My Core is the Boss

Wang Niang's expression shifted and her voice deepened. "I am telling the truth. The entire world is at risk. She must retrace the path of her previous life, or we're doomed! Please stay away from Young Mistress so she and Tu Kongming can return to the correct path."

"Again, what does that have to do with me?"

"Like I said, the whole world is at risk!"

Qi Yuan waved a hand dismissively. "I thought it was something serious. So it's just a game server on the verge of crashing? You should sacrifice a programmer to fix it. Look at my hairline. Does this look like a programmer's hairline to you? Oh, right, you're an NPC. You can't kill programmers."

Then, his expression softened into something almost tender. "Oh, right, Wang Niang, are you married? I have a friend who's been looking for a wonderful wife. I think you'd be perfect. Even if you're already married, just get a divorce. My friend isn't picky."

Qi Yuan was still looking for potential suitors for Han Xianyun.

Wang Niang stood blankly again, unable to follow his train of thoughts. What on earth is happening?

She refused, "I have devoted my whole life to the world. There is no room for romance."

Qi Yuan appeared disappointed. Getting Han Xianyun a companion was proving quite the challenge.

Thus, he switched topics. "Well, forget it then. I'm not going to waste any more words on you. Don't bother me while I'm playing the game. I need to start cultivating."

Wang Niang stood for a moment, her head buzzing. She had only understood half of what he said. She took one long look at him, and then vanished.

Alone in the cemetery, Qi Yuan gazed at the tombstones ahead of him. Images flickered through his mind. Something was starting to take shape.

In the end, he gave up. "Nope. Can't keep dwelling on that, or my brain will grow too big. I'm not the omniscient type anyway."

Qi Yuan had no desire to uncover the truth. To him, only strength mattered. Schemes, truth, and calculations were worthless in the face of absolute power.

"You consumed one hundred drops of demon essence blood and gained one hundred days of cultivation. You consumed another one hundred drops of demon essence blood. The Exploding Bird-Slaying Fist has finally advanced. Bonus damage of fifty percent against airborne creatures. Armor penetration against birds increased by fifty percent."

His eyes went wide. Does this mean every man in the world should be afraid of me now? What a shame girls don't have birds, or I'd be unbeatable. Actually, wait. Girls can't be defined so easily. Who's to say one hasn't got a bird? Could be hiding it and I have never confirmed. I can't rule it out.

He stopped that line of thinking, closed his eyes, and rested.

Then, without warning, Thunder’s worn and ancient voice sounded from within him. "Brat, I thought I was a goner?"

Qi Yuan's eyes lit up. "Old Thunder! You finally woke up."

Hearing that long-absent voice, he suddenly felt emotional. Yet sometimes when old friends reunite, the emotion was still as water, and he appeared calm on the surface.

In the Origin Land, Thunder's gaze brimmed with vastness and melancholy. "I had already made peace with death. I was ready to die together with the Mortal Heart World. Yet you... you actually killed a Yang Spirit, you little!"

He felt both admiration and gratitude toward Qi Yuan.

The Mortal Heart World had been his home. It was a primordial world where countless beings had lived and grown. Even though Yang Spirits were the absolute power, Qi Yuan had turned the tide. No one had expected him to emerge victorious against the two Yang Spirits.

Qi Yuan brushed it aside. "No need to dig up the past. Old Thunder, get back to cultivating and start producing results. I want to see some coins drop."

Now that they had left the Mortal Heart World, Thunder and the other Great Venerables could finally spread their wings. With a visualization art of limitless potential and no upper limit to cultivation, it was only a matter of time before they reached the Yang Spirit realm.

Had Thunder reached the Mythic realm before leaving the Mortal Heart World, he would’ve broken through instantly. That had to do with the visualization art Qi Yuan had provided, the unique nature of Innate Souls, and the Ancestral Lands of the Ancient Clan.

Thunder said with a warm voice, "Stop rushing me, I'm already at it. The next time we meet, I'll definitely be a Yang Spirit."

The once-unattainable Yang Spirit realm was now within reach.

The rest of Qi Yuan’s Nascent Souls were similar to Thunder. Once they awakened, their cultivation would progress naturally, allowing them to break through to the Yang Spirit realm with ease.

Qi Yuan added, "Move faster. My enemies are strong. One Yang Spirit probably won't be enough. Others are in that world with you. Look after them, help them awaken, and help them grow stronger."

His Nascent Souls had taken root in the Origin Land, but they were still acting on instinct. A fully awakened one like Thunder was an exception.

Thunder grumbled, "Alright, alright, I'll go find the others. Just woke up and you're already piling on tasks. If I'd known, I would have stayed asleep."

There was joy beneath the complaint.

Qi Yuan suddenly exclaimed, "I have a plan!"

Thunder sighed. "What is it this time?"

He was well acquainted with Qi Yuan's plans. They were less like a plan and more like a loose idea with some shouting attached. And yet somehow, every single time, it worked. How baffling indeed.

Qi Yuan always got hyped out when laying out a plan. "I want to buy this game out, but I am broke as hell. So instead, I will proceed with conquest by force. My plan will involve three steps.

"First, you will unite my people and strengthen our forces. Then, you will seize the Origin Land for me. Next, since your strength feeds back to me, I'll use it to take on Arch Star and Brilliant Star. Once everything is under our control, I'll devote myself fully to completing my missions.

"Finally, I’ll ascend to the Mortal Martial God, Spirit Martial God, and eventually the Martial God of Ten Thousand Paths. It is a perfect plan! Huzzah, I am a genius!"

His head felt clear. If this were back on Blue Planet, he'd be too excited to sleep and would have to take some melatonin. Some people would require other methods entirely.

"Ha! This one's actually a step down in quality from your usual. It isn't detailed enough."

Qi Yuan appeared momentarily shaken by his own oversight. "You're right, I made a critical error! I forgot the timeline. Right, your world runs faster. Forty years there equals one year of mine.

"So step one, everyone in your world will aim to reach the Yang Spirit within three thousand years. Step two, I will unify Arch Star within a hundred years."

A wise man may still err a thousand times in a thousand tries. The ancients are right. Even someone of my brilliance has blind spots. Ordinary people don't stand a chance.

Following that, Thunder carefully relayed everything he had gathered, "This place is called the Origin Land. The strongest power here is the Eastern Alliance. They have a lot of Martial Lords, but their strength is passable at best.

"Also, someone called Dong Jun is backing them. I don't know much about him, but he’s probably a Yang Spirit. His methods, in fact, seem to surpass even those of an ordinary Yang Spirit."

Qi Yuan laughed. "The Origin Land? He used the Brush of Mountain-Sea Society to craft countless Mountain-Sea Scrolls? This guy isn't actually a programmer, is he?"

He knew the Yang Spirit realm had the Heavenly Position and the Absolute Truth realms, but developing entire worlds the way a programmer built a system was kind of ridiculous.

"Doesn't matter. He can be as strong as he likes. I've got the Exploding Bird-Slaying Fist. I'm not afraid of him."