My Core is the Boss

Canary drew closer to him, curiosity flickering in her gaze. "Husband, is this the Black Sea?"

From the moment he last broke through, he could easily summon her into Death Qi World. In general, though, Qi Yuan rarely brought her along on missions. After all, someone had to mind things back home.

Qi Yuan gestured toward the Black Sea. "What do you think of it? It is quite fitting for you, isn't it?"

She turned cautious, murmuring, "There is a tremendous force of time energy. Whoever created this Black Sea must be very powerful."

He was equally awed. "According to Lord Great Wisdom, they're likely above the Heavenly Position realm."

The Yang Spirit father and daughter pair he'd encountered in the Mortal Heart World were merely Minor Heavenly Position realm. Meanwhile, the final boss of this game had rebooted the world, created the Mountain-Sea Scroll, and even built the Black Sea to connect the past and present. None of that was within the scope of an ordinary Yang Spirit cultivator.

Above the Heavenly Position realm lay the Principle realm. And above Principle, other realms still existed. Qi Yuan couldn't tell if his opponent was above the Principle realm or not.

Canary warned softly, "Husband, be careful."

She could call him that now without a trace of shyness.

Qi Yuan nodded, pinching her small cheek. "Don't worry. I'm just a player. Besides, I'm a feeble little Yang Spirit, why would such a powerful being even notice me?"

Canary giggled. "Should I go back and summon the other Golden Cores as well?"

Over the years, Qi Yuan's Star Golden Cores had increased to nine. The people of Canglan were likely in for quite an experience. They now had nine suns overhead instead of the usual one.

Qi Yuan had already decided that the moment he returned to Canglan, his first priority would be to comb the land for any martial artist or cultivator whose name contained the character "Yi" [1] and used a bow. He would carefully monitor such individuals. Otherwise, if Hou Yi shot down his Golden Cores, he'd be finished. [2]

"No need. Nine is still too few. It is hard to win through numbers alone. We'll talk when I have nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine."

Besides, their individual mass wasn't all that impressive either. He'd wait until he could swallow something truly massive or try turning it into a black hole.

Qi Yuan instructed, "The time energy in the Black Sea is rich, and these beast carcasses hold a good amount of it too. All of that would benefit you greatly. You should stay here."

Canary studied him, her gaze shifting. "This time, I am absolutely going to step into the Yang Spirit realm."

Qi Yuan's expression turned complicated. The Yang Spirit realm is so simple for you all. It really is as easy as breathing.

Ninety percent of his Nascent Souls had become Yang Spirits in the Origin Land. As for Canary, she could make a similar breakthrough just by absorbing the Black Sea’s time energy.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan had to wake up early and sleep late, be diligent and earnest in his training. He even had to squeeze in cultivation during gaming sessions. After all that effort, he was still just a puny Nascent Soul back in the real world. His Yang Spirit-level strength existed only within the game.

"Once I've reached the Yang Spirit realm, I'll take care of you."

Canary smiled and pressed up against him, her warm lips touching his. Then, she reassured, "When the time comes, my Past and Present Self will accompany you together."

With those words, her figure faded and she slipped into the Black Sea. When a Mythic broke through to the Yang Spirit realm, they gained both a Past Self and a Present Self. The Past Self was equivalent to a powerful Mythic cultivator, while the Present Self was the original body.

In most cases, a Yang Spirit would handle day-to-day affairs through their Past Self, while the Present Self remained in secluded cultivation. That said, powerful Yang Spirits could unleash Yang Spirit-level combat power through their Past Self as well.

Qi Yuan was different. Even within the game, stepping into the Yang Spirit realm granted him no avatar whatsoever. He was simply himself.

Watching Canary disappear, a contemplative gleam settled into his eyes.

***

The black mist dispersed, and excitement surged across the faces of everyone on the ship. They raised their heads and looked into the distance, lighting up.

"The Origin Land!"

"We've finally arrived! This is the beginning of everything!"

The peak Martial Kings aboard could barely contain their excitement. Every single person who had crossed the Black Sea to reach the Origin Land was someone with ambitions to grow stronger. Moreover, they had long stagnated inside their respective outposts in the Mountain-Sea Scroll. Only the Origin Land offered the possibility of stepping into the Martial Lord realm.

At that moment, one of the peak Martial Kings leaped from the ship and jumped into the Black Sea. "Everyone, the Origin Land awaits. I shall take my leave."

"I will leave as well."

In an instant, more peak Martial Kings followed, dissolving away. None of them bore a Martial Lord Seal. From the beginning, they had always been free, determined to forge their own paths. Hence, slipping away before they docked was the wisest choice. They had no trust for whatever Martial Kings would be waiting on the shore.

Qi Yuan stood up, anticipation in his eyes. "Going back to the starting point from here should be interesting."

Then, he turned to Mu Yan and said quietly, "Brother Mu, I have a friend waiting for me. This is where we part. Perhaps we'll meet again someday."

With that, he flickered, vanishing into the Black Sea.

Mu Yan watched with some regret. "In the end, Brother Qi still won't stay and help me. Such a pity."

The woman with a second monkey head couldn't hold herself back. "He was just scared of getting the Martial Lord's attention, so he ran early. He just had to claim he had a friend here. What a load of bullshit. Hmph. Brother Mu, you're just too soft. If I were you, I'd make sure he never made it to shore after the way he treated us."

Mu Yan frowned slightly, displeased.

1. 羿 ☜

2. Hou Yi is a legendary archer from Chinese myth who shot down nine of the suns. Qi Yuan is being paranoid as usual. ☜