Farewell

His younger brother, Luo Hua, was ecstatic and quickly contacted everyone, and soon the entire family gathered. Even Hong and Lei Shen arrived.

“What, Xiao Feng, you’re going to be gone for so long?” His mother, Gong Xinlan, couldn’t help but ask. Thanks to a large number of treasures that improved their physiques, both his mother and father looked very young, appearing to be in their thirties.

“It is quite a long time,” his father, Luo Hongguo, also remarked.

“The most important thing is,” Luo Hua quickly added, “the journey there alone takes three years, and returning will also take three years. And you’ll be staying at the Virtual Universe Company’s global headquarters for a long time; comprehending in the Original Universe will take a hundred years! This, this is truly…”

Luo Feng sat there, a heavy feeling in his heart.

He had just received an email from the Virtual Universe Company, notifying him that they would pick him up on Bailan Star in 12 days. The letter also stated that his comprehension period in the Original Universe would be 30 years, but the time flow in the Original Universe was different from the original universe, being much slower.

Thirty years in the Original Universe would equate to a hundred years in the original universe.

On the bright side—

He could still access the Virtual Universe Network even within the Original Universe.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng felt his hand tighten and couldn’t help but turn to look at his wife, Xu Xin, beside him. Still in her professional attire, Xu Xin was gripping Luo Feng’s hand tightly, her eyes filled with reluctance.

“It’s alright, dear,” Luo Feng gently stroked the back of her hand.

“Dad, Mom, it’s not as serious as you think. Although I’m leaving our home planet Earth, we can still be together at all times on the Virtual Universe Network,” Luo Feng forced a smile. “The Virtual Universe Network is a 100% simulation; it’s no different from meeting in reality.”

“They say it’s a 100% simulation, but, Dad, it’s not reality after all,” Luo Hai couldn’t help but say.

Luo Feng reached out and pulled both his sons close.

…

It was a reluctant farewell.

The family was truly reluctant, but Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan had lived through the Grand Nirvana Period, and the younger generation, including Luo Hua, had experienced the Devouring Beast Calamity and other Earth-shattering events. After repeated global catastrophes, and with their now broader perspective and knowledge of the cosmos, they understood that Luo Feng was doing the right thing.

“Third Brother, you’re doing the right thing.” On the green lawn in front of Luo Feng’s residence in Nine Star Bay Community, Luo Feng, Hong, and Lei Shen stood together.

“I see it very clearly,” Hong, dressed in black, said with a distant gaze. “When I was young, during the Grand Nirvana Period, I witnessed countless tragic scenes, countless compatriots dying. I realized that humanity needed someone to step up. It wouldn’t work without a leader! That’s why I later established the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo, creating a competitive mechanism to enhance the strength of all human warriors.”

“However!”

“The cosmos is a thousand, ten thousand times more dangerous than Earth,” Hong lamented. “The competition is also far more brutal. Look, humanity has tens of thousands of races, but some races are entirely enslaved.”

Luo Feng nodded, and Lei Shen also nodded.

“Why are they enslaved? Isn’t it because their race lacks true super-experts, because their race isn’t strong enough?” Hong shook his head. “If their race had an Immortal being, even if that Immortal wasn’t within the clan but somewhere else in the cosmos, just one Immortal… would make those slave traders dare not act recklessly. That’s deterrence!”

“A native race.”

“When they first enter the cosmos, there are three outcomes. One is to be suppressed and become a vassal, which is still acceptable. The second outcome is direct enslavement, being sold like commodities, with women sold as maids or even sex slaves, and men forced into extremely dangerous labor. The third outcome… is to rise, becoming a relatively powerful race among cosmic humans. Like our Earth now!”

“Earthlings haven’t been enslaved, and no one dares to trample on us!”

“Because, Third Brother!” Hong looked at Luo Feng. “You, you are the Milky Way Galaxy Lord! The Milky Way Galaxy Lord is an Earthling, and this Milky Way Galaxy Lord has also entered the core layer of the Virtual Universe Company, holding a very high position in the Taichu Secret Realm. Even the Black Dragon Mountain Empire dares not act recklessly, and even the Ganwu Universe Nation values you. With this, who would dare to bully Earthlings? Who would dare?”

Luo Feng took a deep breath.

“Third Brother, you’ve done very well,” Hong took a deep breath and slowly said, “For a human race to rise, especially when it’s still nascent, someone must step forward, there must be pioneers!”

“Third Brother, Second Brother, and I, we are all still very weak!”

“Third Brother is doing well now because he rose in the genius battle, but… genius doesn’t equate to strength,” Hong said solemnly. “They don’t dare to provoke you because of your aura and status. Once you, Third Brother, fall, how can Second Brother and I, with our meager strength, protect Earth?”

Even Universe-level slaves are traded, and Hong and Lei Shen are merely Star-level, so how could they protect Earth?

“Therefore!”

“Third Brother, for now, it’s up to you to hold the fort,” Hong said gravely. “Second Brother and I will also work hard. After ten thousand years, with the three of us protecting Earth, Earth itself will give birth to one expert after another. Then, the general trend will be set, and once Earth’s overall strength rises, there will be no need to rely solely on individual deterrence.”

When a race can produce Universe-level experts one after another, and occasionally a Domain Lord, no slave trader would dare to provoke that race.

