

*Either way, I need to get serious. Enough strength is the only thing that can protect me and the people I care about.*

*Starting today.*

When they arrived at the sitting room, Rebecca walked in not long after.

A day of rest had restored all her usual vitality, and she wore a bright, eager smile — though when her eyes landed on Lu Yuan, a faint blush rose to her cheeks, and she glanced aside with a flicker of shyness.

The three of them then made their way to the Gravity Room to train.

Inside the Gravity Room, Lu Yuan spread out all the rewards he had received from his Rankings challenges and went through them.

There were forty Sixth-tier Origin Stones — all intended for the Battle Sovereign–to–Battle Emperor breakthrough.

Two hundred Jade Sovereign Flowers. An uncommonly generous haul on its own.

Beyond that, one Sovereign Grade Sixth-tier Gene Armament and one Sovereign Grade Transcendent Gene.

Neither was suited for Lu Yuan's use. He planned to auction them off once he returned to the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin.

Rankings rewards tended to be of higher quality than standard market goods — they wouldn't have any trouble selling.

There were also two one-time-use Sovereign Grade runes. Of no direct use to Lu Yuan himself, but he intended to evolve them first before eventually passing them along to Si Tingxue, Rebecca, and the others. They would be heading into the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin before long — every trump card needed to be prepared.

All told, these rewards were worth somewhere in the hundreds of millions of Sixth-tier Spirit Crystals — an extraordinarily generous haul for a Battle Sovereign. Then again, the Rankings were the only place that offered rewards on that scale.

Once everything was stowed away, he settled in to cultivate.

His current focus was the Mechanical Saint Transcendent Gene, which had already reached over forty percent Tempering Proficiency. At this pace, it would be fully tempered in just under two months.

Six days later. Gravity Room.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes. The ghostly outline of gears that had hovered behind him faded silently into nothing.

He took out his Communication Crystal. White light was flickering across its surface.

He answered the call, and Amy's face appeared in the crystal, grinning at him.

"Big liar — were you trying to reach me?"

Lu Yuan gave a long-suffering eye-roll. "After all this time, you're still calling me that?"

Three-plus years had passed, and the baby fat had long since left Amy's face. Her features were leaner now, her height noticeably greater, her figure more developed. Her personality, on the other hand, had barely changed — she had simply learned a few things she hadn't known before.

As for Lu Yuan specifically, she still called him "big liar" whenever the mood struck her. All because of some dubious things he'd apparently said back at the Aier Mechanical Ruins.

Amy put her hands on her hips and gave a defiant little huff. "Nope!"

"Where are you and Lingling right now?" Lu Yuan asked, resigned.

"I just entered the Land of Origin — training at home. Lingling's helping my mom with some business. Why?"

"I've got some good things prepared for both of you. I'll come deliver them now."

"Good things?"

Amy looked puzzled.

Even as she spoke, Lu Yuan's figure had already vanished from the Gravity Room — reappearing at Tianrao Mansion, in the small courtyard outside Amy's residence.

He glanced around. The courtyard was empty. They were probably inside.

Not wanting to barge in uninvited, he spoke into the Communication Crystal: "Open the door. I'm in your courtyard."

Amy: "???"

The bewilderment in her eyes was plain. She stepped out of her room moments later and stared at Lu Yuan standing in her courtyard, blinking repeatedly.

"...How did you get here? How are you so fast?"

"My spatial movement ability has gotten quite powerful," Lu Yuan said with a laugh.

Amy made a vague "oh" of understanding — whether it actually clicked was another matter. She broke into a smile.

"You said you had something for me?"

"Let Lingling come first."

Amy nodded, took out her Communication Crystal, and fired off a message to Wang Lingling.

Before long, a door swung open and Wang Lingling stepped through.

When she saw Lu Yuan, a warm, gentle smile spread across her face. "Ah Yuan, what brings you here?"

"I brought some things for you both."

"What kind of things?"

She tilted her head, curious.

Lu Yuan produced a spread of spirit fruits, spirit liquids, and Gene Armaments — much the same as what he had given Si Tingxue and Rebecca. Since both Amy and Wang Lingling had already inscribed their Transcendent Genes, however, he held the Sovereign Grade Transcendent Genes back this time.

The array landed before them in a blaze of red and orange light. Wang Lingling and Amy both stared for a moment, blank-faced.

Then Amy's eyes went wide, and she let out an exclamation: "Are these all Emperor Grade and Sovereign Grade treasures?! Big liar, where did you get so many?!"

Lu Yuan smiled. "From the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin."

Wang Lingling was more composed than Amy, but even she wore a faint look of hesitation as she gazed at the pile. "Ah Yuan... these must be incredibly precious. If you give them to us, what will you do for yourself?"

"I have more than enough — don't worry about that." He paused. "One more thing: when either of you breaks through to Battle Sovereign rank, let me know before you inscribe any new Transcendent Genes."

Wang Lingling looked up at him, her gaze quiet and searching. Then she gave a single, deliberate nod. "Understood."

Amy, never one for overthinking, gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder.

"Hehehe — once I'm strong enough, big liar, I'll totally have your back!"

