Chapter 1 Qi Xiao

　　Seeing this scene, Clan Leader Qi Chen was secretly surprised: "My sister is decisive and cold-blooded. Now, just because someone gave her contact information, she smiled? There must be a secret here."

　　Qi Xiao walked to the chair and sat down, looked at Xu Jingming, and asked, "You are Chi Tong's junior brother? What's your name?"

　　"His name is Wu Ming." Clan Leader Qi Chen explained from the side, "He just descended into the Demon Vanquishing World and rushed to visit you."

　　"This is also what Senior Brother entrusted, so naturally I have to do my best," Xu Jingming said with a smile.

　　"Senior Brother?"

　　Qi Xiao said softly, "It seems you know him in reality. What kind of person do you think your senior brother is?"

　　She and Chi Tong only had a brief encounter in the Demon Vanquishing World. They had never met in reality. At this moment, as they were about to connect, she was inexplicably uneasy! She wanted to learn more about Chi Tong's situation in reality from this 'Junior Brother Wu Ming'.

　　"My senior brother?" Xu Jingming was slightly stunned.

　　As an outer member of the Yuanchu Research Institute, everyone hides their real information, so he also knows very little about Senior Brother Chi Tong.

　　He only knew that Senior Brother Chi Tong was 719 years old this year and was very close to becoming a ninth-order source life.

　　Also...

　　He was very rich! Most of the senior brothers and sisters had extraordinary backgrounds, but they all recognized that the third brother, Chi Tong, was 'super rich'!

　　Moreover, when the eight of them gathered to chat, Xu Jingming felt that Senior Sister Mo Nina and Senior Brother Chi Tong were likely acquainted in reality. As for the others, their real identities should be kept absolutely secret.

　　"I don't know much about Senior Brother either," Xu Jingming said with a smile. "At least in terms of evolution, he's much stronger than me."

　　"What about his personality in reality?" Qi Xiao asked further.

　　"Generous," Xu Jingming said.

　　"That's it?" Qi Xiao asked.

　　Xu Jingming thought for a while and said, "He's quite rich, definitely richer than me."

　　Qi Xiao nodded, not paying much attention.

　　Rich?

　　She dealt with money all day long; money was just a number to her.

　　"Senior Brother Chi Tong's contact information." Xu Jingming took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to her. Qi Xiao reached out to take it, looked at the contact information written on the paper, and then a flame rose from her hand, turning the paper to ashes.

　　"I understand," Qi Xiao said, standing up with a smile. "Thank you, young friend Wu Ming." Then she disappeared into thin air, having already left the Demon Vanquishing World.

　　Clan Leader Qi Chen eagerly sat down on the chair closest to Xu Jingming and asked, "What's the relationship between your Senior Brother Chi Tong and Qi Xiao?"

　　Xu Jingming shook his head and said honestly, "I don't know either. I'm just delivering a message."

　　"You..." Clan Leader Qi Chen said helplessly.

　　"Brother Qi Chen," Xu Jingming said, standing up. "Now that the matter is settled, I should take my leave."

　　Clan Leader Qi Chen stood up to see him off: "Alright, Brother Wu Ming, if you encounter any trouble in Cheng'an Prefecture, feel free to come to me. The Qi family has quite a bit of influence in Cheng'an Prefecture."

　　"Okay," Xu Jingming smiled slightly, then bid farewell and left.

　　……

　　Virtual World Network.

　　In Chi Tong's personal space, he had now changed his appearance to that of a young man, lying casually on the sofa. He would sit up for a while, then stand up and walk around a few times.

　　"Junior Brother Wu Ming said the contact information has been given, so why hasn't she contacted me yet?" Chi Tong sat down again, his back straight, frowning.

　　"She wouldn't... not contact me, would she?"

　　"No."

　　"Since she chose to see Junior Brother Wu Ming and accepted the contact information, she should contact me," Chi Tong thought, his mind in a whirl of concern.

　　Suddenly—

　　A contact message.

　　Chi Tong's heart skipped a beat. He gently clicked, allowing the other party to enter his personal space.

