# Chapter 365: Won't They Kill Me?

Two more Hearts of Laws!

If he could wipe out the Elf Race and Beast Race aberration organizations, that would put five Hearts of Laws in his pocket.

A flicker of anticipation stirred in Lu Yuan's chest.

He took a deep breath, smiled at Jinka, and said, "Rest assured, Senior Jinka. This concerns the safety of the entire universe — I wouldn't dream of refusing."

Jinka nodded, visibly relieved.

The others smiled as well.

Given the power Lu Yuan had demonstrated, there was likely no one left in the entire universe who could match him — and yet he still took the eradication of Aberration seriously. That put everyone's lingering worries to rest.

While they were still talking, a Mechanical Battle Saint flew over and landed before Mados, reporting respectfully, "My Lord Mados, the battle is over."

Everyone turned their attention to the surrounding battlefield. The four-race allied forces had already finished off the last of the Aberrant Beasts. After all, the War Gods had slain the vast majority, leaving only a handful behind. With the allied troops vastly outnumbering the remnants, mopping up had been effortless.

Mados smiled and nodded at the Battle Saint. "Well done, Bano. Take the allied forces back, see to it that the three-race reinforcements are properly hosted, and handle the Merits distribution."

Bano nodded. "Yes, sir!"

He turned and flew toward the allied forces.

Mados swept his gaze across the assembled War Gods, ultimately settling on Lu Yuan with a warm smile. "The breach has finally been reclaimed. You've all worked hard these past days. Please, come with me — I'll see to it that each of you receives fitting compensation."

Then he glanced at the Mechanical War Gods behind him. "The defensive line at the breach isn't fully established yet. Stay here and hold the position."

One of the War Gods nodded. "Consider it done."

Only then did Mados turn and lead Lu Yuan and the others back toward the counterattack force's fortress.

The counterattack had been a resounding success, and with the front lines now secured, the four-race allied forces were freed up to take over the task of purging Aberrant Beasts from the Mechanical Kingdom's interior. Large contingents deployed to the incubation zones within the kingdom to hunt down the remaining creatures.

Lu Yuan contacted Li Qinghe through his communicator. Her lovely face appeared on the screen moments later.

"Yuan, what's going on?"

He smiled. "The counterattack here is over. How are things on your end?"

Li Qinghe blinked, surprised. "Already? I thought the counterattack had been stalled for ages without making any real progress."

"There weren't that many powerful Divine Grade Aberrant Beasts. With me stepping in, it wrapped up fast."

Warmth and pride shone in Li Qinghe's eyes. "That's true. You are incredibly strong, after all. So, should we head back? Everyone's here with me — we've been working with Old Tianming and the others. People from all four races formed a small joint force to hunt Aberrant Beasts inside the Mechanical Kingdom. The haul's been pretty good, and it hasn't been dangerous."

Lu Yuan nodded, understanding clicking into place. Assignments like those were coveted opportunities. Clearly, Mados had taken to heart the request Lu Yuan made before leaving to find the Blood of Machinery's headquarters — to look after Qinghe and the others.

After a moment's thought, Lu Yuan said, "The allied forces from the front lines have joined the extermination effort now, so it probably won't be long before the Mechanical Kingdom is completely cleared out. I've also secured plenty of resources for all of you. Just come on back."

Li Qinghe didn't press for details, simply nodding. "Alright. Let me tell the others."

"Okay."

After ending the call, two seemingly ordinary transparent crystals appeared in Lu Yuan's hand — the two Hearts of Laws.

Upon returning from the front lines, Mados had taken them straight to the Mechanical Heart's headquarters, where he'd prepared a wealth of treasures for every War God who had come to assist. The two Hearts of Laws had naturally been set aside for Lu Yuan, along with vast quantities of Spirit Crystals, Transcendent Genes, Gene Armaments, and all manner of cultivation fruits, elixirs, and other treasures.

Even Lu Yuan felt he'd taken more than his share.

After evolving all these resources, there would be more than enough to support Qinghe and the others in cultivating all the way to Divine Grade. Still, despite their impressive cultivation speed, reaching War God level would take considerable time.

He shook his head, pushing the thought aside, and stored the Hearts of Laws away.

