"Yes, sir!" One of the rabbit maidens entered the bathroom, and shortly thereafter, the sound of rushing water came from within. Meanwhile, another rabbit maiden left the master bedroom and headed toward the study to retrieve her laptop. Fu Qingyang watched their silhouettes, remained silent for a few seconds, then sighed softly, his expression lightening as he removed his chest armor, arm armor, and the damaged breastplate. With his capabilities, his points should be on par with those of a Marshal or a Mage King. Fu Qingyang removed his partially disabled armor, standing bare-chested in the room, his figure well-proportioned and upright, his well-defined muscles showcasing a strong, masculine elegance. His waist flowed smoothly, his abdominal muscles sharply delineated, with an astonishingly low body fat. Such an elegant and commanding physique, combined with his strong, handsome facial features, makes Qian Gongzi the most physically appealing among the official Four Princes when it comes to attracting women. Fu Qingyang glanced down at the penetrating wound across his abdomen and the flesh-and-bone cuts on his chest, showing little concern, then walked to the bedside table, opened the drawer, and withdrew a metal box about half a forearm long. "Click!" He opened the box, and within the shock-absorbing foam were three vials of liquid—rich, golden in color, undiluted. Taking one of them, he injected it into his neck's vein. Within seconds, cells began to divide and multiply, broken bones reconnected, and his severe injuries slowly healed. This process lasted a couple of minutes before it concluded. After reaching the Sovereign Realm, the healing power of the Life Essence noticeably diminished. However, the Sovereign's vitality was exceptionally strong, and ordinary life-threatening injuries were insufficient to endanger their life. Fu Qingyang used the precious Life Essence purely because he disliked having his body injured—something rare and hard to obtain for others, which, to him, was simply "this thing is expensive," nothing more. When the rabbit maiden stepped out of the bathroom and saw the lord bare-chested, she turned and walked to the wardrobe, retrieving a smooth robe to drape over him. At that moment, the other rabbit maiden, carrying a laptop, returned to the master bedroom. Fu Qingyang took the laptop and sat down on the single sofa, rapidly entering account credentials to log into the official forum. The top-posted, highlighted announcement read: #Sovereign Realm Killing Quest: Evil Faction Eliminated, Yuan Shi Tian Zun's Points Reach a Historic High#. The two rabbit maids standing beside him paused, momentarily struck by the lord's face glowing with screen light. Immediately, he composed himself, moved his fingers across the touchpad, and opened the post. The next second, the maidservants of the rabbit-girls saw the lord's composed, reserved expression, and were left stunned, gazing at the screen with slightly dazed eyes, remaining motionless and expressionless for a long while. Fu Qingyang strode toward the desk and said, "Bring the mouse over here." The maidservants retrieved the mouse and connected it to the computer. Fu Qingyang straightened his posture and sat at the desk, eagerly grabbing the mouse and rapidly clicking it. He would occasionally move the mouse to open or close posts, then sit still, gazing intently at a single post for an extended period. Fu Qingyang spent a full half-hour reviewing the posts, during which the maidservants had to go to the bathroom to refill the hot water. Finally, after scanning through all the forum posts and gaining a clear understanding of the events in the killing instance, Fu Qingyang exhaled silently. "You were supposed to meet me at the peak—no special advantages granted," he remarked. "Is Yuan Shi still at the villa?" "He returned the day after leaving the instance." "The hare-dresser said. Another hare-dresser smiled and remarked, "Master, Yuanshishen, the Lord of the Primordial Heaven, has gained fame through his outstanding performance. Recently, discussions about him have been ongoing across all official branches of the spiritual realms." Fu Qingyang nodded slowly, "His results are quite good!" Then added, "Much better than those mediocrity." "Master, shall we go to the dining hall for lunch, or stay in the room?" "To the dining hall!" Fu Qingyang had originally planned to dine in his room, rest, and sleep off his fatigue. But after reviewing the forum posts, he felt unexpectedly energized. At that moment, his phone on the desk rang—caller: the Dog Elder! Fu Qingyang answered, "Elder!" "Congratulations on your promotion to Sovereign!" the Dog Elder said warmly, then his tone grew serious. "Qingyang, the Marshal has instructed that upon your completion of the quest, you are to immediately proceed to the Capital City." Fu Qingyang frowned. "Now?" "She only said to see her immediately after you complete the quest," the Dog