Chapter 367 – My Mom Is Waiting for Me to Eat at Home

“Stuck at the last step of activating the Star Acupoint, no matter what I do, I can’t make it.”

Lu Yuan explained helplessly.

Yuwen Tong’s eyes flickered slightly and asked, “Then you should have seen your natal star diagram, right?”

“Yes.”

Lu Yuan nodded.

Yuwen Tong continued to ask, “How many natal stars do you have?”

“Seven.”

After Lu Yuan answered, Yuwen Tong fell silent, but her expression did not change much.

Lu Yuan noticed Yuwen Tong was deep in thought.

After a moment, he heard Yuwen Tong say to him, “Since it’s difficult to succeed, you might as well stop attempting it in the future.”

Lu Yuan was stunned, not expecting Yuwen Tong to directly advise him to give up.

Although he had considered giving up countless times himself.

But when someone actually advised him to do so, a strong sense of unwillingness surged in his heart.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and asked Yuwen Tong, “Lord Tong, is there really no future in my cultivation of Starry Sky martial arts?”

Yuwen Tong shook her head.

Fortunately, it’s not because of my lack of talent…

Lu Yuan felt a slight relief.

“It’s not that there’s no future.”

Yuwen Tong responded, “There is actually no future at all.”

“Cough, cough…”

Lu Yuan was choked by Yuwen Tong’s blunt remark, and he coughed.

As Yuwen Tong called for the AI housekeeper to bring Lu Yuan a glass of water, she continued, “People with the potential for Starry Sky martial arts cultivation are one in ten thousand, but even they would show some special traits before starting their cultivation.

Your performance in the new blood trial was outstanding, and I thought you might have this potential with decent talent.

As it turns out, I was mistaken…”

“…”

“Although it’s true, hearing you say it so casually… still feels hurtful.”

Lu Yuan sighed deeply, his face full of complex emotions, as he took the glass of water handed to him by the AI housekeeper.

He could somewhat understand the reason behind Yuwen Tong’s misplaced expectations for him.

His own martial arts cultivation talent wasn’t really outstanding; all the monstrous aspects he displayed were the result of added attribute points.

Yuwen Tong comforted him, “Actually, it’s no big deal. The path of the ‘Hidden Star’ is equally promising.

Your evil energy tolerance limit is already high, and with further breakthroughs, it’s entirely possible to surpass the current world’s number one Hidden Star, Torr, and take his place…”

Lu Yuan was stunned and asked in surprise, “Evil energy tolerance limit can be broken through?”

“Yes.”

Yuwen Tong nodded, “However, the special materials that provide such effects come from extraterrestrial sources and are extremely rare and precious, with enormous risks involved in their usage…

The Distant Star Federation has spent countless resources over the years and has only managed to produce one ‘thunder spirit star’ Torr.”

This could serve well as a cover for his evil deity system professional panel.

Lu Yuan thought to himself.

As Yuwen Tong mentioned, her private shuttle offered high safety and confidentiality.

The journey back to Xia State on the shuttle was smooth without any incidents.

Lu Yuan chatted with Yuwen Tong all the way, learning a lot about the world’s top-tier combat power circles.

For example, the world’s number one Hidden Star, nicknamed “thunder spirit star” Torr, who Yuwen Tong frequently mentioned, had combat power roughly at ninth stage middle-stage.

However, the thunder power he wielded was a legacy from the thunder holy temple, originating from a legendary ancient deity capable of controlling Thunder, which was extremely domineering, making his actual combat power comparable to a ninth stage high-stage.

He was ranked very high on the combat power ranking list, holding the seventh position.

Excluding the three super divine level mechas that unreasonably occupied the top three spots despite not being human, Torr could be considered the world’s fourth most powerful individual.

Additionally, there was the division of power beyond the ninth stage.

Above the ninth stage, there was the tenth stage, with all three super divine level mechas possessing tenth stage combat power.

Yuwen Tong was also at this level.

And above the tenth stage, there was another major realm.

She didn’t disclose its specific name, though…

The silver-purple shuttle quietly hovered over a city within the old city circle.

Lu Yuan stood at the open hatch, with the yawning Yuwen Tong by his side, as the strong wind swept past their feet.

“If I had known you talked so much, I wouldn’t have come to pick you up myself… It’s even more tiring than a meeting with those old men.”

Yuwen Tong said helplessly as she looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan smiled and didn’t argue, then turned his attention to the Phoenix Egg he had left inside the shuttle.

After a moment of silence, he spoke to Yuwen Tong.

“Lord Tong, can I trade this Phoenix Egg with the organization for something else?”

Lu Yuan had been mulling over this request during the entire journey, and now he finally brought it up to Yuwen Tong.

The Phoenix Egg was of no use to him; it was more of a liability. It would be better to hand it over to the state in exchange for some practical benefits.

As he had expected, Yuwen Tong nodded almost without thinking, “Sure, let me know what you want in return. This time, they absolutely have no reason to refuse…”

“Hmm?!”

Lu Yuan was a bit surprised. Yuwen Tong’s words made it sound like she had already discussed this with the senior officials of Xia State.

But he didn’t ask further and instead added, “Can I choose from the actual materials myself?”

Yuwen Tong shot him a slightly surprised glance but didn’t say anything, just nodded.

Finally, Lu Yuan felt relieved.