A few days later. Genesis Star.

Lu Yuan met up with Li Qinghe and the others at the plaza. Scanning the group, he noticed that Tianming Sage and the rest all wore satisfied smiles. Though only a few days had passed, with the Mechanical Race's intelligence guiding them, they had wiped out several Aberrant Beast nests and earned a handsome sum of Merits.

When they spotted Lu Yuan, Li Qinghe and the others brightened. Amy came bounding over and latched onto his arm with a wide grin.

"Big Liar, Big Liar! We totally cleaned up this time! This lady right here is crazy strong now!"

After having Saint Grade genes inscribed, Amy's burst combat power now even surpassed Adams's. Though she still fell short of veterans like Tianming Sage and Gladys, her strength was already fearsome. Her tail was practically pointing at the sky with pride.

Lu Yuan nodded at Li Qinghe and the others as they approached, then rapped Amy lightly on the head. "You're only a Battle Sovereign. What's so strong about that? Talk to me after you break through to War God."

Amy wrinkled her nose at him and huffed. "Just you wait! I'll train super hard, and then you'll see what I'm really made of!"

Tianming Sage, Gladys, Li Xinghai, and the other elders walked over as well, their expressions tinged with something complicated. During the beast-hunting expedition, the combat prowess Li Qinghe and her companions had displayed had genuinely shocked them. Nearly everyone who had broken through had Saint Grade genes inscribed — how absurd was that? Each of them stood at the level of the universe's most elite prodigies.

When they learned it was Lu Yuan who had inscribed those Saint Grade genes, even these elders couldn't help feeling envious.

Tianming Sage nodded at Lu Yuan, then said with a smile, "Yuan, I heard on the way here that the counterattack ended so quickly entirely because of you. I had no idea your strength had reached such heights."

Gladys and the others echoed the sentiment with sighs of their own. They had watched Lu Yuan grow stronger right before their eyes, while their own power had barely improved in comparison. It left everyone with mixed feelings.

Lu Yuan simply smiled. "Can't be helped, Old Tianming. You've seen for yourself how terrifying those Aberrant Beasts are. If we don't push ourselves, and even more of them appear someday, we might not be able to protect ourselves — let alone the people we care about."

Those words settled over the group like a weight. Tianming Sage and the others turned solemn. Even Amy, who had been preening moments ago, furrowed her brow.

"Those Aberrant Beasts... they're even more terrifying than Aberration Feral Beasts." Li Xinghai sighed, worry clouding his eyes. "I never imagined there were enemies that frightening beyond the universe."

Against threats like these, anyone would feel uneasy.

Seeing the mood darken, Lu Yuan offered a reassuring smile. "There's no need to worry too much. The breach has been sealed, so at the very least, those beasts won't be getting through anytime soon."

Everyone nodded slowly, though the unease lingered.

Lu Yuan didn't push the point. If understanding the threat spurred everyone to train harder, that was the best possible outcome.

Afterward, Lu Yuan led the group through a Space Gate back to Sky-Mending Star. From there, he sent the Nightshade Race, Elf, and Cat-kin members back to their respective planets before bringing the humans home to Great Qi Star.

However, Anastasia, Shuangyue, Yeye, and Small White had no intention of returning to their own worlds — they followed Lu Yuan to Great Qi Star instead. They had only recently made their relationships with him official and were still very much in the honeymoon phase. None of them wanted to be apart from him.

While they could be together in the Upper Layer of the Land of Origin, everyone eventually had to return to the real world. At Lu Yuan's current War God-level power, each return to reality required a full three months. Three months was more than they could bear, so of course they'd come along.

As for their decision, Tianming Sage, Gladys, and the others naturally raised no objections — quite the opposite. They were happy to see it.

White Willow District. Li Qinghe's villa.

In the living room, Shuangyue, Anastasia, and the others were all gathered. Even Amy and Wang Lingling hadn't returned to the Lion Empire — Adams had left them here.

The modest living room was feeling decidedly cramped.

Li Qinghe stared at the crowd of women, exasperation written all over her face.

This was supposed to be her and Yuan's private love nest.

And now every last one of them had shown up!

