Chapter 127: A shameful request
The fortune thief cannot directly harm the child of destiny, as such actions would inevitably attract the attention of the Plane Maintenance Department. Instead, they must manipulate the plane's native inhabitants to alter the child of destiny's fate, orchestrating their demise from behind the scenes.
Following this line of reasoning, the identity of this fortune thief in the plane became crystal clear: it was the mysterious special psychic who prophesied that Zhou Yiheng would die during his advancement to the Heaven-tier.
During the background investigation of the client, the staff from the Soul Purification Department did not detect anything unusual. This was not surprising, as incidents where the child of destiny dies prematurely due to various coincidences are not uncommon.
When staff from the Soul Purification Department or the Destiny Department's Counterattack Division carry out missions in parallel planes, the butterfly effect sometimes results in altered fates for the children of destiny. However, in such cases, luck always returns to the Way of Heaven, and after a cycle, a new child of destiny is chosen.
This prophet borrowed the Zhou family's hand to directly steal the Martial Artist's heart of Zhou Yiheng, the original child of destiny. The subsequent events were also probably a result of the prophet adding fuel to the fire, ultimately leading to Zhou Yiheng's death.
The fortune thief went to such lengths to ensure Zhou Yiheng's death for a reason. The child of destiny is favored by the Way of Heaven, and is destined to win success and recognition, admired by all. The further their death diverges from this intended path, the more luck the fortune thief seizes.
In other words, the fortune thief's goal isn't just to kill the child of destiny but to ensure their death is as tragic and humiliating as possible to maximize their gains.
So it seemed that the Zhou family or the fortune thief had not discovered his true identity. This mysterious figure had painstakingly supported Zhou Yishu's resurgence, likely as part of a plan to suppress Zhou Yiheng's luck. Zhou Yishu got Zhou Yiheng's talent, and only if his luck was strong could the fortune thief ensure that Zhou Yiheng was completely trampled into the mud.
A greedy person is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Since this fortune thief was so insatiable that stealing from one plane wasn't enough, Lu Heng would do his duty as an official of the Underworld Department and send them to the 18th level of Hell for a few centuries of reflection.
Now the question is how Little Assistant's report is coming along. For such a special case, the Maintenance Department's response should be swift. Sure enough, just as Lu Heng was thinking about this, Little Assistant appeared.
[No. 666, a response has arrived from the Plane Maintenance Department.]
[What does it say? When are they sending someone over to confirm the situation?]
[Reply: After system analysis, it has been confirmed that this plane's data is abnormal. Aside from No. 666 from the Soul Purification Department, there are two other foreign souls present. One is already registered in the system, while the other is an unauthorized intruder. The energy tolerance of this plane has reached its critical threshold, and sending personnel from our department will result in plane collapse. After an urgent discussion at the top level, it has been decided that No. 666 should find a way to provoke the defector into using energy that does not belong to this world. Our department will use that energy signature to directly open a retrieval portal and apprehend the defector.]
After hearing Little Assistant read out the Plane Maintenance Department's reply, Lu Heng was at a loss for words.
The excuse that the plane couldn't withstand additional presence due to energy constraints? To Lu Heng, it sounded like nothing more than an excuse for the Maintenance Department to be lazy. This was a high-level plane—how can the energy of just three foreign souls be too much to bear?
If one of those foreign souls truly possessed overwhelming energy, it could only be the defector. So provoking the defector into acting was just courting death! Left with no better option, Lu Heng instructed Little Assistant to report this special situation to the department head, hoping that chief daren would negotiate with the Maintenance Department.
Chief daren's reply came even faster than the last.
[No. 666, be bold. Don't hesitate to act. Rest assured, your safety is fully guaranteed.]
With his own department head giving such a perfunctory answer, Lu Heng had no choice but to take it one step at a time.
Lu Heng came back to his senses and saw that the battle between Zhou Yishu and Gu Fourteen was in full swing.
Gu Fourteen's strength was far from weak. As one of the rising stars of the Gu family’s new generation, he was no mere paper tiger.
Pre-match predictions from underground betting circles pegged the odds as a fifty-fifty toss-up between Gu Fourteen and Zhou Yishu.
However, the current situation on the battlefield was tilting heavily in Zhou Yishu's favor. His momentum was unstoppable. Though Gu Fourteen was still holding his ground, his decline was evident, as he hadn't managed to mount any significant counterattack for quite some time.
From the lounge, Lu Heng could see it all clearly. Gu Fourteen's underwhelming performance wasn't solely due to Zhou Yishu's brilliant techniques. The deciding factor lay in Zhou Yishu's thought power, which was several times that of Gu Fourteen's.
It seemed the exponential increase in attention during the finals of the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference had greatly benefited Zhou Yishu. His strength had skyrocketed, to the point where even spear techniques reserved for the Earth-tier and above were executed flawlessly in this fight.