Elder replied. Fu Qingyang tightened his brows. He had just stepped out of the killing quest, where his physical wounds had already healed, but the mental fatigue still required recovery. If it were merely a congratulatory visit, a simple email would suffice. If it involved a positional adjustment, there was no urgency at all. He simply couldn't understand why Marshal Yuan had such pressing reasons to see him. Fu Qingyang coldly declined, "I won't pay for her caprice." The Dog Elder spoke softly, "Still, go anyway. Facing off in the capital will be more dignified than her rushing all the way from Songhai to confront you." Fu Qingyang's heart skipped a beat at that: "What does that mean!" The Dog Elder cleared his throat and added, "Did you perhaps say something inappropriate to Marshal Yuan—something like calling her a liability? You know, she's always been a touch sensitive." Fu Qingyang: "...” "I understand," Fu Qingyang said, hanging up the phone with a heavy heart. Yuan—this liability! … The next morning, Zhang Yuan returned home tired and dusty. His grandmother was carrying a basket of buns from the kitchen and paused, surprised: “Yuanzi, you got up so early?” Not early—she had been awake all night. Zhang Yuan casually replied, “I went for a run.” “Where did you pick up that running habit?” Grandma, now older, always liked to interfere. “With a girlfriend, doesn’t it make sense?” Zhang Yuan said. In truth, he had gone out to watch the stars. After using the Great Luo Star Chart the day before, he had been driven by an intense urge to observe the stars every night—something that couldn’t be suppressed even by reading or playing games. Finally, last night, he couldn’t hold out any longer and took a taxi to the suburban area of Songhai. But the suburbs didn’t have much starlight, so he ended up spending 1,500 yuan to rent a taxi driver for the night and drove all the way to Jiangnan Province, 200 kilometers away, where he finally saw a sky full of stars. He stood upright, gazing at the stars until past three in the morning, then drove back home. Along the way, the taxi driver kept staring at them with a strange expression, and only gave in to send him to the psychiatric hospital because of the money. The props from the Saint's Realm required an intensity and cost far exceeding that of the Transcendent level. Zhang Yuanqing even wanted to move out of Songhai. Not only was the air there severely polluted, but the night sky was even worse—so much light pollution that stars were completely invisible. How could he possibly make it through the rest of his life? With a girlfriend, things would be different, right? After thinking it over, Grandma found herself at a loss for words, "Well, then!" Zhang Yuanqing entered the bedroom. A few minutes later, the security door opened again, and Chen Yuanjun entered, wearing sports clothes and drenched in sweat. "Grandma, bring me a bowl of iced soy milk—I'm so thirsty," Chen Yuanjun sat down at the dining table. "What did you do?" Grandma asked, observing her grandson closely. "I went for a run!" Chen Yuanjun replied. "You've already got a girlfriend?" Grandma was genuinely surprised. "Huh?!" Chen Yuanjun exclaimed. Chen Yuanjun’s reason for starting exercise is quite simple—he’s felt a coolness on his forehead since yesterday, has experienced lower back and leg soreness during the night, and has woken up several times feeling frozen. By the time he reached his thirties, leg and back soreness could only mean one thing—kidney deficiency. That’s when he decided to start morning jogging. What does his girlfriend have to do with it? A round, adorable baby lies on her head, his short, plump legs curled around her neck, his little head resting atop her head, intently watching her play. How can my commands possibly stand against the allure of the game? If it weren't for today being a weekend and my cousin resting, I'd have no choice but to beat you to a pulp! Zhang Yuanqing glares fiercely at the ever-entertaining little duffer. "My points are about to break the record—just missed it. Do you envy me for breaking your record?" Jiang Yubei operates the controller, restarting the game. The game setting is a free and democratic city where a terrifying virus has erupted, turning everyone into zombies. Zhang Yuanqing leans against the head of the bed, watching his cousin's character move fluidly, switching between swords and spears, dispatching one zombie after another, humming and chuckling. "You think you've broken my record? You're dreaming!" "Jiang Yu, grumbling, said, 'What's your big deal? This score clearly comes from you actively researching online, learning the bug-hunting techniques mentioned in the guides—how could you possibly think it's all your own strength? You're so easily rattled—give a little color and you start to splutter, give a little sunshine and you shine bright, yet you have no idea what your own strengths are!' 