Chapter 83 — TVF Chapter 83

Dog-Blooded Love Story 6

Xuan Qing sat in a rocking chair by the floor-to-ceiling window, holding his tablet, watching cooking videos to learn new recipes. Sunlight drifted over him, casting a soft halo around his entire figure.

Given everything Xuan Qing had done before, calling him a saint would not be an exaggeration. Ling Jing sighed. “You, the Main antagonist, even when you were losing your mind, still held onto the idea that every wrong has its culprit. I get the feeling that, on my side, whether my male lead and female lead are reborn or not, they’ll end up blackened…”

There was a lot behind those words. Qin Jingzhou said, “I’d love to hear more.”

“Boss, have you noticed this? There’s a terrible tendency in this world, they love to sacrifice their Fate’s Son.” It was her first time making such a report, and Ling Jing seemed a bit unpracticed, needing to sort out her thoughts as she explained, “The purpose of the World Will in raising its Fate’s Son is either so they can save the world at a critical moment, or achieve some breakthrough in one or several fields that will deeply influence the world. No matter how desperate for self-preservation the World Will gets, it shouldn’t treat its chosen Fate’s Son as a consumable. The genius who researched the Sealing Array and eventually volunteered to enter the Main coffin must have been a Fate’s Son as well.”

Ling Jing really struck the heart of the matter.

Qin Jingzhou agreed wholeheartedly. “You can’t say those who are willing to sacrifice themselves aren’t great, but making a habit of sacrificing oneself, especially the Fate’s Son, just to keep things going… that’s not a healthy habit.”

Ling Jing nodded earnestly. “Right, it’s as ridiculous as sending Von Neumann to the battlefield… Boss, originally my mission was to liberate the male and female leads, physically set them free. Just now, my System notified me that they’ve experienced Rebirth on my side, so my mission has been refreshed: either liberate them or guide them properly.” After she spoke, she pressed her palms together and pleaded sincerely, “Boss, do me a favor. Please don’t just squash them the instant you see them.”

After learning the truth, the main couple on Ling Jing’s side simply thought “forget it, let’s just destroy everything together.” Now, after their Rebirth, maybe they’d think differently and cherish life more.

Since Von Neumann had been mentioned, even if Ling Jing wasn’t from his hometown, she hailed from a parallel world very similar to his. Not only was Qin Jingzhou willing to “do her this favor,” he was actually happy to help.

“No problem.”

That evening, Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing couldn’t help but compliment the old duck soup Xuan Qing had simmered all afternoon.

Xuan Qing couldn’t keep the corners of his mouth from lifting high while eating that meal.

After they were full, Xuan Qing said, “Dad, the head of the Extraordinaries’ Administration just notified me. All Spiritual coffins are now emptied, the Energy-Sealing Array is running well, and they’ll assign people to stand guard and study it carefully.”

Ling Jing smiled, cupping her mug. “My Masters remind me twice a day to make sure I keep you happy.”

Qin Jingzhou replied lightly, “It’s fine as long as they realize I find them lacking.”

Over the past half month, the Extraordinaries have convened meeting after meeting, including those who had escaped their Spiritual coffins.

By now, everyone had reached a consensus: Master Ying could be relied on. No matter how aloof or harsh, he wouldn’t sit by and watch his homeland perish.

The sections of each household legacy relating to the Divine Transformation Stage were vague at best, but they all agreed that the minimum lifespan for one at Divine Transformation was eight hundred years.

Looking on the bright side, as long as Master Ying was alive, the world itself was safe… Supreme-grade spiritual stone was rare, but each family had a little bit stashed away. Pulling their stock together would likely be enough.

Even if things went badly, it was clear: no one present would outlive Old Master Ying anyway, so if all the Supreme-grade spiritual stone was used up, they could always go back to how things were before—just throwing their lives at the problem.

The consensus came quickly: as long as the world could continue, even the offspring and grandchildren would finish their natural lives. Survival was no longer the issue. The truly important question now was how to win Master Ying’s goodwill.

Those who’d met the master added their own stories. They agreed that while he never made things difficult, he was clearly not interested in dealing with them… and it was all because of what happened with Xuan Qing.

One of the three Nascent Soul cultivators, Gu Jing from Hua Country, spoke up. “The old master is probably still angry. All we do is butter him up, and that’s just sycophantic. I don’t think he’s angry just because Xuan Qing volunteered for the Main coffin. What bothers him most is that after Yuan Lingmei’s accident, some in our circle tried to cover it all up for the so-called greater good. Put yourself in Xuan Qing’s shoes: it’s bad enough being sacrificed, but he also had to be wronged. If we want to win favor, our first priority should be compensating Xuan Qing.”

The other two Nascent Soul-level Extraordinaries—a legendary mage from the southern hemisphere and the Western pope—both nodded in agreement.

There was something else Gu Jing didn’t spell out: deep down, Xuan Qing was an easy kid, much easier to persuade than Master Ying. As long as Xuan Qing let the past go, Master Ying’s anger would vanish too.

Gu Jing let the crowd stew for a moment, then added with a laugh, “My grandson says the master loves kids.” He turned to the elegant, middle-aged man beside him. “And the master seems to have a particular fondness for that little girl from your family.”

The middle-aged man chuckled, pride coloring his tone. “I never expected that child would catch the master’s eye.”

That’s right—Gu Jing was none other than Gu Lingfan’s actual grandfather.

It was just that Gu Lingfan’s father had refused all arranged marriages, running off with an ordinary woman instead. Gu Jing wasn’t one to cling to old traditions; if his son refused political marriages and had his own ideas, what harm could come? So he just let his son have his way.