In the end, Zhou Yishu delivered a thunderous, decisive strike. With absolute dominance, he disarmed Gu Fourteen, sending his weapon flying, and pointed his spear directly at Gu Fourteen's throat.
"The match is decided," came the voice of Junlin, who once again appeared in the arena.
Seeing the person he admired most appear so close to him, Zhou Yishu held his breath in excitement.
He eagerly anticipated what was about to happen. In the previous match, after declaring the winner, Junlin had not only raised EternalMoon's hand in victory but also embraced him as a gesture of celebration.
It was true that some referees had a habit of congratulating winners with a hug, but no one had expected the incomparably indifferent Junlin to show such care and encouragement toward the novice juniors.
Zhou Yishu's hand was raised by Junlin. Overcome with excitement, Zhou Yishu failed to notice that Junlin was only holding the edge of his sleeve, not actually touching him.
"The winner is Zhou Yishu," Junlin announced before promptly letting go of Zhou Yishu's hand.
Zhou Yishu raised his arms slightly, gazing at Junlin with an expectant expression. However, Junlin stared straight ahead, seemingly totally oblivious to Zhou Yishu's action.
The atmosphere was very awkward for a while.
Off to the side, Gu Fourteen keenly sensed that his Little Great Uncle was already growing impatient and wanted to leave the stage. He had no idea what Zhou Yishu was doing, standing there like a fool. Taking a step forward, Gu Fourteen grabbed Zhou Yishu's hand and gave it a quick shake.
"Congratulations on your victory," he said and promptly released Zhou Yishu's hand. He was genuinely worried that if he delayed for another second, he might run an extra 100 kilometers during the next training camp.
With the formalities completed, Junlin turned and left the arena without hesitation.
EternalMoon, Zhou Yishu silently repeated the name, his smile masking the gnashing of his teeth. Why does even Lord Junlin show special regard for that person! In the finals, I'll crush that person into the dust in the end and show Lord Junlin that I am the most promising Martial Artist of the new generation.
And thus, the two semifinal matches of the rookie group in the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference came to a close.
Compared to the one-sided dominance of the latter match, the desperate counterattack between EternalMoon and Gu Thirteen was undoubtedly more interesting. Whether it was Gu Thirteen's impeccable defense or EternalMoon's relentless offensive tactics, every replay left the audience's blood boiling with excitement.
From the moment EternalMoon forcefully shattered Gu Thirteen's shield to Gu Thirteen's perfectly timed counterstrike, and finally to EternalMoon's breathtaking dodge and dramatic turning defeat into victory—every scene was nothing short of spectacular.
The official organizers of the National Ancient Martial Arts Exchange Conference clipped this final sequence into a short highlight reel and prominently featured it on the tournament's homepage, where it played repeatedly.
The vast majority of viewers agreed that this was a phenomenal match destined to go down in the tournament's history. However, in contrast, almost no one believed EternalMoon stood a chance in the upcoming finals.
The reason was simple: EternalMoon's psychic weapon had been destroyed. While a psychic weapon could be recondensed after being destroyed, doing so would consume the Martial Artist's entire reserve of thought energy. With only five days until the finals, there was simply not enough time for EternalMoon to recover.
Analyses from various experts and seasoned enthusiasts highlighted Zhou Yishu's exceptionally deep thought energy reserves, far exceeding the level of a typical Yellow-tier novice. This put EternalMoon at even more of a disadvantage. All Zhou Yishu needed to do was withstand EternalMoon's flurry of powerful attacks.
In that case, EternalMoon would undoubtedly lose. Judging from Zhou Yishu's performance in the semifinals—marked by refined techniques and a solid foundation—enduring one wave of strong attacks would be no problem at all.
As for all this pre-match speculation circulating online, the people involved didn't care much.
Gu Lingjun, however, was unhappy. Very unhappy.
A heretical cult had emerged online, who were, unsurprisingly, EternalMoon's CP fans. But this time, the other party in the pairing wasn't SovereignGu—it was Gu Thirteen.
These heretics had the audacity to create a new subforum directly under Idol's main section called Moon-Three[1] Ship.
Gu Lingjun clicked into it casually, but after just a quick glance, he almost crushed his phone in rage. Pinned to the top of the subforum was a massive image from the semifinals: EternalMoon grabbing Gu Thirteen by the throat and pinning him to the ground.
When Lu Heng walked into Gu Lingjun's house, he immediately noticed him sitting stiffly on the couch, staring at his phone with an unmistakably foul mood. Lu Heng even thought he could see a dark aura radiating from Gu Lingjun.
"What are you looking at that's got you so upset?" Lu Heng asked, sitting down beside him on the sofa.
Gu Lingjun said nothing and simply handed over his phone.
The moment Lu Heng saw the screen, he felt completely at a loss for words.
