I Miss You All So Much...

“5000 years!” Puti’s voice was ancient, filled with a worried sigh.

He hadn't anticipated the Star Tower’s recognition process would last over 5000 years. The previous two candidates had only endured for 2600 and 3300 years, respectively.

“I hope Luo Feng succeeds,” Puti sighed deeply, his voice echoing through the grand hall.

***

In the Virtual Universe, on Black Dragon Mountain Island, within the Nine Star Bay Community.

The Nine Star Bay was a sprawling expanse of ancient architecture.

Currently, the entire Nine Star Bay served as the residence for the highest echelons of the Luo Clan, with many other family members residing in various other locations. As a clan with a ten-thousand-year history, the ‘Luo Clan,’ coupled with Luo Feng’s status in the Ganwu Universe Nation—second only to the Ganwu Nation Master—had led to the clan wielding immense power.

“Clack!” “Clack!” “Clack!”…

Walking along the corridor, her footsteps echoing on the polished stone slabs, Xu Xin was followed by two women. Because the Luo Clan’s supreme authority, ‘Patriarch Luo Feng,’ was constantly adventuring in the world of powerhouses, the clan’s affairs were primarily managed by their eldest son, Luo Ping. However, many significant matters still fell to Xu Xin.

Xu Xin’s unique position within the Luo Clan, combined with her role as the general manager of Pinghai Company, had, over ten millennia, only intensified her aura of nobility. Holding such a high position naturally cultivated her imposing demeanor; a single glance from her could make her subordinates tremble. Ordinary people didn't even dare to look directly at Xu Xin.

Yet, a faint trace of sorrow always lingered between Xu Xin’s brows.

“Master, it’s a message from the Patriarch,” Xu Xin’s virtual intelligent assistant suddenly reminded her.

“A message?”

Xu Xin, who had been walking along the corridor, abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened with surprise and joy; even her usual composure was shattered. “He said he was going to do something extremely important and would shut off Virtual Universe reception, but this time, he’s been gone for a full 6000 years. We couldn’t find him, couldn’t contact him. How could I not be worried?”

Venturing into the world of powerhouses and disappearing for six millennia without any news indeed suggested a high probability of demise.

Fortunately, Luo Feng had left instructions with his family before disabling his reception.

“Madam seems very happy.”

“I haven’t seen Madam this cheerful in ages.”

“Madam has been troubled these past years, but now, she’s beaming with joy,” the two women behind her quietly discussed.

Indeed, Xu Xin was looking at the message with overflowing happiness.

“He even knows how to say such heartwarming and sweet things,” Xu Xin murmured, her smile growing sweeter as she read the message. “He remembers everything from our high school days. We’re an old married couple, and he’s still saying these things…”

The message was long.

It contained tens of thousands of words. Xu Xin walked out to the lawn beyond the corridor and sat on a chair, slowly reading. It was a message brimming with emotion, recounting every detail from their first meeting, their love… every step of their journey together. Xu Xin smiled as she read, an involuntary grin spreading across her face.

As she continued to read… her expression changed.

Her body trembled slightly, and a hint of terror appeared in her eyes.

“No!”

“No!”

Xu Xin suddenly stood up, screaming hysterically, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want your guilt, I don’t!!!”

The two female attendants in the distance jumped in fright, exchanging glances, sensing something was terribly wrong.

“Mom, Mom!”

An anxious shout came from afar, and a figure swiftly rushed in, followed closely by another, entering the courtyard. It was Luo Ping and Luo Hai, both looking anxious. Upon seeing Xu Xin, they ran to her, calling out “Mom.” They, too, had received the message.

“Close the gate, and don’t let anyone in,” Xu Xin ordered the two female attendants.

“Yes.”

These two attendants were her personal retinue. Whether it was Pinghai Company matters or Luo Clan affairs, Xu Xin often gave instructions through them. Although they were attendants, their status was comparable to that of the chief stewards within the entire Luo Clan. Naturally, they were extremely intelligent and, realizing the gravity of the situation, immediately closed the gate, preventing others from entering.