“Keep it up!” Hong said solemnly.

“Don’t worry, Sanzi, I’ll catch up to you soon too,” Lei Shen said with a grin.

“Let’s all work hard together,” Luo Feng also grinned.

For Earth, this was a crucial era.

An era of transformation.

Whether the human race of Earth would rise to a middle or even upper-middle rank among the countless races of humanity, or be trampled underfoot, doing the hardest and most dangerous work for the least money or being completely enslaved without any… depended on these ten thousand years! And Hong, Lei Shen, and Luo Feng had long been aware of this responsibility.

They were Earth’s strongest; if they didn’t bear this responsibility, who would?

…

Night.

At the West Lake Villa in Yangzhou City, the moonlight was bright and enchanting tonight, shining into the bedroom through the window.

Inside the bedroom, under thin blankets, two figures passionately intertwined, as if releasing all the reluctance in their hearts with wild abandon. For a long, long time…

Luo Feng, clad in a bathrobe, walked to the bedroom balcony and silently looked up at the sky, at the moon.

This was the moon of his homeland!

Earth’s moon!

And for at least a hundred years to come, he wouldn’t see this sight again.

“Tomorrow, you’re leaving?” Xu Xin, also wearing only a bathrobe, hugged Luo Feng from behind, gently pressing against his back.

“Yes.”

Luo Feng nodded softly. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? We’re an old married couple now,” Xu Xin walked to Luo Feng’s side, looked at the moon, and smiled. “Time flies so fast. In the blink of an eye, it’s been ten years since we got married.”

“It has been fast,” Luo Feng nodded.

More than ten years had passed since their marriage. In this decade, there were sea monster attacks on Base Cities, the Devouring Beast Calamity, the arrival of the Nuolanshan Family Fleet on Earth, life-and-death treasure hunts in the Realm of Realms, and the Peak Genius Battle that lasted five or six years… Behind every scene was his wife’s silent support.

“I still remember high school,” Xu Xin smiled. “You were still a high-level student at the Martial Arts Hall back then.”

“And you were still a simple little girl,” Luo Feng laughed.

“Mainly, my grandfather made me attend a regular high school and forbade me from going to a noble school,” Xu Xin said. “And my grandfather also prohibited me from revealing my family background, and from dating or anything… But honestly, the rise of our Xu family truly depended on my grandfather; he was a very wise man.”

Luo Feng nodded.

After the Grand Nirvana Period, when Base Cities were first established, the Xu family originally had no significant background, yet Old Master Xu single-handedly brought them to such a position step by step. He was indeed a remarkable individual.

“You used to secretly watch me from behind back then,” Xu Xin teased.

“Haha,” Luo Feng also laughed.

“You were caught so many times. Every time I saw you, you’d get shy, even more so than me,” Xu Xin couldn’t help but say.

…

The couple talked a lot that night, even flying away from Yangzhou City to visit many other places on Earth.

They went to Egypt to see the pyramids, saw the ancient Great Wall, and visited some ruined cities in the wilderness where they had left their footprints in the past.

Finally, they stood before the Yellow River.

The Yellow River was teeming with aquatic monsters, but Luo Feng stood silently on the bank, scooped up some soil from the riverbank, and some Yellow River water with a bowl, storing them all in his spatial ring. Xu Xin watched him silently from beside him.

“Let’s go, let’s head back,” Luo Feng held Xu Xin’s hand.

Whoosh!

His domain formed a light shield, transforming into a golden meteor, and flew towards Yangzhou City.

…

September 18, 2071.

Earth’s peak expert, Luo Feng, boarded a cosmic spaceship and departed from Earth. This departure would be for a very, very long time; by the time he returned, the world would have changed beyond recognition.

…

Bailan Star.

“Master!” The slave guards respectfully greeted him.

“Hmm.”

Luo Feng turned to look at his two soul servants, Difan and Baikaluo, both Ninth-tier Universe Level, and said seriously, “Difan, Baikaluo, this time I’m going to the Virtual Universe Company’s global headquarters, to enter the Original Universe. There’s no way to bring anyone else in. So, I’ll have to leave you temporarily on Earth.”

“Understood.”

Difan and Baikaluo both nodded.

“I’ve already passed on the secret techniques to you. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can enter the Virtual Universe Network and contact me,” Luo Feng said earnestly. “I believe, with your talent… and the secret techniques I’ve given you, the next time I see you, you should have advanced to the Domain Lord Level.”

Both great servants had high talent, but in the past, one was a slave, and the other’s teacher was only of the ‘Nuolanshan’ caliber. Neither had received truly good teachers or good secret techniques.

Many experts in the cosmos lack good teachers and secret techniques. With guidance from a powerful teacher, the probability of an expert emerging can increase tenfold.

“Hmm?”

Luo Feng turned to look into the distance. An ancient, entirely black, sword-like archaic spaceship slowly descended from the sky.

“I must go,” Luo Feng turned and looked solemnly at Difan and Baikaluo. “While I’m away, please protect my family well. As for Earth’s safety… with the Virtual Universe Company’s deterrence, no one will dare to provoke Earth.”

“Yes, Master,”

Difan and Baikaluo respectfully replied.

Immediately, Luo Feng flew directly towards the ancient spaceship in the distance.