Lu Yuan couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes.

She had been saying exactly that since the very beginning. And somehow, the gap in their strength had only kept widening.

Wang Lingling's smile took on a gently teasing edge. "Young Miss, if you truly mean that, you'd better train seriously. Ah Yuan is already ranked fifty on the Emperor Rankings — and from all signs, he'll be challenging rank one before long. Are you quite sure you can cover him right now?"

The soft jab landed. Amy caught herself, gave a pointed cough, and conveniently found something interesting to study on the far side of the courtyard.

"...I — I just need to train more, that's all! I'll get strong fast, I promise!"

Lu Yuan found her squirming quietly entertaining.

"I'll be waiting, then."

He then told Amy and Wang Lingling about his plans to bring them to the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin. Both agreed without hesitation — after all, they already knew Si Tingxue, Rebecca, and Yeye well, and they all got along.

Once everything had been settled, Lu Yuan vanished again, returning to the Gravity Room to resume his cultivation.

White Cloud City. Central Plaza.

Lu Yuan appeared out of thin air — and immediately felt a jolt of surprise at the scene before him.

The Central Plaza was packed. The crowd was enormous, and the sky above was no different: mounts, aircraft, and warriors at Battle King Rank and above hovered in dense clusters throughout the air.

*What the...*

*Why are there so many people here?*

*Don't tell me they've all come to watch my challenge.*

Before the thought had fully formed, someone in the crowd spotted him and shouted:

"He's here! Lu Yuan is here!"

At the cry, everyone who had been chatting and milling around turned to look. Their expressions ran the full spectrum — wonder, admiration, and no small amount of envy.

Lu Yuan's talent and sheer power had left too deep an impression. There was hardly a soul in all of White Cloud City who had not heard of him.

When he had left ten days ago, word of his upcoming challenge against rank one of the Emperor Rankings had already spread across the entire White Cloud Star Domain. A vast number of powerful experts and rising geniuses had made the journey in anticipation.

Seeing that the crowd truly had assembled for him, Lu Yuan tugged helplessly at the corner of his mouth. *This is a bit much.*

Si Tingxue and Rebecca had both wanted to come, but he'd told them it would be over quickly and there was no need. He'd said the same to Amy and Wang Lingling.

He hadn't expected that while his friends stayed away, a crowd full of strangers would flood in.

With a resigned sigh, he made his way toward the stele.

The Gene Warriors ahead of him stepped aside without prompting, opening a path for him to pass through.

Then a figure blurred past the crowd and stopped directly in front of him.

Black cat ears. A lazily swishing cat tail. An expressionless face that somehow still managed to look endearing. It was Yeye.

"Ah Yuan."

She had come for a reason: the two of them had made plans to find somewhere to celebrate over a good meal once he claimed rank one.

Lu Yuan nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Wait for me — it'll be over quickly."

"Mm."

Yeye didn't take it as arrogance. She simply nodded with quiet certainty.

Among the onlookers, those who understood the full extent of Lu Yuan's abilities nodded along without objection. Others, less acquainted with the facts, began whispering that he was being rather high-handed.

Lu Yuan had nothing to say to that.

From behind Yeye, Small White stepped out to stand at her side. She murmured, sounding a little flustered, "Your Highness... you really didn't need to rush..."

Then she turned to Lu Yuan with a warm smile, something close to reverence shining in her eyes. "Young Master Lu, it's been a while."

"Small White. It has." Lu Yuan smiled back at her, and the color that bloomed across Small White's cheeks was immediate.

After that, Lu Yuan took up his position before the stele and waited.

Before long, a dragon's roar rang out across the open sky. A phantom arena materialized high above the plaza as war drums began to thunder across the breadth of White Cloud City — a spectacle of tremendous scale.

Lu Yuan had been through this when he challenged the King Rankings. It was still a little theatrical, but he adjusted quickly.

His body vanished and reappeared on the arena.

Standing across from him was a short figure in a black robe. A Green Demon. Pulan.

After materializing on the arena, the grotesque green features of Pulan's face settled into a complicated expression.

He looked at Lu Yuan, his voice coming out slightly hoarse. "...I was there. At the Dark Night Forest Beast Tide."

Lu Yuan blinked, then smiled. "Small world."

"Even then, I knew it was only a matter of time before you came for rank one on the Emperor Rankings... I just didn't think it would be this soon." A pause. "And I suspect rank one on the Battle Emperor Rankings will be yours as well, before long."

Pulan let out a quiet sigh, his expression unreadable.

Lu Yuan's smile was easy. "Once I break through to Battle Emperor, I'll come claim it."

Pulan gave a faint nod and said nothing more. Black light began to ripple across his entire body as his aura surged.

He knew he was no match. But as the reigning top genius holding rank one on the Emperor Rankings, he refused to go down without a fight.

The challenge began. Pulan vanished from the arena — and reappeared directly behind Lu Yuan.

In that same instant, the space where Pulan now stood shattered.

A heartbeat later, his body was torn apart along with the collapsing space, dissolving into white light and vanishing without a trace.