Chapter 206 – Cold Indifferent Loyal Dog VS. Playful Ghost King (01)
Upon hearing that his master wanted to send him back, Mu Jin felt a wave of dizziness. When he reopened his eyes, he found himself once again in the star sea, as if he had never left this space.
The shadow that had been attacking him before had completely disappeared. The swarm of insect-like creatures that had surrounded them also showed no signs of life. It seemed that the divine thought his master had left him truly helped him a great deal.
However, Mu Jin was most concerned about Cromwell’s condition, so he quickly turned around and saw his lover’s mech still collapsed on the ground. He immediately took Cromwell back to the Empire’s warship.
After opening the mech, he found Cromwell unconscious. It was clear that although the shadow’s attack had been mostly neutralized by the divine thought Mu Qing had left on Mu Jin, some residual energy still managed to harm Qiong Qi’s spirit.
Mu Jin now understood the whole story. He knew that the shadow was born from the residual malice of the Gu, but the Gu itself no longer existed.
The malice had awakened its own consciousness and separated from Qiong Qi’s body, essentially originating from the same source as Qiong Qi. Therefore, even if their attacks were of the same strength, the threat they posed to each other was incomparable to that posed by others.
However, Mu Jin couldn’t fathom how the shadow managed to devour the heavenly principles of several newly born small worlds, which caused its energy to surge. In this situation, even if Mu Jin and Qiong Qi teamed up, they might not be able to defeat it.
To prevent the world from collapsing, Mu Jin naturally preferred not to use his source power. He just hoped that when the critical moment came, Teng Gen’s help would give him the strength to fight.
Mu Jin pursed his lips as he gazed at the black divine beast slumbering within the system. Having fought the shadow once, Mu Jin had elevated its danger level in his mind countless times. However, he hadn’t mentioned to his master that the shadow had once asked him to be its companion.
The request was indeed bizarre. Mu Jin could understand the shadow’s desire to devour his lover’s spirit to strengthen itself, but why did it want him as its companion?
Mu Jin knew that the shadow and Qiong Qi were not the same person, even though the shadow had separated from Qiong Qi. He had met the shadow and didn’t naively think that it had truly fallen in love with him. So, what was the shadow’s true intention behind those words?
Unable to figure it out, Mu Jin decided not to dwell on it. He was just frustrated that after expending so much effort to nurture his lover’s spirit with the fortune of the small world, this attack had once again weakened Qiong Qi’s spirit.
“Hmm?” As Mu Jin was lost in thought, a deep voice from Teng Gen suddenly echoed in his mind. Still not quite used to Teng Gen’s presence, Mu Jin quickly responded, “Senior, is there a problem?”
Teng Gen shook his head. “I’m not entirely sure, but I can sense that Qiong Qi’s spirit is very weak right now. There seems to be something left behind from the previous attack. I can’t determine what it is yet.”
Upon hearing Teng Gen’s words, Mu Jin’s heart tightened. The unknown was always the most terrifying. He didn’t mind fighting and making sacrifices for his lover, but Teng Gen’s words left him feeling at a loss.
Seeing Mu Jin’s nervous expression, Teng Gen quickly reassured him, “When we leave this world, Qiong Qi’s spirit will also detach from it. At that time, his spirit’s condition will be the clearest, and I’ll examine it closely. I should be able to find the cause then. However, I believe that even if he has been ambushed, it won’t be life-threatening. So, try not to worry too much.”
Hearing Teng Gen’s reassurance, Mu Jin managed to suppress his anxiety for the time being. Whatever happens, they’ll face it head-on.
Fortunately, Cromwell woke up not long after and seemed to be fine, which allowed Mu Jin to relax for now. Thus, the battle ended with Cromwell completely annihilating the insect race under Mu Jin’s guidance.
The conflict between the Plant Empire and the Beastman Empire had been initiated by the Plant people. After their army was defeated, the Beastman people were not inclined to let the matter rest.
Especially since the Zerg had been defeated, the queen was dead, and the remaining Zerg were thoroughly eradicated. The remaining forces were then gathered, and under Cromwell’s leadership, they attacked the Plant Empire’s capital.