Only when Gu Lingfan spoke up did his father and grandfather reconnect, and their relationship softened. Still, they didn’t live together. Gu Lingfan’s parents kept their pride, never once using Gu Jing’s connections.

If Gu Lingfan weren’t Gu Jing's actual grandson, just the incident where he and Yuan Lingyi trespassed into the Sealing Array should have earned them severe punishment, at least a stint in solitary confinement—yet they got away with just a handful of questions before being set free.

The middle-aged man was also the sect master of Ling Jing’s sect in this world, and incidentally her quasi-uncle.

Even Gu Jing, for all his status as “grandson’s girlfriend Yuan Lingyi and Xuan Qing’s girlfriend Yuan Lingmei being twin sisters,” only managed a connection with Master Ying through a technicality. Unlike this man—his sect produced a girl the old master truly favored, which naturally filled him with pride.

The other Extraordinaries could only be quietly envious.

No matter what they thought, there was no disagreement over compensating Xuan Qing—not even from the Legendary Mage or the Pope, both of whom Xuan Qing had injured.

Even without mentioning Xuan Qing’s newly-revealed “descended from the heavens” father, anyone who’d worked so diligently for years as the Main coffin deserved compensation.

Afterwards, Gu Jing returned to his residence. His grandson, Ye Lingtian, greeted him with tea and got straight to the point, “Grandpa, how did the negotiation go?”

Gu Jing took a cup from his grandson’s tray. “How could it go? The first step is to pacify Xuan Qing.”

Ye Lingtian nodded, “So the pressure’s all on Zhong Dewen and Xuan Helin now.”

Ye Lingtian had only been reborn for less than a day.

Most of that day, he was in shock: in his previous life he'd stayed lucid till the end, watching helplessly as the world was devoured by negative energy from the other realm.

Once he’d managed to shake off all those terrible memories, he was even more shaken: in his last life, there had been no Ying Jingzhou! At this point in time, Xuan Qing should have been utterly destroyed by Gu Lingfan and Yuan Lingyi!

Ye Lingtian spent half a day doubting himself over this.

He’d been tormented by doubt, pain, confusion, and regret his first time around, making one mistake after another. Self-loathing grew until at last he decided, “If I stop struggling, we’ll all perish together.” He kept telling himself the ending was inevitable, so what did it matter if he died sooner or later? But inside, regret never quite let go.

Now, a heaven-sent, everything was different… He had to face the truth: the reason things turned out so badly last time was simply that he was weak, or more precisely, that every Extraordinary in this world was weak. Master Ying’s disdain was entirely justified.

But could that really be their fault? Nearly all their resources, time, and even lives had been bet on the Sealing Array!

So Ye Lingtian had plenty of complaints about Ying Jingzhou, but after seeing the suspended Energy-Sealing Array for himself, even as a mid-stage Nascent Soul last time, he couldn't help but be resentful… but he'd never dare show the slightest hint of it in front of Ying Jingzhou.

He still wasn’t forgetful enough to not warn his grandfather: “Things might be fine for a few hundred years, but there’s no telling what Zhong Dewen and Xuan Helin might be plotting.”

Gu Jing had thought the same thing. “I’ll keep a close eye on them.”

Ye Lingtian poured himself a cup of tea as well. “Grandpa, is Xiaofan still refusing to come home?” In their previous life, Gu Lingfan had died at his hands. Now, with no need for brothers to become enemies, Ye Lingtian wished to make amends if possible.

Gu Jing shook his head. “He and his girlfriend have been immersed in studying the Energy-Sealing Array lately.”

Ye Lingtian grinned. “A boy-girl study partnership really does make learning easier.”

Seizing the chance, Gu Jing asked, “What about your girlfriend?”

Ye Lingtian thought of the girlfriend who’d stuck by him in his last life, only for misfortune to always chase him, and grew a bit despondent. “I’ll talk to her later.”

Gu Jing let the matter drop.

Meanwhile, the Sealing Array had now been completely deactivated, and with the Energy-Sealing Array floating within the mountain having been opened for study, the vast mountain’s interior had the feel of a packed stadium.

Thank heavens the Extraordinaries could communicate telepathically, or the place would be deafening… Suddenly, all those inside the mountain felt a piercing pain at their brow, and every Foundation Establishment-stage Extraordinary immediately fainted.

The remaining Golden Core-stage Extraordinaries were paralyzed with horror, forced to watch as the two Spiritual coffins flanking the Main coffin of the Sealing Array quietly crumbled into ash. A pitch-black mass—something born of a haphazard collection of Soul Fragments—contorted and screamed… and struck the Energy-Sealing Array a blow…

The Array trembled faintly.

The few remaining conscious Golden Core cultivators had blood seeping from their eyes. Many of them, desperate to intervene, went so far as to burn their own Golden Cores in a doomed effort to break free and stop whatever-this-was.

But they never got the chance. That shadowy lump swatted the Energy-Sealing Array once again.

This time the Array didn’t shake, only glimmering as it sent news of the incident to its creator.

Qin Jingzhou was gaming with Ling Jing and Xuan Qing at that moment when a small mechanism on the Array was triggered and beamed the scene directly to him.

Ling Jing and Xuan Qing saw it too.

The mass hammering the Energy-Sealing Array kept twisting. The human face that flashed through it most often… Xuan Qing would remember it for life. “That’s my younger brother. I knew it. With my stepfather and biological mother, they would never really eliminate any threat right in front of me.”

Qin Jingzhou patted his son on the shoulder. “A real genius, aren’t you?”