Chapter 184: Persuasion!
Jiang Zhe wasn't thrown off by the young lady's straightforwardness.
"Then why choose me? Just because you took resources from my family and feel you should repay us? You really don't have to."
"Thor and your grandfather were lifelong friends. Our two families have always been close, both part of the Hanxia ancient martial circles. Thor asked us to look after you before he left Earth. So it's only right that the Jiang family's cake gets you a slice."
Sure, the old man supported Lei Lei's cultivation partly out of old friendship. But Jiang Zhe knew it wasn't purely sentimental—his grandfather never gave up on the idea of making sure he left behind descendants.
If the pig wouldn't go find the cabbage, he'd just bring the chosen cabbage straight over!
Lei Lei shook her head, her voice soft. "It's dangerous to meet someone too dazzling when you're young. It ruins the rest of your life."
"You probably don't know... because of a cultivation-obsessed father, I wasn't interested in training at first. But after being sent to the Jiang family and staying a while—well, I was just a young girl, in my teenage years, naturally my heart was stirred... because of you, I started to take my own talent seriously and cultivate diligently."
"Secretly, I thought it'd let me get closer to you. I also pestered my father and Uncle Jiang to bother you into guiding me one-on-one."
"You're a blazing sun, so I forced myself to get closer, even if it meant being just a tiny star hanging in the same sky."
"For over two hundred years, I thought I'd have to claw my way up Earth's power structure, become one of the Jiang family's honored guardians, just so I could keep watching your back from afar."
"But now, since there's a chance to go further—to become the moon that accompanies you—I won't let it slip by!"
Centuries of cultivation and the mindset of a domain lord had long stripped Lei Lei of any girlish shyness. Her clear bright eyes met Jiang Zhe's directly, laying bare her feelings.
"Little Lei, being with me won't be easy. My ambitions are vast. As long as I'm not the strongest in this world, I'll keep climbing. I've already pledged myself to the Dao; I can't give you long, peaceful companionship."
"And you think Luo Feng isn't the same?" Lei Lei's tone was stubborn. "I've become friends with Xu Xin. I know how she and Luo Feng get along, all she's done for him. I came to you fully prepared in my heart. That was when I broke through some inner troubles too."
Lei Lei's eyes were resolute. "If Xu Xin could do it, so can I."
"To people like you nobles of the Five Major Forces, business is a side path. Violence and conquest are the fastest ways to riches. Xu Xin and Luo Feng's gap keeps growing every day."
"My case is slightly better. I have cultivation talent, just a bit below my father's. I can't keep pace with you, but I can accompany you longer."
"Zhe, you're so brilliant. I might not be a perfect 'virtuous wife,' but I promise I can be a 'good mother.'"
The girl had spoken so plainly—there was no more hiding it.
Jiang Zhe also faced his own heart honestly. Knowing what he truly wanted, he didn't refuse her.
Instead, he proposed, "Let's try being together for a while first."
"My impression of you is mostly still as a 'little apprentice.' And you probably just think I'm powerful, able to do anything..."
"Hopefully after breaking through that illusion, we can face our true hearts and see what we really want."
"Then we can talk about what comes next."
"Alright, just as you say." Then Lei Lei didn't give him a chance to back out. "For now, I'll stay in the side house of your courtyard. I just came from the front hall—Uncle Jiang arranged it. If you've got an issue, take it up with him."
"I'll go unpack my things."
With that, Lei Lei stood up and left the study. At the door, she glanced back at Jiang Zhe.
Jiang Zhe shook his head with a wry smile and got up to follow.
The two of them started organizing the side room together. Neither used any extraordinary power; they tidied up slowly, just like two ordinary people.
—
Not far from the Jiang family estate stood the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
In the upper loft of the church, a serene woman seated on a fur rug opened her eyes. A faint, pleased smile curved her lips.
"For love to go both ways, that's best. If fate didn't align, I'd have had to summon a group of girls from the clan..."
"Jiang Zhe, with your king-level combat power, you're already a pillar of the human race. With a naturally threefold life gene layer, even if your children don't inherit the full 'Conqueror' line, they'll be incredibly valuable for humanity."
Her expression darkened slightly. "One is probably too few. But I shouldn't meddle too much... Looks like I'll have to get his elders to convince him."
The Holy Spirit Queen's ethereal divine power spread out, sending a message to Jiang Zhe's grandfather.
—
"Eh-he-he-yo~ such joyous times~"
The old master of the Jiang family, who'd just settled Lei Lei into place, was in an excellent mood, wiping a copper incense burner while humming an old opera from before the Great Nirvana.
Suddenly his ears twitched, and he received the message. He instantly perked up.
