Since the Starry Hall incident, Gu Qing had received no messages from Milton.
He didn’t ask.
He didn’t reach out.
It shouldn’t matter.
—Yet every time his lightpad vibrated, he couldn’t help but glance at it.
No messages. Always no messages.
The little Dao Spirit pounced into his mind with a slap, rolling and tumbling in sheer delight. “Whoa! You’re the military hotshot and recently became the savior of the sub-females—totally exuding big-boss vibes!” It spun in circles, flickering with light.
Gu Qing pinched the bridge of his nose, ignoring the commotion in his mind, and sat down to organize the aristocratic intelligence he had brought back from Starry Hall.
According to recent reports, a massive black-market auction was imminent. Aside from a batch of rare high-grade energy stones, there might even be exotic spiritual plants.
This was an opportunity.
But to participate, he needed money—a sum large enough to shake the black market.
From the intelligence he had gathered, there existed a special occupation in this world: mercenaries. Tasked with slaying dangerous beasts, they harvested crystal cores, materials, and special organs from the creatures in exchange for payment.
This suited his needs perfectly. He could earn money and, in the process, train the young male who had been so frail he looked like a stick.
He glanced at Ace Meier, practicing swordplay in the courtyard.
Since that rainy night, Ace had actively sought him out. Gu Qing had kept him nearby, putting him through intense foundational training. Over these days, the boy’s skin had taken on a light bronze, muscles beginning to show—no longer the weakling who collapsed at the slightest touch.
“Barely usable,” Gu Qing remarked, tone indifferent.
He then pulled out his lightpad, quickly sending a message to Loaes:
“I’ll disguise myself as a sub-female to handle something in the black market. Won’t stay long. Movements covert, no need to worry.”
During this time, Ace had been trained to the brink of questioning his own existence as a male. Before dawn each day, he ran, meditated, carried sandbags, practiced swordplay, and struck a wooden sword ten thousand times—none of it suitable for a normal male.
This wasn’t a male—it was a demon.
And on top of that, he had to clean, cook, and do laundry. Where was the dignity of being a male? Yet Gu Qing’s swordsmanship was terrifying, and his cooking was ridiculously good. Ace had intended to assert his male pride—but the first bite erased all thoughts of that.
What made Ace the most furious was one morning, Gu Qing woke him to help prepare a batch of cookies for visiting sub-females. Ace kneaded, rolled, and baked, eagerly anticipating tasting the fruits of his labor.
In the end, he didn’t get a single cookie. Gu Qing whisked them away to greet the guests, saying it was inappropriate to leave him inside.
Ace nearly exploded, muttering to himself:
“Wasted all that effort and then kicked out… am I just a kitchen backup robot?”
Despite his resentment, he couldn’t resist the magnetic aura Gu Qing exuded.
“Change clothes. Disguise yourself as a sub-female,” Gu Qing said suddenly, cutting through his thoughts.
“What?” Ace’s eyes widened. “You want me to… be a su—sub-female?” His voice cracked.
The boy gaped as Gu Qing subtly applied a technique. In a shimmer of light, his appearance transformed from a handsome, cool male to a stunning sub-female with blue hair, blue eyes, and a commanding presence—cold and detached.
Ace stared, speechless.
“What’s impossible about it? Disguising as a sub-female makes operations easier.”
“You… are you male or female now…?”
“You’re a sub-female now,” Gu Qing replied calmly. “From today, you’re Aisa, I’m Landai. We’re siblings.”
The little Dao Spirit rolled around in glee inside his mind:
“Ha ha ha! Love this trick! Double sub-female team, enter the stage!”
Ace changed into the new disguise, expressionless, and together they headed to the mercenary headquarters to register.
Watching Gu Qing fill out the form, writing in “Mission Target”—【Area A: Beast Elimination】—Ace almost threw the pen in disbelief.
“You’re insane!” he hissed. “Isn’t killing beasts the military’s job? They have starships, mechs! What do we have? That wooden sword to die with?!”
“We have life. That’s enough.”
Gu Qing ignored his protests, lifting him up and carrying him toward the ship.
“Hey! Put me down! I’m not feeding the beasts!!”
“Annoying,” Gu Qing said lazily. “Keep yelling and I’ll use you as bait.”
The little Dao Spirit wriggled behind, giggling:
“Yay~ Off we go~ Adventure on a desolate planet~!”
The ship landed at the edge of the barren planet, the overwhelming aura of beasts pressing down. Gu Qing tossed Ace a dagger:
“Use this. As bait.”
“You’re trying to kill me?!” Ace wailed.
“You survive, you learn,” Gu Qing’s voice remained unmoved.
Suddenly, an A-grade beast appeared. Its body as large as a small spacecraft, muscles bulging, eyes crimson, roar like thunder.
Ace fell backward, hands shaking, barely able to grip the dagger. His mind went blank.
—It’s over. I’m dead.
Gu Qing raised his hand. The ordinary wooden sword shimmered with spiritual energy, golden light flashing.
In that instant, a blade of pure brilliance cleaved the air. Descending from the heavens with unstoppable force, it sliced the beast clean in two from head to tail.
The creature collapsed instantly. The sword’s energy lingered, vibrating the air, yet Gu Qing remained calm, the wooden sword returned to normal, robes fluttering, not a drop of blood on them.
Ace froze.
He couldn’t read the expression in Gu Qing’s eyes, only felt a force that seemed to descend from the heavens themselves.
As if—
A god had appeared.
“Wooooooow! So handsome!! So cool!! Universe’s strongest and most cunning creature!! This sword—kills!!!” the little Dao Spirit screamed wildly inside Gu Qing’s mind, like a front-row fan.
In the following days, the beasts’ cries almost never ceased, and neither did Ace’s screams.
But when they returned to the mercenary guild with the massive reward in hand, the boy stared at the endless digits and momentarily forgot to scream.
“Let’s go. To the black market,” Gu Qing said, pocketing the money and patting his shoulder.
Ace nodded mechanically.
“Got my life back… and sold again…”
“No, look! You earned this! A life for all this money, totally worth it!” the Dao Spirit chimed in.
Ace shivered, realizing this black-market journey… was only just beginning.