“Mom, what happened?”

“Did Dad really…” Luo Ping and Luo Hai were both frantic.

Xu Xin hugged her two sons, unable to hold back her tears.

In truth, this message was prepared by Luo Feng for his family at the very beginning of his life-and-death inheritance, set to be automatically sent after 6000 years. At the time, Luo Feng believed… the previous two candidates had lasted 2600 and 3300 years, so he estimated the entire life-and-death inheritance would take at most 4000 years.

Any longer would be too absurd. The previous two, who had passed the hidden trials and then undergone the life-and-death inheritance, were clearly peerless prodigies, unlikely to be too far from the extreme requirements.

So, Luo Feng set it for 6000 years!

“The first candidate lasted 2600 years, so the entire inheritance should be around 4000 years. It wouldn’t be so outrageous as to last 6000 years; who could endure that?”

“If the life-and-death inheritance succeeds, I will delete the message.”

“If it fails, at least it’s some news for my family.”

“After all, if I were to perish… and my Virtual Universe reception remained closed, even my teacher, Chaos City Lord, might not know of my demise. For an existence like Chaos City Lord, a single cultivation session could last tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years. Who knows when he would come to revive me? And Xu Xin’s lifespan is at most ten million years.”

Luo Feng was deeply worried.

He believed… even if he perished, his teacher would revive him by reversing time and space. But what if he was revived tens of millions or hundreds of millions of years later?

What about his wife?

If, upon revival, his wife, sons, parents, and brother were all gone, what then?

Thus—

Luo Feng prepared these messages for his loved ones, setting them to be automatically sent after 6000 years.

“Your father encountered a tribulation, but he said he would return in the distant future, in as little as ten thousand years, or as long as a million or even ten million…” Xu Xin’s voice trembled. Yes, it could be tens of millions of years or even longer, but her lifespan was only ten million years. Could she ever see Luo Feng again?

“Dad.”

“Dad.” Luo Ping and Luo Hai were also stunned.

“Come, let’s go see your grandparents,” Xu Xin said, forcing back her grief.

***

A moment later, Xu Xin, Luo Ping, and Luo Hai met with Luo Hongguo, Gong Xinlan, and Luo Hua. Everyone’s face was etched with sorrow. For the entire Luo Clan… Luo Feng was the pillar! For Earth’s humanity, Luo Feng was also the pillar! He had always supported them, shielding the Luo Clan from wind and rain, allowing them to prosper unchecked, and elevating Earth’s humanity to a revered status within the entire Ganwu Universe Nation.

But now… this pillar had collapsed!

“Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng.” Gong Xinlan trembled all over. Although Luo Feng said he would return in the distant future, his family believed these were likely just comforting words.

“Our Luo Clan, our Earth, now faces its greatest crisis,” Xu Xin’s voice was hoarse.

Everyone else in the room looked at Xu Xin.

“Luo Feng left an account number and password in the message, which is our Luo Clan’s contingency fund—an incredibly vast fortune,” Xu Xin said. She had rarely seen Luo Feng over the years, and she hadn’t expected… the account Luo Feng left in the message to hold a staggering 50 billion mixed units!

This was a figure that Xu Xin found unbelievable. In the entire Ganwu Universe Nation, who besides the Ganwu Nation Master possessed such wealth?

“Everyone, prepare quickly, prepare contingency plans,” Xu Xin said hoarsely. “The world is a cold place, and everyone scrambles for profit. If Luo Feng truly met with misfortune, our Luo Clan will inevitably attract covetous eyes… We don’t have enough power to protect our current vast family. I will immediately go see Luo Feng’s teacher, Zhenyan King, and inquire about this matter.”

“Go quickly.”

“Go, we’ll handle things here at the clan.”

Luo Hongguo and Luo Hua both urged her.

“Mm.” Xu Xin nodded.

***

Xu Xin, being a core member of the Virtual Universe Company, had a decent network of connections. Coupled with already possessing Zhenyan King’s Virtual Universe ID, she quickly contacted Zhenyan King and explained the situation.