　　A much younger Qi Xiao walked into the personal space. She had changed into a silver robe, which matched her original silver hair. Her eyes sparkled with a strange light as she looked at the young man before her.

　　"Qi Xiao," Chi Tong said, already standing up.

　　"Didn't we say before that once we separated, we wouldn't contact each other again? Let's just treat it as a mind-tempering experience," Qi Xiao said.

　　Chi Tong was slightly stunned and said softly, "I recently failed in a mind-tempering exercise."

　　"You failed?" Qi Xiao's expression changed, and she asked, "Are you seriously injured?"

　　"I'm okay," Chi Tong said, looking at Qi Xiao. "During the mental confrontation with that heavenly demon, I failed because I felt that what the heavenly demon said made a lot of sense! If the meaning of life is only evolution, it would be too boring and too pitiful. For the entire human race, evolution is important. But for individual humans, emotions may be more important than evolution."

　　At the critical moment of the mental confrontation, it was his relationship with Qi Xiao that made him fail.

　　He also truly realized that he had never been able to forget Qi Xiao. Qi Xiao's face turned slightly red, and she said, "Are you confessing your love?"

　　"Yes," Chi Tong nodded. "Do you agree?"

　　"Don't you want to ask if I'm single in reality?" Qi Xiao looked at him. "And I know nothing about you in reality."

　　"I've always been single," Chi Tong said.

　　Qi Xiao also smiled: "Me too. Then let's try getting to know each other first."

　　At this moment, Chi Tong's heart was filled with joy. He reached out and took Qi Xiao's hand, and Qi Xiao did not refuse.

　　"Sit down and talk," Chi Tong pulled Qi Xiao to a sofa and sat down.

　　Qi Xiao smiled at him before saying, "I won't hide it from you. My real name is Qi Yunxiao*Moyun. When you hear my name, you should guess that I come from the Moyun family of the Hunter Universe Domain."

　　Chi Tong nodded: "The Moyun family is enough to rank in the top 100 in the Hunter Universe Domain."

　　It should be known that the entire universe domain has a full 185 star alliances. Among countless ancient families, the Moyun family can rank in the top 100, which obviously has a deep foundation.

　　"The current patriarch of my Moyun family is Pan Li*Moyun, a tenth-order expert from the Yuanchu Research Institute," Qi Xiao said. "Of course, there are also three ninth-order source lives! The family territory exceeds 30 star systems."

　　Chi Tong nodded.

　　"And I," Qi Xiao said, looking at Chi Tong softly, "am the youngest eighth-order starry sky life of the Moyun family in this era. Whether it is the patriarch or the family elders, they all value me very much. Once you associate with me, they will also review your information. It may be a bit of trouble for you."

　　"You don't need to feel pressured. We can get in touch privately first, without making it public," Qi Xiao looked at Chi Tong. "When you are ready, then make it public."

　　"Okay," Chi Tong nodded. He could feel Qi Xiao's concern and care for him, which made him vaguely feel that... this initiative to contact her might be the wisest choice he had ever made.

　　The mind-tempering exercise failed, but Chi Tong felt that this failure was worth it.

　　"I've told you my identity in reality. What about you?" Qi Xiao looked at Chi Tong.

　　"I have to keep it secret," Chi Tong said.

　　"Keep it secret?" Qi Xiao was stunned. "Why?"

　　"You should know that I am a high-realm Demon Vanquisher," Chi Tong said. "In fact, my true realm is the ninth realm." Qi Xiao was shocked.

　　The ninth realm?

　　"Yes, I am not far from becoming a source life," Chi Tong nodded. "I am an outer member of the Yuanchu Research Institute, and our real information in reality needs to be kept secret. This is also the rule of the Yuanchu Research Institute."

　　Qi Xiao smiled: "I didn't expect you to be such a peerless genius. I also wanted to enter the top forces back then, but unfortunately, I was a bit short and didn't pass the assessment."

