Chapter 1 Good Heavens, Su Zhou Said That He'd Treat Everyone When They Arrived in the Divine Wood World! So That's What He Meant!

Shao Qiming, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but rub his temples. He knew that Su Zhou didn't have any money in this world, so how could he treat everyone? It turned out that he had been planning to freeload off the world's acquaintances and wealthy locals from the very beginning. Since he was the reason for the treat, rounding things up, it was equivalent to him treating everyone. That was probably Su Zhou's logic.

As expected of Su Zhou!

Of course, what concerned him the most was not this point, but the entire 'Divine Wood World' itself.

"Interesting. This world is very interesting."

Thinking this, Shao Qiming, sitting in his chair, thoughtfully activated his proxy terminal and began recording information: "This is a 'True Qi route' that is completely different from Earth's technological route, using True Qi as the main power source."

"The foundation of this route is universal martial arts. The most basic source of power for the entire society is the people themselves. A person's cultivation level determines their standard of living—just like the True Qi mobility devices before. The higher the level of the True Qi mobility device, the faster it is, the more spiritual energy it consumes, and the more popular it is. Similarly, I've also noticed that there aren't even any electrical wires in the residential buildings in this world. This proves that even though True Qi furnaces can generate electricity, there are no large-scale generators. The vast majority of people convert their own spiritual energy into electricity for daily use."

"Of course, that's just a superficial observation. Just looking at this large flying fortress I'm currently in is enough to determine that the technology of the Divine Wood World can fully utilize ley lines on a large scale. Perhaps they have built related spiritual energy storage stations in key ley line areas..."

In any case, another completely different technological route is a huge treasure. Shao Qiming is very clear that if he can get the relevant technical information back to Earth, he doesn't even need to talk about the citizen points he can earn. Just the technological advantage it would bring to Zheng Guo is absolutely leaps and bounds.

"Moreover, all of this was created by Ah Zhou—it is because of his existence that this world is like this."

Thinking this, Shao Qiming looked at Su Zhou and Zhou Buyi, who were still chatting and joking, and he also smiled: "Perhaps, this is what he really wanted to show off to me—this entire world where the people live in peace and happiness."

"He wanted to prove to me that he can do such a thing—whether it's another world or Earth."

At this time, Su Zhou had almost finished his conversation with Zhou Buyi.

"I understand the general situation."

Su Zhou nodded seriously, looking thoughtful: "Grandmaster Weilie was indeed very old and died of old age not long after defeating the Demon Dynasty because he lost the motivation to live. Grand Craftsman was also like that, he passed away contentedly after developing the second-generation True Qi furnace."

"As for Monk Fanghui, he stayed in the New World, and his life and death have been unknown for decades. It is estimated that he has already passed away. As for Ms. Liu Xizhao, she died more than ten years after being seriously injured in a battle with independent elements in Central Asia."

Zhou Buyi and Liu Xizhao had married long before a hundred years ago, and had one son and two daughters. Now they can be considered to have branched out and spread their leaves, but after all, it has been more than a hundred years, and even their direct bloodline has a distant relationship. Those children that Zhou Buyi put his heart and soul into back then, some focused on political affairs and didn't cultivate martial arts, and some went to the battlefield, as an example, and died in a foreign land... It wasn't until Zhou Buyi himself stepped down from the position of Alliance Chairman and became the director of the Demon Subduing Bureau that his descendants could live a normal life.

"Sometimes, I really feel that longevity is also a kind of pain. The deeper you get involved with the mortal world, the stronger this pain becomes—so, until now, I have been promoting universal martial arts, not letting the gap between martial artists and ordinary people become wider and wider, even if the cost is that martial artist crime is getting worse and worse, and even the Demon Subduing Bureau feels a bit short-handed."

When it comes to the life and death of people around him, Zhou Buyi's feelings are much stronger than Su Zhou's. After all, they didn't spend much time together back then. Although the impression was deep, it didn't precipitate too deep emotions—but Zhou Buyi and those people fought side by side for decades or even hundreds of years.

After pondering for a while, Zhou Buyi looked at Su Zhou, and he frowned slightly: "You don't seem very sad. Could it be that you don't remember those people very well?"

But soon, he relieved himself: "That's right, after all, more than a hundred years have passed. We only need to remember you, but you may not be able to remember everyone. Forcing you to have the same deep impression of them as I do is unfair."

"No, I remember everyone."

In response, Su Zhou lowered his eyes, and he even laughed: "But, do you want me to put on a sad expression? Yes, I am indeed sad for their passing, but I am more willing to be happy for the peaceful world they created."

"I think that sometimes, for those predecessors who have achieved their dreams, it is disrespectful to be sad about their death without permission, instead of praising their dreams come true and rejoicing in the realization of their ideals."