The Plant Empire’s royal family was already unstable, ruled by corruption and selfishness, neglecting the plight of the common people. Under the relentless advance of the Beastman Empire’s army, the Plant Empire’s emperor had no choice but to surrender.
Initially, the people of the Plant Empire feared they would become vassals of the Beastman Empire and lamented their fate. However, in a surprising turn of events, the Beastman Empire did not demand that the Plant Empire become a subordinate state. Instead, they had the Plant Empire’s king abdicate in favor of the once-disdained fifth prince, Mu Jin. By now, Mu Jin had earned great renown for helping Cromwell kill the Zerg queen.
Although this decision initially met with some resistance from the Beastman Empire’s emperor, Cromwell, who held supreme military power, supported Mu Jin. Additionally, his only offspring, Bai Qian, was a childhood friend of Mu Jin.
Both Cromwell and Bai Qian were strong advocates for Mu Jin becoming the ruler of the Plant Empire. Consequently, the Beastman Empire’s emperor eventually abandoned the idea of fully annexing the Plant Empire and agreed to maintain friendly relations between the two nations.
After ascending to the throne, Mu Jin swiftly and decisively reformed the Plant Empire’s government. He promoted equality between commoners and royalty, abolished many unreasonable noble privileges, and quickly garnered widespread support.
In less than two years, the Plant Empire was revitalized. Mu Jin fulfilled his initial promise to the original owner of his body, becoming the most beloved emperor in years.
A few years later, the Beastman Empire’s king abdicated due to old age. With Bai Qian’s ascension to the throne, the bond between the two nations grew even stronger. Without the threat of the insect race, the continent experienced unprecedented prosperity after a period of recovery.
The friendly exchanges between the Plant and Beastman Empires led to a significant increase in intermarriages. After all, even their king’s consort was the most formidable marshal of the Beastman Empire.
A large influx of plant people into the Beastman Empire led to the discovery of many undeveloped flora, causing the pharmaceutical industry to rapidly grow. Conversely, the entry of beastman people into the Plant Empire enhanced their military capabilities.
The love between Mu Jin and Cromwell brought prosperity to both nations and made them a model for all plant-beastman couples, becoming a topic of widespread admiration.
By the time Mu Jin and Cromwell left this world, nearly two hundred years had passed. Mu Jin couldn’t contain his excitement when he saw his lover’s spirit emerge from his body. Although Cromwell’s spirit couldn’t linger long, Mu Jin was still thrilled.
However, there seemed to be an issue with his spirit. A faint red hue circled the otherwise white spirit. Due to the previous attack, Cromwell’s spirit was extremely weak and unable to resist the pull of the small world, being immediately drawn into the next one.
After witnessing his lover’s spirit disappear, Mu Jin hurried back to the system space to ask Teng Gen about his man’s condition. To his surprise, Teng Gen’s expression turned a bit strange.
Seeing the conflicted look on Teng Gen’s black panther face made Mu Jin suppress a smile. Teng Gen then explained, “I can sense that Qiong Qi’s spirit has been cursed by that malice, and it seems the curse was hastily placed before the malice fled. What’s strange is that this curse won’t harm Qiong Qi’s spirit, but…”
“But what?” Mu Jin asked urgently, seeing Teng Gen’s hesitation. Teng Gen’s panther face twitched as he continued, “However, this curse will prevent Qiong Qi’s spirit from being influenced by his original soul when entering the small world.
Previously, his spirit could recognize you and feel a natural affection. But now, with this curse in place, when you approach Qiong Qi, you’ll be nothing but a complete stranger to him.”
Teng Gen paused and then added, “The malice could use this curse because it consumed some small world heavenly principles. It has now partially merged with the world rules and is no longer considered an outsider, which is quite troublesome.”
“Moreover, the state it is in allows it to place a barrier on Qiong Qi’s spirit before entering the small world, blocking any influence from the original soul. But what’s odd is why it didn’t use a curse that would erode Qiong Qi’s spirit instead of this seemingly useless one…”
Mu Jin understood why Teng Gen looked so conflicted. He recalled how the shadow had tried to undermine his relationship with Qiong Qi in previous worlds and even asked him to be its companion in the last one. This behavior was puzzling and left Mu Jin feeling bewildered.