If he could trade the Phoenix Egg with the official authorities of Xia State for a legendary level material, it wouldn’t be a waste of his risky journey.

With his last concern resolved, Lu Yuan felt satisfied and, after bidding Yuwen Tong goodbye, prepared to “parachute” from the shuttle.

As he was about to jump off, Yuwen Tong suddenly pulled him back, looking at him with an odd expression. “Do you want to come with me to my place? Stay for a couple of days?”

“Uh…”

Being stared at by Yuwen Tong’s beautiful light purple eyes, Lu Yuan’s heart pounded as if it had an automatic defibrillator attached to it.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind instantly.

Whoa!

What does Lord Tong mean by this?

Is she hinting at something?

Is it what I think it is?

No way, no way, no way, right?

Lu Yuan, with his 36 intelligence points, had his mind go blank for a moment. Then, without really knowing why, he blurted out, “I’m afraid I can’t. My mom is waiting for me to eat at home.”

The atmosphere descended into an awkward silence.

Half a breath later.

“Haha-“

Yuwen Tong burst out laughing, her laughter echoing around.

“Alright then… you better hurry home and have dinner with your mom.”

With that, Yuwen Tong waved her hand with a smile, saying, “Goodbye,” as she cheerfully bid Lu Yuan farewell.

Lu Yuan, with an expression that spoke of utter confusion, turned and jumped off the shuttle in a daze.

During his descent, he kept asking himself repeatedly, “What did you say? What the hell did you say?!”

There was a fleeting moment when Lu Yuan felt that he would regret his words forever.

What he didn’t see was that Yuwen Tong, standing at the shuttle’s hatch, kept watching his figure as he gradually disappeared from view.

Only when Lu Yuan was completely out of sight did Yuwen Tong slowly retract her gaze.

“Forget it…”

Yuwen Tong murmured to herself, “It’s just a minor inconvenience anyway… It’s not a big deal if I have to make another trip.”

After finishing her words, she stretched lazily.

Turning around, she caught sight of the Phoenix Egg in the cabin. Her beautiful eyes gleamed with delight.

Then, just like a girl spotting a new toy, she walked towards the Phoenix Egg with joyful steps.

“Cuckoo!”

“Ah!”

…

“Why the long face? Is it that today’s dishes aren’t good?”

Jiaoyan, Lu family residence.

The small grocery store’s counter was covered with various dishes, and the TV in front of it was playing a costume martial arts drama from who knows how many years ago.

Zheng Qiuling, using chopsticks, placed a piece of meat into Lu Yuan’s bowl, then tasted it herself. Muttering, she said, “Did I put too much salt… Hmm, the taste does seem a bit off…”

“He’s the one with issues!”

Standing nearby with a bowl, Lu Jing couldn’t help but speak up, but was promptly reprimanded by Zheng Qiuling.

“Shoo, shoo, you’re the one with issues!”

Turning back, her face full of concern, she reached out to touch Lu Yuan’s forehead. “Are you really sick? You’ve been listless since you came back… How about letting Lu Jing take you to the hospital this afternoon?”

“He’s strong enough to punch a cow to death. What kind of illness could he possibly have?”

Lu Jing scoffed, “I bet he got dumped by some girl and is feeling down about it.”

“Ridiculous. What girl in this world would reject my son?”

“Hey!”

Lu Yuan suddenly called out abruptly, interrupting their conversation.

He quickly finished his bowl of food, wiped his mouth, and tossed out, “I’m done. I’m going upstairs.”

Turning around, Lu Yuan’s face once again morphed into one of deep contemplation.

In his mind, it was like a movie, constantly replaying the “awkward” incident that happened with Yuwen Tong on the shuttle.

Lu Jing was right; there was nothing wrong with Mom’s cooking. The problem was with him.

He must have had a brain glitch to respond to Yuwen Tong like that.

“Yuwen Tong, at the tenth stage, doesn’t play by conventional rules. My mental power is only at the fifth stage in a normal state, so it’s normal to get instantly overwhelmed and speak nonsense. No big deal, right…”

Lu Yuan could only comfort himself this way.

Originally, Lu Yuan had planned to follow his routine of assessing his improved capabilities and attributes after the recent power upgrades.

But the “dinner with mom” incident left him with no mood for it.

Returning to his bedroom, he lay down on the bed and tried to clear his mind of the numerous chaotic thoughts.

Perhaps it was due to the exhausting series of high-intensity battles at Embers Mountain, which left him both physically and mentally drained.

Before he knew it, Lu Yuan fell into a fuzzy, light sleep.

…

Starry Sky.

The infinitely vast starry sky.

Countless stars twinkled.

Gradually, the twinkling starlight began to outline a massive pattern in the sky.

It was an overwhelmingly lush and resplendent ancient tree.

“Cuckoo-“

As the image of the starry ancient tree appeared, a melodious and extraordinarily pleasant bird’s call echoed in the sky.

A stunning golden-red great bird, its body ablaze with bright star flames, spread its wings and flew out.

Then came the second one, the third, the fourth…

It was impossible to tell how many Phoenixes appeared in this starry sky.

The flames entwining their bodies bathed the entire starry ancient tree in a magnificent glow.

All the Phoenixes flew in the same direction.

Towards a specific location on the tree trunk.

The tree’s vigorously pulsating heart!