His back no longer hunched, he tossed aside his cane and incense piece, transforming into a spirited little old man, eyes gleaming with excitement.
Though he still appeared aged, the old master had long cultivated to the cosmic level, stepping into the threshold of the Lightning Origin Law and even grasping a hint of the Water Origin. His elderly appearance was purely a personal hobby.
As for why the first and second generations of the Jiang family had such great cultivation talent?
Those nine portions of thunder essence nectar hadn't been drunk for nothing.
Everyone who consumed it had their genes altered to lightning origin energy, becoming exceptional at cultivating the Lightning Law.
"That was Little Zhe's teacher just now... never mind, not important." The old man paced the council hall, muttering, "I always knew, with that kind of promise as a boy, Little Zhe's bloodline had to be extraordinary!"
"The more I learn about the universe, the more disheartened I become. Even though we Earthlings have spiritual talents, our physical aptitudes are so poor. It's hard to comprehend the Origin Laws."
"These past two hundred years I've exhausted myself popularizing martial education, yet there's still no dawn of Earth rising among the universe's great races."
"No. I can't be the only one striving."
"That boy is effectively Earth's true ruler. He must contribute directly to our rise!"
"Arrange a marriage? No, that stiff lad wouldn't accept it. Push him too hard and he'd just run off—that's not worth it."
"He's an old fossil by now; no way he'd nurture feelings with a bunch of fledglings. I'll have to see if anyone from his own era is still around and suitable..."
"Little Lei niece, Uncle Lie apologizes. For Earth's future, your husband might have to... be put to work."
—
Through her divine perception, the Holy Spirit Queen saw Jiang Lie bustling about and nodded in satisfaction.
Then she emailed her teacher, the Sovereign of Dreamland.
"All is progressing smoothly on my end. Requesting a ten-year extension on the observation period before we issue the highest priority mission."
The reply came swiftly, only a single word: "Approved."
—
As newly minted fourth and fifth giants of the Qianwu Division, it was customary to hold a welcoming banquet for Jiang Zhe and Luo Feng in the real world, as a sign of respect for these two young domain lords.
But they had already returned to Earth, and the solar system couldn't accommodate too many outsiders. The pair also didn't want to make a fuss by teleporting to the Qianwu Core Star Sector.
So the three department ministers decided to hold the banquet in the virtual universe, on Qianwu Division's Amethyst Isle.
Jiang Zhe originally didn't plan to attend.
But while complaining to Lei Lei, she made a sharp point: "The Thunder Emperor Group is expanding in the Qianwu Universe Nation. It's bound to have dealings with the top three hundred lords of power."
Jiang Zhe thought it over and decided to give those three hundred lords some face and attend the banquet—standing up for the family business.
Even if he didn't care about the Thunder Emperor Group's profits, there was no need to sabotage it himself.
"Anna, you must have thought of this. Why didn't you remind me?"
"Master, since you dislike socializing, I saw no reason to trouble you. Even if they get upset and secretly try to trip up the Thunder Emperor Group, I can easily handle those petty tactics. No need to bother you."
Jiang Zhe shook his head with a laugh. "You... don't let it happen again. The world isn't just about fighting and killing; you have to understand human relationships too."
"But it really is annoying."
—
On the fifth day back on Earth, Jiang Zhe took a day to attend the banquet with Luo Feng, meeting the three hundred lords of the Qianwu Universe Nation, as well as many god-lords of mid-tier civilizations and heads of great families.
Only after the banquet did they truly have peace again.
Their main duty was now simply to wait for the company to assign them points missions.
As for routine monitoring tasks, Orianna took care of Luo Feng's share too.
She compiled a list of Qianwu personnel skirting the line of betrayal and anonymously sent it to the three ministers, letting them handle it quietly—without alerting headquarters.
The three marquises broke into cold sweats reading the emails.
Whose handiwork was this?
When they met up, they had some rough guesses.
Grateful yet terrified, they hurried to clean up their messes.
Only Black Abyss Marquis lingered.
Staring at a heavily flagged warning email, silent for a long time.
She recalled Jiang Zhe crushing fifty-two legion commanders in the War Hall to seize the throne. Her heart skipped.
Not out of some romantic crush—marquis-level experts were hardly so shallow.
She was thinking of clinging to a powerhouse.
Being a division head was lucrative, yes. But if offered a chance to become a vassal of a venerable one, what would you pick?
Wealth—or destiny?
The black-veiled girl clenched her fist.
It had been ages since she felt so conflicted.
"But with him being so unrestrained, flaunting his power... can he really grow smoothly?"
"Forget it. I'll watch a while longer."