'I don't feel like talking to you anymore,' Zhang Yuanqing said, opening his phone and logging into the official forum. The Saint Realm's slaughter quest should now be over—he'd check the results. On the forum's homepage, the previously highlighted, red-posted thread had now been replaced by: #Results of the Saint Realm Slaughter Quest# The post about the Transcendent Realm's announcement had dropped to second place. Zhang Yuanqing tapped on the thread to read the content. 'List of successful promotions in the mid-year slaughter quest: 'Fu Qingyang: Scout, Five Elements Alliance.' 'Silver Moon General: Deceiver, Commander of the Army.' 'Fengdu Ghost King: Night Wanderer, Taiyuan Sect.' "Twenty-four spots are available for transcendents to ascend to the Sage rank, while only three are reserved for Sages to rise to the Master rank. Truly a master of technique approaching the Dao—indeed, he has secured one of the spots. From now on, he can no longer be called a Captain; he shall be known as a Elder. Zhang Yuanqing breathed a sigh of relief. ——Though Fu Qingyang's promotion to Sage was precisely as expected. Established masters either settle for mere survival or meet a premature end, making way for new talents to fill the void. A harsh and realistic truth. Zhang Yuanqing rose from bed, stepped out of his room, and made his way to the balcony to call Fu Qingyang, only to find the call went straight to voicemail. "Have you rested?" He paused, considering composing a text message to congratulate him, but decided that words might dampen the sincerity of his feelings, and thus abandoned the idea of sending a message. ... Beijing Airport. Fu Qingyang's private jet touched down. Dressed in his crisp, elegant gentleman's attire, he exited through the VIP corridor, accompanied by two assistants, and arrived at the airport's underground parking garage. A luxury sedan had been waiting for him. As Fu Qingyang entered the vehicle, one assistant took a seat in the passenger seat beside him, while the other sat in the副 driver's seat. The assistant opened the in-car refrigerator, poured a glass of strong liquor, and lit a cigar. The vehicle began to move smoothly, accelerating swiftly, yet the drink in Fu Qingyang's hands remained perfectly still. After leaving the airport, the luxury car did not head toward the city center but sped off toward the suburbs. Forty minutes later, it stopped at the entrance of a villa. More accurately, it resembled a manor rather than a simple villa—featuring a spacious garden spanning several acres, a sunroom, a large swimming pool, a fountain pond, and a grand thematic building resembling a castle. Uniformed security personnel, wearing earpieces and armed with guns, stood on duty or patrolled the grounds. Several shuttle buses were parked at the entrance. As Fu Qingyang stepped out of his luxury vehicle, the security staff stationed at the villa's entrance promptly opened the access gate and bowed gracefully, inviting him inside. Fu Qingyang took a shuttle bus to the grand thematic building and was guided by a housemaid to a lounge. "Mr. Fu, please stay a moment," the housemaid said softly, her voice gentle and measured. "Miss will see you in five minutes." Fu Qingyang nodded slightly, settled into a sofa made of fine, handcrafted leather, and waited patiently. Five minutes later, a spiritual realm notification sounded in his ears: 【Ping! The spiritual realm map is loading. In 10 seconds, you will enter the realm. This is your current realm: "The Marshal's Office," ID: 7606.】 【Difficulty Level: SSS】 【Type: Multiplayer (Non-death mode)】 【Main Objective: Defeat the Marshal.】 【Note: Non-realm items cannot be brought in.】 This woman... Listening to the notification, Fu Qingyang's stern face tightened sharply. The next instant, the scene before him blurred, then cleared. He found himself in a world filled entirely with white—white skies, white ground, stretching endlessly without any visible boundaries. About fifteen meters ahead, a row of tall bookshelves stood, filled with various books. In front of the bookshelves, a wide desk was placed, with cups of milk tea and coffee, several trays of chocolate candies, and cakes and other desserts arranged neatly on it. A stack of manga books is piled in the corner of the desk—Saiyan, Dingdang Cat, The Four Common Workers…messy and disordered. Sitting at the desk is a woman, her two long, full legs clad in trousers casually resting on the surface, her upper body weightlessly leaning against the back of the chair. She’s holding a document upright, shielding her face so only a smooth cascade of white hair is visible. Fu Qingyang focuses on the document, its cover bearing the bold characters: "Archive of Yuan Shi Tian Zun." "Here you are!" A clear, exceptionally pleasant voice echoes from behind the document. Fu Qingyang is about to speak when the tone suddenly grows cold. "Fu Qingyang," the voice says, "how dare you show such boldness in shielding the heir of the Mage King?"