"...Well, Master also said that the Hundred Schools Alliance has been established, and he has no regrets in his death, and will never allow us to play sad music at his funeral, but to play triumphant songs... I remember his last words very clearly, I remember their last words..."

The characteristic of old people is that they easily recall the past, even if they have a younger appearance than they did back then, Zhou Buyi is indeed an old man. He was immersed in the memories of the past: "It's just that I, who survived in the end, have a little regret... In the end, they can't see this peaceful world that I can see."

At the end of the recollection, Zhou Buyi raised his head and looked at Su Zhou, he smiled slightly, seeming very gratified: "Fortunately, Shaoxia Su, you are still alive, so at least there is a second witness to the results of all our efforts."

"Then, is there anything you need my help with? I'm not good at many things, but when it comes to subduing demons and eliminating evil, that's my professional field."

Su Zhou asked calmly, his eyes flashing with spiritual light, staring at the man in front of him: "You can tell me everything. Now that I'm here, I naturally don't mind taking action—evil people are something you never get tired of killing."

In the office, there was a moment of silence, and then, Zhou Buyi slowly shook his head: "No."

He said slowly, his tone firm: "Although the potential problems of the Heavenly Righteous Alliance are great, it is still very stable now... Moreover, why would we need you to take action for things we can solve? There are no more Demon Dynasties and Demon Emperors in this world."

"...Is that so."

Su Zhou was silent for a while again.

After a while, he continued: "Zhou Buyi, I have a favor to ask of you."

"What is it?" The man was a little puzzled, and even a little vigilant.

"Take a photo with me."

The Divine Wood World has not developed camera technology, because they have crystal shadow recording and mirror image storage, but the word "photo," as the name suggests, Zhou Buyi quickly understood it. He touched his chin, which had no beard, and said with a smile: "What's so difficult about that? What do you need to ask for?"

Hearing Zhou Buyi's answer, Su Zhou turned his head and looked at Shao Qiming for a while, and then said: "Qiming, help me take a photo with him!"

"...What's going on? How come even in another world, there's still this feeling that only I can't do it...? Could it be that you brought me here just to take photos for other people?"

While muttering these words, Shao Qiming's movements were still very fast—he raised his wrist, and the camera on his proxy personal terminal was aimed at Su Zhou and Zhou Buyi, who were already standing together.

Click, the photo was taken. The two men stood smiling in front of the desk, one heroic and spirited, the other dignified and handsome.

"It's almost time to prepare to leave. As a director, I seem busy, but I'm actually very idle. I've been working without a vacation for so many years, it's time to give myself a few days off..."

Then, just as Zhou Buyi was about to ask someone to prepare an airship to show Su Zhou and Shao Qiming around this world, Su Zhou reached out and stopped him.

"Shaoxia Su, what are you doing..."

Slightly stunned, Zhou Buyi was a little puzzled by Su Zhou's actions.

The young man silently narrowed his eyes, staring at the other party, the cyan-purple dragon eyes with black and white flames burning, making the man stunned.

But everything seemed to be just a small illusion, the stunned feeling flashed and disappeared, and then it no longer existed. The flames of sin flashed by and did not ignite anything.

"I'll tell you a simple little story."

Taking back the black and white flames, Su Zhou looked a little better, but his tone was still a bit cold: "In the mountains, there is an evil dragon. It exploits the mountain people and devours lives. The evil it does is so great that all the warriors in the world go to fight it."

"Of course, how can the power of the evil dragon be resisted by ordinary warriors? Most of the warriors became food for the evil dragon, and their weapons and treasures also became the property of the evil dragon. For a time, the evil dragon even seemed to be ruling the entire world."

"But in the end, the most powerful warrior who could compete with the evil dragon appeared. He finally killed the evil dragon and pacified the troubled times, becoming the final dragon slayer, and..."

--Grew dragon scales.

Zhou Buyi is not stupid. Hearing this, he already heard the unspoken meaning of the last sentence.

--When exactly did you start to change? Zhou Buyi? Although Su Zhou didn't say this sentence, everyone could understand what he meant.

In response, the man frowned first, then took a few steps back, and sighed.

"Shaoxia Su, I understand what you mean. There's no need to be so subtle."

In an instant, the entire office was filled with the momentum of two Realm-Leading experts. If he wasn't sitting in a chair, Shao Qiming would even be forced back a few steps by the sudden collision of spiritual pressure. But even sitting in a chair, he frowned slightly, feeling a little uncomfortable.

And Zhou Buyi's tone became calm: "So, what exactly do you want to say, Su Zhou?"

"There's no 'so,' and what I want to say is very simple."