　　She was already very good, but the threshold for the seventeen top forces was too high. "What about your Junior Brother Wu Ming then?" Qi Xiao realized.

　　Chi Tong said, "Although he uses the name Wu Ming, he is not afraid of others knowing that he is from the Yuanchu Research Institute, but you still shouldn't spread it."

　　Qi Xiao nodded: "I know. How long do you estimate it will take for you to become a source life?"

　　"Probably within a hundred years," Chi Tong didn't hide anything.

　　Only then did Qi Xiao smile and nod: "That's good! When you become a source life, those elders in the family won't have so many obstacles. You know, the Moyun family is an ancient family, and there are many trivial rules inside. Only when you become a source life will they make an exception." Chi Tong nodded, he was enjoying the moment.

　　★Da Da Da★Demon Vanquishing World, Cheng'an Prefecture, Prefectural City.

　　"Senior Brother Chi Tong and Qi Xiao, their relationship seems to be extraordinary," Xu Jingming thought, feeling relieved, after all, he was able to complete Senior Brother Chi Tong's request smoothly, which could be considered a weight off his mind.

　　Back at the mansion, Xu Jingming saw Wu Qi talking to a few people.

　　"Young master," Wu Qi said immediately when he saw Xu Jingming, "These five people were hired from the market this morning, and they are all locals."

　　"Master."

　　The five servants all bowed respectfully.

　　"This is Liu Fu, he will be the gatekeeper for the mansion from now on," Wu Qi introduced. "This is Cheng Da Niu, he's quite strong and can do some chores in the mansion."

　　"Liu Fu (Da Niu) greets the master." The two of them bowed respectfully.

　　"This is Aunt Zhang, she will cook for the mansion."

　　"These are the third girl of the Liu family and a little girl of the Gu family, they will be maids for the young master, serving the young master," Wu Qi said.

　　"Liu Sanya (Gu Yu) greets the master." Both maids were pretty and well-behaved.

　　Xu Jingming smiled: "Uncle Qi, you're really fast. You've gathered all the people in the blink of an eye."

　　"There are quite a few people looking for work at the market," Wu Qi said. "I picked and chose and quickly selected them. Each of them will be on probation for a month first. If there are no problems, they will work in the mansion for three years first."

　　Xu Jingming nodded: "Uncle Qi, you decide everything."

　　With manpower, everything in the mansion quickly got on track. Many places were cleaned, the lake was also cleaned, and the scenery of the mansion became much more beautiful.

　　Night.

　　Xu Jingming sat cross-legged on the bed and took out a jade bottle from his pocket.

　　"Everything is ready, it's time to start mind-tempering." Xu Jingming was very cautious. Killing demons was not difficult. With his strength, he had nothing to fear below the earth demon level. But refining demons was different.

　　"First mind-tempering, let's begin!" Xu Jingming pulled out the stopper of the bottle, sucked with his mouth, and a wisp of natal demon qi rushed out of the bottle and entered Xu Jingming's mouth, swallowed in one gulp.

　　Buzz! Swallowing this mouthful of natal demon qi into his body, memories immediately impacted Xu Jingming's consciousness.

　　While enduring the memories, everything was as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

　　Xu Jingming saw a young man named Li Chong, who was the owner of a medicine shop in Liuxian County, Cheng'an Prefecture. It was a family business passed down through generations. Li Chong carefully and meticulously managed it! He also had a beautiful wife and a pair of children, and he was considered a respectable person in Liuxian County.

　　In the past, his father managed the medicine shop, but after his father passed away, Li Chong personally managed it and only then did he realize his father's difficulties.

　　He had to take care of the officials in the county! Even if they spat in his face, he had to smile along.

　　There were also some who extorted money from him, and he had to greet them with a smile and give them money. After all, he was not afraid of hooligans, but he could not afford to offend the forces behind the hooligans.

　　Acting like a grandson everywhere, Li Chong only then understood the suffering his father had endured.

　　He endured it!

　　If he wanted to run a business, he had to endure all of this.