“What?”

“He will return in the distant future?” Zhenyan King’s expression changed drastically.

Unlike Xu Xin and the others, Zhenyan King was a super-powerhouse in the universe and knew much more. He immediately understood… Luo Feng’s meaning was that he would be revived by reversing time and space in the distant future. Otherwise, with the Virtual Universe Network spanning the vast cosmos, how could he remain uncontactable by his family for endless ages?

“I will go request an audience with Chaos City Lord,” Zhenyan King immediately said, agitated.

“Thank you, Senior Zhenyan King,” Xu Xin said, emotional.

“I am his teacher!” Zhenyan King promptly left the Virtual Universe Network.

***

In Chaos City, Zhenyan King immediately rushed to the Chaos City Lord’s Mansion to request an audience with Chaos City Lord.

What kind of status did Chaos City Lord possess? Even for Zhenyan King, it was almost impossible to meet Chaos City Lord’s true form, except in extremely special circumstances. And this time… Zhenyan King was granted an audience.

“You say, Luo Feng might have perished?” Chaos City Lord sat cross-legged amidst the ruins strewn with the corpses of alien powerhouses.

“Yes,” Zhenyan King replied respectfully.

“He is still alive,” Chaos City Lord stated.

“Alive?” Zhenyan King asked, surprised.

“I can confirm that he has been in the Star Tower in the Outer Territory Battlefield’s Seventh Battlefield, and for 6000 years, he has remained in a certain part of the Star Tower,” Chaos City Lord said. “He’s been there for 6000 years without connecting to the Virtual Universe Network, but I can confirm his life aura is still present. Most likely, he encountered a tribulation. It’s the Star Tower; any danger appearing there is normal.”

Zhenyan King’s heart tightened upon hearing this. That was the Star Tower! On the surface, the Star Tower merely had some forbidden zone guards within its forbidden space, but in reality, dangers lurked everywhere. Even Universe Masters dared not recklessly trespass deep within it, which showed its peril.

***

Inside the Star Tower.

In the grand hall surrounded by countless sealed stars, the ground was covered in a layer of blood. Luo Feng sat there, his body in agony, skin completely torn, blood gushing out. How strong was a Sector Lord level body’s recovery ability? His core continuously supplied energy, constantly healing, yet also constantly bleeding…

His body was on the verge of collapse, but this was merely a reaction to the excruciating pain of his soul tearing. From this, one could imagine the intensity of his soul’s agony.

“6000 years!”

“At 5000 years, he was already near his limit. At 5600 years, he had completely reached his limit. The last time he managed to transform at the most critical moment, I couldn’t believe he would be lucky enough to transform a second time. But from 5600 years to 6000 years… a full 400 years, what power has been sustaining him all this time?!”

Puti, coiled there, watched Luo Feng, utterly shocked. He couldn’t fathom how Luo Feng, who had already reached his absolute limit at 5600 years, had managed to hold on so stubbornly.

***

The soul-tearing agony had reached its peak, beyond suppression. Luo Feng could no longer cultivate the Path of the Beast God. At this moment, he had stopped cultivating. His consciousness, apart from resisting the soul-tearing, could only hold onto a single obsession.

“I want to see you all again!”

“You all!”

“You all…”

Only this single obsession could exist in Luo Feng’s consciousness. The obsession was his loved ones: his parents, brothers, wife, and children. He couldn’t accept being revived only to find his family gone. In this final moment, his heart held only ‘you all’… his dearest family!

“I want to!”

“I really want to!”

***

His soul had begun to shatter, yet it was forcibly re-coalescing by an invisible will and consciousness… shattering, coalescing… struggling. Luo Feng’s sole obsession struggled in its final moments, calling out to his dearest family again and again from the depths of his heart. He felt guilt, reluctance, he couldn’t bear to… but the crystal bead mercilessly continued its fusion, the soul-tearing intensifying repeatedly…

He was already on the verge of collapse!

“I miss you all so much…”

“You all…”