Xia Qingyue stared at Grey silently, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.
For so inexplicable reason, she felt as though she had been deceived in broad daylight. Like the cherished daughter of a noble family being tricked into signing a marriage contract, only to lift the bridal veil and discover she had been handed over to a shaless swindler, smooth tongued and utterly without sha.
The more she thought about it, the more unsettling the feeling beca.
She could not really be blad.
Grey was simply not soone one could trust easily. Half the ti, it was impossible to tell whether he was being serious or joking. By the ti one realized the difference, it was usually too late.
After a long mont of rough consideration, she finally spoke.
"I accept."
"You do?" Grey smiled imdiately. "Then welco to the team, Senior Xia."
He paused, then waved his hands casually.
"I an, there isn’t really a team. But you get the point."
Xia Qingyue smiled faintly.
"But if I co with you, then the responsibility of restoring to my peak will fall on you," she said calmly.
"That was Evan’s duty before. He accepted it in exchange for becoming stronger."
She added after a brief pause, "Of course, I will still continue training Evan. He remains my disciple."
Hearing this, Grey simply shrugged.
"I’m fine with that."
He thought about it for a mont.
Helping her was the least he could do.
After all she had already done for him.
And after everything she would inevitably do for him in the future.
If anything, this was a fair exchange.
"Okay." Grey tilted his head slightly. "So do I use a Pokéball to catch you now?"
"A what...?" Xia Qingyue stared at him in silence.
Just what nonsense was this man spouting now?
"Nothing." Grey shook his head. "Then how are you planning to transfer yourself into the secret realm?"
Xia Qingyue’s expression turned more serious.
"When Evan first found , I was sealed within the Soul Nourishing Necklace I once possessed. That necklace was swept into this world alongside ."
She continued calmly, "The Soul Nourishing Necklace’s power has been steadily diminishing. It can no longer sustain for long. Until now, Evan has been hunting mutated beasts and extracting their essence to keep it functioning."
Grey listened carefully.
"The necklace is forged from Nine-Colored Soul Nourishing Jade," Xia Qingyue said. "One of the most sought-after treasures in the entire starry sky. Immortal cultivators and espers alike covet it. Without it, I would not still be alive."
Her voice remained steady, but the implication was heavy.
"It possesses the ability to nourish shattered souls and repair evolutionary injuries caused by forceful ascension through the ranks of evolution. Among the ancient monsters of the starry sky, especially evolutionary scholars who frequently change their evolutionary paths, this jade is considered priceless."
She paused briefly.
"There are only two known pieces of Nine-Colored Soul Nourishing Jade in the entire Starry Sky."
"One was discovered within a specific place you don’t need to know of for now."
"And the other," she said, "was found in the White Barred Spiral Galaxy."
Grey’s expression changed instantly.
"White Barred Spiral Galaxy?" His eyes sharpened. "Senior, does that galaxy have any other na?"
"No?" Xia Qingyue tilted her head slightly, confused. "Why do you ask?"
"Nothing." Grey shrugged lightly. "Forget it."
Outwardly, he appeared calm.
Internally, his thoughts stirred.
When he heard the words Barred Spiral Galaxy, his instincts reacted imdiately. In his previous life, Planet Earth had existed within a barred spiral galaxy.
The Milky Way.
But the universe was vast beyond imagination.
Barred spiral galaxies were classified that way because of the bar-like structure of stars cutting through their centers. There were countless such galaxies scattered across the cosmos.
That was why he had asked.
If the White Barred Spiral Galaxy had another na.
But apparently, it did not.
Grey pushed the thought aside.
It was clear now.
His original world existed in a completely different space ti continuum.
There was no way Earth could be found here.
"So where were we?" Grey asked, collecting his thoughts.
"The White Barred Spiral Galaxy," Xia Qingyue replied calmly. "The other piece was located in that galaxy."
Then she paused.
"However, the galaxy itself vanished overnight several hundred thousand years ago."
Her tone remained steady, as if she were stating a mundane historical fact.
"No one knows the reason. So believe a powerful evolver took it. Others believe it was destroyed. But until now, it has never been found."
"Huh...?" Grey’s lips twitched.
Soone stole it?
A galaxy?
What did that even an?
Was a galaxy sothing you could just pick up and take away?
What was this, a scooter?
For the first ti in a long while, Grey genuinely felt that the scale of this universe was beginning to exceed his expectations.
"Alright, enough about the Soul Nourishing Jade." Grey ca straight to the point. "I just need to supply you with secret realm energy, right?"
"Yes," Xia Qingyue replied, then shook her head lightly. "But what would truly help isn’t secret realm energy alone."
She looked at him calmly.
"What I need most is Soul Nurturing Grass. It is a treasure nurtured and blessed by the Heavenly Dao itself. If I can obtain a sufficient quantity, I can without doubt reconnect to my origin source and reforge my body, directly returning to the fifth rank."
"Soul Nurturing Grass?" Grey frowned slightly. "Never heard of it."
"It actually exists here," Xia Qingyue said. "Evan asked around the Evolver Association. According to them, large quantities of Soul Nurturing Grass can be found in the floating cities."
"Interesting." Grey grew thoughtful.
He had almost forgotten about the Evolver Association.
Once upon a ti, they had looked like an untouchable behemoth to him, an organization that held absolute authority over evolvers in the region. Back then, he had even believed them to be the most influential force in the southern region.
Now, he knew better.
In the southern region, a place the Federation barely cared about, the Evolver Association held significance only in third rate cities. Beyond that, their influence was negligible.
The rest of the region consisted of second rate cities and provinces.
As for first rate, there was not a single first rate city here.
The reason was simple.
There was no third rank powerhouse at the first level to anchor one.
That aside, the Evolver Association had been making moves from the shadows.
They had been attempting to contact the Federation, sending ssages about Grey’s activities and his gradual takeover of the southern region.
Unfortunately for them, those ssages never arrived.
Grey’s trusted AI assistant, Eterna, had intercepted everything. Emails, calls, encrypted transmissions. All of it had been quietly rerouted and erased before it could reach the Federation’s notice.
As for the Golden Chamber, Grey was less certain.
That organization had ties to a powerful fourth ranker. And antagonizing a fourth rank existence was the last thing he wanted to do at this stage. As long as they continued their trade peacefully, he had no intention of interfering.
Still, there was an unavoidable problem.
rchants could not stay in the southern region forever. When they left to restock elsewhere, information would leak. No matter how tight their mouths were, news of his conquest would spread eventually.
Not that Grey cared.
With his evolutionary path stabilized, his focus had shifted completely.
Grow stronger.
He would not stop until he stepped directly into the third rank in a single breakthrough. If he entered seclusion again, he intended to erge only as a third ranker.
Of course, the essence and foundational stability required for transformation remained an issue.
But that was solvable.
He also had Lia’s endless potential physique to study.
If his judgnt was correct, he should be able to comprehend it soon enough.
And once that happened.
Everything else would fall into place.
He just needed to figure out a way to advance through levels quickly without putting a hole into foundation.
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