The Unspeakable Things Between EternalMoon and His Little Wolfdog Gu Thirteen? What's this nonsense?
A cursory glance at the content revealed it was filled with ridiculous, indecent drivel. No wonder the dark aura on Gu Lingjun's face was practically ready to manifest as a physical entity!
Lu Heng sighed and patted Gu Lingjun's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him: "It's just netizens entertaining themselves. Give it a few days, and the hype will die down."
Without saying a word, Gu Lingjun took back his phone and began making a call.
Lu Heng glanced at the screen out of curiosity and found that the call was to Gu family's Third Brother. A bad feeling immediately crept into his mind. "Why are you calling your third brother?"
"To buy the platform and delete the posts," Gu Lingjun replied, raising his hand to press the call button.
Lu Heng, quick as lightning, snatched the phone away: "Don't go full domineering CEO over something like this! It doesn't suit you."
"But I'm so angry..." Gu Lingjun started, his words trailing off as they were silenced by the tangle of lips and teeth.
A one-kiss KO.
"Why bother caring about all this? I'll reach the Heaven-tier as soon as possible, and then I'll stand beside you for everyone to see." Lu Heng straddled Gu Lingjun's lap, gently caressing his face.
"Mhm," Gu Lingjun murmured, the corners of his lips curling up slightly into a rare smile.
After soothing his man's mood, Lu Heng turned his attention back to business. He had come to see Gu Lingjun for a reason: to prepare for the upcoming finals.
After learning of the existence of the fortune thief, Lu Heng knew he needed to be extra cautious when dealing with Zhou Yishu to avoid any unexpected mishaps.
Fortunately, the high praise his semifinal match had garnered online brought him a significant influx of thought energy. So he decided to use this opportunity to fully unblock his Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart.
Lu Heng had cleared five of his heart's apertures during this period, leaving only the last two. However, these remaining apertures were the most severely blocked and the hardest to clear.
Determined to ensure total dominance over Zhou Yishu in the finals, Lu Heng resolved to take the risk. Once the seven apertures were fully unblocked, his currently imperfectly running thought energy cycle would become flawlessly smooth, and his control over this body would become perfect.
In the two days following the semifinals, Lu Heng had accumulated enough thought energy in his body to break through the last two blockages. But this was not just a simple matter of clearing the blockages.
When the final blockage was cleared, the stored thought energy would flood out like a dam bursting. At that moment, a strong and pure thought power was required to guide this chaotic energy into proper circulation. Without this guidance, his thought energy cycle could collapse under the impact of the sudden, disordered surge.
For such a pure and continuous source of thought power, Lu Heng naturally thought of Gu Lingjun.
However, asking for this kind of help was actually very shameful. Lu Heng had to take a deep breath and mentally prepare himself for a long time before voicing the request.
"I'm going to attack my final two blockages, and I'll need a steady stream of pure thought power. So, while I'm channeling my energy to clear the apertures, could you keep looking at me?" Lu Heng said, pausing for a moment before adding, "The kind of look that's full of emotion."
"Alright." Gu Lingjun agreed without hesitation.
Once everything was prepared, Lu Heng sat cross-legged on the balcony where Gu Lingjun practiced daily.
"I'm starting now," he said to Gu Lingjun before closing his eyes.
What he did not expect was to feel a certain someone sit down behind him immediately after. Then, a wave of warmth spread across his back as he was pulled into an embrace.
Lu Heng's current body, still transitioning between adolescence and adulthood, was no match for the already adult Gu Lingjun's tall and sturdy frame. The moment Gu Lingjun wrapped his arms around him from behind, he practically engulfed Lu Heng entirely in his embrace.
"I'll perform even better in this position," Gu Lingjun murmured in a low voice in Lu Heng's ear.
Fine, whatever floats your boat, Lu Heng thought. He calmed his mind, turned his focus inward to his dantian, and began guiding his thought energy to break through the blocked apertures.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Moonlight bathed the balcony, illuminating the two figures entwined so closely they seemed to merge into one.
The handsome boy sat cross-legged in deep meditation, his expression intensely focused as he entered a state of complete harmony with his surroundings[2], oblivious to the outside world.
Behind him, the handsome young man held him, just as he promised. For hours, he gazed at the person in his arms with eyes brimming with love, never straying even for a single second.
"It's done."
Lu Heng opened his eyes, lifting his hands, palms up. A pair of sharp-edged scimitars began to form in midair before descending gently into his palms.
At long last, the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Heart in Lu Heng's body had returned to its proper state.
[1] 月 三: Moon from EternalMoon and Three from Shisan(ten three) i.e. Thirteen.
[2] 天人合一: oneness of heaven and humanity. Heaven and Man are one (an ancient Chinese philosophical concept), the theory that man is an integral part of nature.
Translator:
Shy baby Ah Heng, this is not a shameful request... be bolder~
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