She'd been counting on the year Yuan spent outside the Land of Origin being their sweet, intimate time together — just the two of them. At most, she'd factored in that menace Tingyu, Tingxue, and Rebecca.

But now? There wasn't even room for everyone.

While Li Qinghe stewed in her frustration, Shuangyue sidled over with a sly smile, draped an arm around her shoulders, and transmitted her voice privately with a mischievous giggle.

"Qinghe, Qinghe~ How about tonight, you and I go to Yuan's room together... hehehe~"

Li Qinghe: "???"

Her brain short-circuited. Face burning crimson, she glared at Shuangyue. "Have you no shame?!"

Shuangyue pouted. "I've pretty much explored everything there is to explore with just two people. Naturally, it's time to try something new... Don't tell me you're not curious about trying it with Yuan? I could share my secret techniques with you~"

Li Qinghe froze, stole a glance at Lu Yuan, then muttered, "...Come find me tonight!"

Shuangyue flashed her an OK sign.

Meanwhile, Si Tingyu sat on the sofa sipping tea, her pretty face a mask of composure. "There are too many people here. We can't all fit. We need a bigger place."

Si Tingxue nodded slightly. "Agreed."

She was reserved by nature and had no love for being packed in like sardines.

Li Qinghe looked around at everyone, mentally counted the bedrooms, and nodded. "You're right, let's move. The Li family has a vacant estate here in White Willow District. How about we go there?"

For a top family of the Red Maple Empire, real estate was something the Li clan had in abundance.

Everyone turned to Lu Yuan. Seeing all eyes on him, he said, "...You all decide. I have no opinion."

Privately, he felt a twinge of regret. With the rooms here in short supply, he'd been hoping for an excuse to share a bedroom with a few of them at night.

*Ahem...*

*Just sleeping, of course. Nothing else. I'm not thinking about anything else whatsoever.*

"In that case, let's head over now," Li Qinghe said with a smile. "The smart butler system keeps the place maintained, so everything's ready. We just need to show up."

"Yay, moving day! I want the room next to Big Liar's~" Amy was the first to spring up.

But the moment the words left her mouth, she felt a barrage of sharp gazes boring into her.

Amy flinched, shrinking back. She looked around uncertainly, only to find every single person staring at her with peculiar expressions.

She blinked. "...What?"

Wang Lingling rubbed her forehead with an inward sigh. *My lady is far too naive. How can she just blurt that out? Does she have any idea how many rivals are in this room? Announcing it is just painting a target on her own back.*

Lu Yuan also picked up on the shift in atmosphere. He cleared his throat, deciding it was best not to get involved, lest he end up caught in the crossfire.

"Let's head to the estate," Li Qinghe said brightly, breaking the tension.

The group left the small villa and followed a quiet road until they arrived before an estate. Li Qinghe had already notified the Li family on the way, and naturally, no one objected to her request. Setting aside the fact that Lu Yuan was Great Qi Star's strongest — Li Qinghe's own talent and power meant no one would contest her on something like this.

Passing through the white-walled courtyard, Lu Yuan took in the surroundings. The estate wasn't enormous, but it was elegant — a small pond, a garden courtyard, and a grove of bamboo graced the grounds. At its center stood a sizable four-story white villa.

The group filed inside. Four smart robots were already waiting at the entrance. After greeting Li Qinghe and the others, they were promptly dispatched to clean up.

Looking at the spacious living room, Li Qinghe nodded in satisfaction. "Much better. No more cramping."

A faint smile touched Si Tingxue's lips. Then — casually, or perhaps not so casually — she glanced over at Lu Yuan beside her.

Just then, Yeye, who had been silent the entire time, slipped quietly to Lu Yuan's side. She tugged at the hem of his shirt and looked up at him, her voice soft. "Yuan, let's go upstairs and pick our rooms."

Seeing Yeye's move, Wang Lingling and the others narrowed their eyes.

The battle had begun.

The atmosphere turned razor-sharp in an instant.

Lu Yuan: "..."

Noting everyone's expressions, the corner of his mouth twitched as a distinct chill crept down his spine.

*Why does this feel... dangerous? They're not actually going to kill me over this, right?*