Separating a bit of power to protect Shao Qiming, Su Zhou put his hands behind his back, showing that he had no intention or thought of fighting. Ignoring Shao Qiming's hinting gestures to the side, he directly said: "I only have one question--Zhou Buyi, when did you start specializing in wood-element inner energy, and achieve the Heavenly Astral Martial God realm with it?"

For a time, the entire office fell into complete silence.

But soon, the silence was broken by laughter.

"When? Naturally, when I realized that all the spiritual energy in this world has been infected by the Divine Wood, and the entire world is about to turn into a land of Heavenly Wood."

Zhou Buyi chuckled and put his hands behind his back, not putting on a fighting stance.

Even now, the atmosphere in the entire office has become extremely heavy, but he is still unhurried: "Long ago, when other great grandmasters could not break through the realm above the Innate realm no matter what, and were dragged down by hidden injuries, so that their internal organs could not be completely transformed, and they died in pain, I realized that if you don't practice wood-element inner energy in this world, it is no longer possible to go further, let alone continue to cultivate the Heavenly Astral realm."

Favored by the three great grandmasters, the successor designated by the Hundred Schools, who was considered to have the talent to cultivate to the Innate realm even in the era of spiritual energy decline, the warrior who was originally scheduled to wield the Blade of Extinction to contend against the Innate Demon Emperor, Zhou Buyi's gaze seemed to be able to see through the entire world: "Although the Divine Wood was sealed by you, the world has changed. Since wood energy is already dominant, I am just complying with the changes in the world."

"But what you cultivate is the Qi of the Divine Wood."

Standing opposite Zhou Buyi, Su Zhou's gaze swept over Zhou Buyi's entire body, and he said lightly: "The National Teacher has this thing, and the Demon Emperor has it, but other than that, even the strongest Demon General doesn't have it--that's the power exclusive to the Divine Wood. How did you get it?"

"...Did you see it."

In this regard, Zhou Buyi did not intend to hide it, he smiled, and this time the smile seemed more sincere than the previous smile with a hint of worry: "I thought, if it's you, it's absolutely impossible not to see it."

"When I first learned the news of your return to the world, I thought, sure enough, you appeared, just as you said back then... You have never appeared for more than a hundred years, and everyone thought that you probably wouldn't return to the mortal world again, but sure enough, once the power of the Divine Wood is used, you will come back."

Actually, it's just a coincidence. But Su Zhou didn't have the mind to make such jokes. He had been silent all along, waiting for Zhou Buyi to confess voluntarily, and he could only sigh: "To be honest, Zhou Buyi, practicing the power of the Divine Wood is not a taboo thing. In fact, you can also see that this friend of mine is also practicing this type of energy, and I also have it."

"But, why did you hide it from me? Do you think that I would just kill you directly without saying a word because you used the power of the Panrong Undying Tree? That's not right, just looking at your Heavenly Astral Martial God cultivation level proves that you shouldn't only have this bit of courage."

For Su Zhou's question, Zhou Buyi just narrowed his eyes and didn't say a word.

Su Zhou waited patiently for a long time, but still couldn't get an explanation. Then, he shook his head: "That's all. To be honest, Zhou Buyi, from the very beginning, Qiming has been contacting me with secret methods, telling me not to expose myself so early, but to be hypocritical with you, to see what medicine you have taken, and what your hole cards are, to figure out your true purpose and motivation."

"But I thought about it and felt that it was still not necessary. After all, I won't stay in this world for too long, and I personally like to speak directly and ask directly. This way, I can save myself about a few days or ten days of investigation time."

Su Zhou never talks nonsense, speaks directly when he has something to say, asks directly when he has something to do, and directly reveals his cards when he encounters a plot point, without any delays.

Get things done first, then exchange pleasantries.

Su Zhou is very smart, learn from Su Zhou.

Faced with Su Zhou's undisguised and direct questioning, Zhou Buyi was silent for a moment, and then smiled helplessly: "As expected, Shaoxia Su, you have never changed."

"Loves delicious food, hates evil like an enemy, is enthusiastic to help others, and is heroic and direct... On the contrary, I have changed. In more than a hundred years, I and the original green me have become unrecognizable."

"As for why I switched to practicing wood energy, and used the power of the Divine Wood... do you still need to ask why?"

Saying this, Zhou Buyi raised the hand he had been holding behind his back and showed it to Su Zhou.

It was a clean and slender hand, sculpted like jade. Just by looking at it, you could feel the extremely vast vitality and the almost indestructible solid essence. That was a physique that was extremely difficult, or even impossible, for any flesh and blood body, any human being to cultivate.

"I want to be immortal."

Taking back his hand, he put his hands behind his back again. The man had no emotional fluctuations, and said almost without emotion, calmly: "That's all."