In the western suburbs of Jingzhou, there was a government guesthouse closed to the public.
The furnishings inside were simple, even somewhat dated.
Lin Yuan sat on an old wooden sofa.
Across from him sat Elder Qian.
This was the same Elder Qian—one of the founding figures of Xia Country's aerospace industry—who had personally named the alliance "Sky Path."
Elder Qian poured Lin Yuan a cup of tea.
The tea was ordinary, the kind of coarse-leaf tea commonly served in guesthouses.
"Little Lin, nervous?" Elder Wu asked with a smile.
"A little," Lin Yuan answered honestly.
He was still wearing his work uniform from Expedition Technology, dust still clinging to him.
He hadn’t even had time to go home after returning from the launch site.
"No need to be nervous," Elder Wu said.
"Standing behind you is Lu Chenyuan. That young man never misjudges people."
"We old-timers used to think commercial companies were only in it for profit."
"But Lu Chenyuan showed us another possibility."
Elder Qian pulled a document from a kraft paper envelope.
"This is a strategic cooperation memorandum."
"The specific terms will be negotiated later by a dedicated team."
"Today, we’re just settling the 'official status.'"
"From this day forward, the Sky Path Alliance will be the official supplier and deep partner of our nation’s aerospace program."
Elder Qian slid the document toward Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan looked at the paper. He recognized every word on it.
Yet each one felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
He picked up a pen and solemnly signed his name.
Then, Elder Qian did the same.
No reporters. No flashing cameras.
Just a simple, firm handshake between two men representing different paths for Xia Country’s aerospace future.
Elder Qian looked at Lin Yuan.
"Go back and tell Lu Chenyuan."
"The nation has built the stage. It’s your turn to perform."
"Make sure this performance is flawless."
That night, at the penthouse of Cloud Peak One.
The main lights in the living room were off.
Only the glow of the city spilled in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
A late-night financial program played on the TV.
In the scrolling ticker at the bottom of the screen, a brief message flashed by:
"Reports indicate that multiple member companies of the 'Sky Path Alliance' have officially entered the supply chain system of the 'Moon Goddess' program..."
The news was short, drowned in the endless stream of information.
Like a pebble dropped into the ocean.
Mo Qingli leaned back on the sofa, watching the message.
A pair of strong arms gently wrapped around her from behind.
Lu Chenyuan rested his chin on her shoulder.
"It’s over," Mo Qingli murmured.
"No," Lu Chenyuan replied, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"It’s only just begun."
Mo Qingli turned her head to look at him.
His eyes held no triumphant pride, only a quiet relief.
"What’s next for you?" she asked.
"Retirement," Lu Chenyuan answered.
Mo Qingli blinked.
"Retirement? Really?"
"Mm." He held her as they walked to the window.
Below them, the city lights glittered.
"The road is built."
"Time to let professional drivers take the wheel."
Mo Qingli studied him in silence.
"Alright," she said softly.
"I’ll be with you."
A week later.
Expedition Technology’s executive meeting.
Lin Yuan was presenting the next phase of the launch plan and technical optimizations.
Everyone listened intently.
Lu Chenyuan sat at the head of the table.
But he didn’t say a word the entire time.
He simply watched—Lin Yuan, Zhou Mingyuan, Li Mo, the team he had built, now running like a well-oiled machine.
As the meeting ended and everyone prepared to leave, Lu Chenyuan finally spoke.
"Wait."
All movement ceased. Eyes turned to him, expecting some crucial strategic directive.
Lu Chenyuan smiled.
He looked at Lin Yuan.
"Lin Yuan."
"Boss Lu." Lin Yuan immediately straightened.
"Starting today, the daily operations of Expedition Technology—and the entire Sky Path Alliance—are yours."
Lu Chenyuan said it as casually as discussing the weather.
The room fell dead silent.
Everyone froze.
Lin Yuan’s mind went blank.
"Old Lu, I—"
"I trust you." Lu Chenyuan stood and clapped Lin Yuan’s shoulder.
Then, he scanned the room, his expression relaxed.
"This roadbuilder’s job is done."
"Time to clock out and go home to my wife and kid."
Without waiting for reactions, he walked straight out of the meeting room.
Leaving behind a room full of stunned faces.
Lin Yuan stood there for a long moment before finally exhaling slowly.
4:30 PM.
Outside Jingzhou First Kindergarten.
A black "Boundless" sedan sat quietly by the curb, no different from the other parents’ cars.
Lu Chenyuan leaned against the door.
He’d swapped his formal attire for simple chinos and a white shirt.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the pavement.
His gaze lingered on the kindergarten gates, a gentle smile on his face.
Many parents stole curious glances at the strikingly handsome man.
Ding-ding-ding!
The bell rang.
The gates swung open.
A flood of tiny uniformed figures came rushing out, chattering like excited sparrows.
Lu Chenyuan spotted his son instantly.
Lu Shi'an, with his little dinosaur backpack, was the fastest.
"Dad!"
He barreled into Lu Chenyuan’s arms like a cannonball.
Lu Chenyuan lifted him high.
"Were you good at school today?"
"Very good!" Lu Shi'an declared.
"Teacher even praised me!"
"Oh? What reward does An’an want?"
"Mom’s strawberry cake!"
"Deal." Lu Chenyuan chuckled, setting him down and taking his small hand.
"Let’s go home to Mom."
Two figures—one tall, one small—walked toward the black car.
Their shadows stretched long in the sunset.
In this moment, he wasn’t Lu Chenyuan, the man who reshaped an era.
He was just an ordinary father, picking up his son from school.
Back at Cloud Peak One.
Mo Qingli had indeed prepared strawberry cake.
Lu Shi'an cheered and dove for it.
Lu Chenyuan wrapped his arms around Mo Qingli from behind as she watched their son eat.
"Really letting go of everything?" she asked.
"Mm."
"What’s next?"
"Something more important." Lu Chenyuan’s gaze drifted into the distance.
"Like starting a foundation."
"Funding purely theoretical research—the kind that might take ten, twenty, even a hundred years to bear fruit."
"Ruo Xi’s mathematics."
"Chen Xiao’s life sciences."
"Commerce solves efficiency problems, but not fundamental ones."
"I want to plant seeds for a much farther future."
Mo Qingli turned to face him.
"Good." She rose on her toes and kissed him.
"This time, I'll be your first investor."
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