"He still has to complete his points missions. I'll pay close attention. If he survives the assassination attempts by alien races... before the final stages of his top-priority missions, before he returns to Chaos City to seclude himself, I must decide!"
She let out a heavy sigh. "A gamble on future and fate. If he truly becomes like the Eclipse Palace Lord or the Fire Devour Venerable..."
—
Jiang Zhe, of course, had no clue how many fates were shifting because of him.
He was too busy feeling troubled by the two girls before him.
One was Lei Lei.
The other was a white-haired foreign woman, built like a sleek leopard.
Jiang Zhe drooped his eyelids. "Jolin, don't tell me you're here waiting for me too?"
He'd withdrawn his mental pressure with his special state of mind, appearing just like an ordinary man. It made it easier to be with family—and easier for this 'female hooligan.'
The white-haired girl was completely shameless, just like two hundred years ago. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, cheek rubbing affectionately against his.
"Little brother, don't be so conceited. It's true—ever since I met the outstanding you, other men just don't do it for me."
"I thought I'd just stay single, teaching at the Martial Hall... who knew? A few days ago, the hall master—your grandfather Jiang Lie—handed me the biggest pie of my life."
"Been single over two hundred years. If I didn't take a bite now, I'd be stupid."
"You folks in Hanxia have a saying... what was it... 'Met Yang Guo at Fengling Ferry, ruined the rest of my life'? For me it's—'Met Jiang Zhe at the War God Palace, ruined my whole damn life!'"
"Relax. Before coming, I already spoke with Lei Lei."
Jolin hugged him tighter, taking a deep breath of his scent. "Outstanding women of Earth are rare. Lei Lei and I were close friends before the Genius War. We won't make things hard for you."
"Uh..."
Jiang Zhe pushed away Jolin's restless face, prying her octopus-like limbs off. He looked at Lei Lei, calmly sipping tea nearby.
"You haven't even had me yet, and you're already sharing?"
Lei Lei was perfectly calm. "It's only a matter of time. With Uncle Jiang and the Holy Spirit Queen backing us, the cooked pork in the pot isn't about to fly away."
Jiang Zhe's eyes widened. "My teacher's been talking to you too?"
"Zhe, that's not important." Lei Lei shook her head lightly. "Twenty years ago my father told me about your burdens. I never planned to monopolize you. Better to pick a pleasant partner ahead of time. When you're not around, someone else can keep me company."
"Exactly, little brother. Don't worry. When you're off, I'll take good care of Lei Lei."
Jolin had just been pulled off Jiang Zhe, and already wrapped herself around Lei Lei.
Jiang Zhe: (ー`ー)
After greeting him, the two women left the study to tidy up their room.
Watching their backs, Jiang Zhe rubbed his head. Then rubbed it again.
Orianna spoke up: "Master, stop. There's nothing on your head."
Jiang Zhe: ...
"Anna, what's my grandfather up to lately?"
"He's going through Earth's list of outstanding talents, looking for unmarried women aged 100–200, pure in history and body, with exceptional aptitude... discreetly asking if they're open to marriage prospects."
Sounded normal—except one number stuck out.
"How old did you say?"
"100 to 200," Orianna replied. "He thinks you're a bit old-fashioned and traditional. You might not accept 'eating young grass.'"
Jiang Zhe nearly snorted air from his nose.
"Thank heavens my grandfather's conservative matchmaking still has a shred of bottom line! Otherwise, with me such an old fossil, such lousy conditions—if he'd found me some divorcée with two kids, I'd count myself lucky!"
He shot out of the courtyard like a blur, appearing in the council hall.
Using his threat to "run off immediately," he finally got the old man to drop his matchmaking spree.
But it wasn't over yet.
There was still the chief culprit.
Jiang Zhe, face dark, went to the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
He offered his teacher, the Holy Spirit Queen, a precious string of treasure beads—subtly reminding her of the "favor-for-favor" rule of the world. That made her back off, for now.
—
In the years that followed, Jiang Zhe's life on Earth finally quieted.
His Candlelight and Demon avatars stayed in his inner world, studying the Thunder God Codex, trying to fully grasp the Lightning Origin Law.
His silver-robed soul clone shared their senses, watching the Codex to comprehend the Earth Origin Law.
The Thunder God Codex was like the Chaos Monument, only far deeper—using the Way of Lightning to harness myriad laws. It didn't just hold lightning, but wind, light, five elements, space, time, even hints of fusion, destruction, life, chaos...
It all depended on how much you could perceive.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhe's true body researched secret arts to increase soul and body resonance, explored black hole creation concepts, pondered the mysteries of the soul—and so on.
---
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