　　However, one day, while he was still in the medicine shop, he was directly arrested by the county yamen's runners and thrown into prison, saying that a murder had occurred and suspecting that he, Li Chong, was the murderer.

　　After being imprisoned, Li Chong cried out for justice. Under the pressure of the yamen, he could only spend large sums of money, but before he could even get another hearing, he was 'hanged' to death in prison.

　　Before his death, he learned the truth.

　　"You poor wretch, Master Wang in the county has gotten together with your wife, so he wants to send you on your way."

　　Two murderers held him up, put a noose around his neck, and hung him there, and he immediately lost his life.

　　The memory ended there.

　　"Hahaha... laughable, isn't it?"

　　Li Chong, in the form of a demon, appeared, staring at Xu Jingming with blood-red eyes. "This world is laughable, isn't it? I worked hard to run my business, the officials bullied me, and the gangs also bullied me.

　　In the end, my wife was taken, my children were harmed, my family property was seized, and I died unjustly in prison."

　　"And the officials who disregarded human life are still high above, wielding great power."

　　"That Master Wang Kan is a tyrant in Liuxian County. He has harmed countless lives, but he is still carefree."

　　"In this world, good people work hard and still lose their lives! Evil people, doing whatever they want and harming lives, can still enjoy wealth and glory!"

　　"Is this world wrong, or did I do something wrong?" Li Chong, in the form of a demon, stared at Xu Jingming, his blood-red eyes full of doubt. "Shouldn't I have been a good person? Should I have been an evil person?"

　　"It's more fun to be an evil person. As an evil person, who would dare to bully me like this? I hate it, I hate it!" Li Chong's voice echoed in Xu Jingming's consciousness.

　　Li Chong's obsession was already impacting Xu Jingming's mind and consciousness.

　　The collision between obsession and mind was also the most dangerous time.

　　"Those two murderers said you were a poor wretch," Xu Jingming's consciousness said calmly. "You are indeed pitiful, and you are also foolishly pitiful."

　　"I'm pitiful, I'm foolish?" Demon Li Chong's obsession became even more frantic. "I was foolish for not being an evil person before! Isn't it much more fun now that I'm an evil person, a demon?"

　　"That's why you've fallen to the point of being refined by me," Xu Jingming's consciousness responded.

　　Demon Li Chong was stunned.

　　"I said you were foolish, and you still don't believe it. Evil people kill you, so you want to be an evil person?" Xu Jingming's consciousness continued. "Then if a dog bites you to death, should you become a dog?"

　　Demon Li Chong didn't know how to refute for a moment.

　　Evil people harmed him, so he thought it would be better to be an evil person. Then what if a dog bit him to death?

　　"If a dog bites me to death, it's because the dog is too strong and I couldn't beat it," Demon Li Chong finally argued a reason. "If it were an ordinary dog, I would have kicked it to death long ago."

　　"Evil people harm you to death, it's also because the evil people are too strong and you couldn't beat them," Xu Jingming said. "If it were an ordinary evil person, you would have sent a few guards to kill him long ago."

　　"Hooligans dare to bully you, it's because their gang is stronger than you."

　　"The officials dare to bully you, it's because the government is stronger than you."

　　"The reason why you are miserable is not because you are a good person, but because you are weak!" Xu Jingming said.

　　Demon Li Chong stared blankly at Xu Jingming.

　　"Even if you become an evil person, if you are weak, you will be devoured by stronger evil people," Xu Jingming continued. "Just like now, even if you become a demon, you, a single demon, will still be refined by me!"

　　"It's all because I'm weak?" Demon Li Chong murmured, he was somewhat convinced.

　　"You are indeed pitiful," Xu Jingming said. "If this world were a peaceful world, you could naturally be a wealthy man. But in this world, demons are rampant,

　　They may slaughter everywhere at any time. Any family, any force will try to strengthen themselves! To make themselves stronger! To survive!"

　　"In such a chaotic world, weakness is a sin." Xu Jingming's conscious voice struck at Demon Li Chong's obsession, his obsession already wavering.

　　This chapter was written a bit slowly, my apologies.