He Qing and Duan Chenhui arrived at the venue, where Zhang Lin and his team were preparing for their final match. Shi Lei glanced at them and handed over two flower balls. “The competition organizers have decided to hold the event on Capital Star, saying it’s safer that way.”

“It is safer,” He Qing said as he shook the flower ball, then glanced at Duan Chenhui standing beside him and handed it over.

Duan Chenhui looked at him, stayed silent for a moment, and then took it, but he didn’t move after that.

Zhang Lin and his team, now dressed in their gear, approached.

“General!” Zhang Yi called out loudly, “Are you here to cheer us on?”

“Mm,” Duan Chenhui nodded in response to their hopeful gazes, “Everyone, do your best.”

He Qing smiled and echoed, “Good luck!”

Shi Lei glanced at He Qing again. The speed at which these two had reconciled was unbelievable. Although he wanted to ask, he didn’t dare. He coughed awkwardly, “Zhang Lin, good luck to you all!”

Everyone turned to look at him, and Shi Lei scratched his nose. “I’ll be rooting for you.” Uh-oh, did he say something wrong?

“Alright, we’re off.” Zhang Lin waved to them as he and his team boarded the ship.

He Qing waved back as they left for their random survival drop in the wild. Soon, large screens were set up in the venue, and He Qing and Duan Chenhui sat down. “Do you think they’ll win?”

“They should make the top ten without a problem,” Duan Chenhui said with a smile, “If you were competing, you’d probably take first place.”

He Qing chuckled, “General, have you forgotten? I’m just a weak Omega.”

The people sitting nearby: ?!! If He Qing is a weak Omega, then what are they? Mud people? It’s said that He Qing has 3S-level mental strength!

He Qing, unaware and uninterested in what others thought of him, decided to head home with Duan Chenhui for lunch by midday. Zhang Lin and his team’s match wouldn’t end anytime soon, so over the next few days, He Qing followed it on StarNet.

One day, He Qing felt thirsty and transformed his root tendrils while swimming in the pool. Sun Tu happened to come over and see him. “Have you found a way back to the Cultivation Realm yet?” He asked that question every day.

“Not yet,” He Qing replied while floating underwater.

Sun Tu looked down and was startled, “You look just like some slimy tentacle monster right now.”

“What tentacle monster?” He Qing emerged from the water, lifting a leaf over his head to shield himself from the sun.

Sun Tu chuckled and said, “I’ll show you a video!” He quickly pulled up a screen, “Come over and see for yourself!”

Curious, He Qing leaned in for a look, then took a second glance. “Amitabha, but I’m not a tentacle monster.”

Sun Tu pointed at him, “Does that appearance really convince anyone?”

He Qing looked down at his own root tendrils. It didn’t seem all that convincing.

Sun Tu added, “I hear that people in the interstellar world are quite open. You could try using your tentacles for dual cultivation.”

He Qing hesitated. “The General doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“The more proper someone appears, the more they suppress!” Sun Tu sneered, eager to tarnish Duan Chenhui’s reputation, mostly because something about Duan’s face was strangely familiar to him.

“Maybe I’ll try testing it out,” He Qing nodded thoughtfully.

“Now you’re learning,” Sun Tu laughed, flying away on his sword. “Anyway, if you find a clue to get back to the Cultivation Realm, let me know!”

“Alright,” He Qing agreed before continuing to swim in the pool, staying there until Duan Chenhui returned.

Duan Chenhui approached and looked at him. “Don’t let anyone else see you like that.”

He Qing raised his root tendrils with a smile, “Are they not meant to be seen?”

Duan Chenhui glanced at them again. “Because humans don’t have root tendrils.” Mostly, they looked too much like tentacles, but he wasn’t going to tell He Qing that.

He Qing stared at Duan Chenhui, “You’re right, General.” It seemed that the General was quite interested in his root tendrils. Perhaps Sun Tu was right; after all, He Qing had heard that cultivators who spent too long with their partners would often seek new experiences.

That night, He Qing decided to give it a try, extending his root tendrils to wrap around Duan Chenhui. Startled, Duan Chenhui grabbed hold of the tendrils. “What are you doing?”

He Qing looked down. “General, do you feel it more?”

Duan Chenhui’s temple twitched. “No, I’ve always felt it.” He wasn’t incapable!

“Then should we try?” He Qing took his hand and leaned closer.

Duan Chenhui looked at He Qing’s increasingly beautiful face approaching him and nodded… Oh well, it wasn’t a bad idea.

But by the next day, Duan Chenhui regretted letting He Qing develop this strange new “function.” When he woke up, he could still feel He Qing’s root tendrils around his waist and… that area.

He Qing snuggled up to him, “General, you’re awake?”

Duan Chenhui’s spine tingled. “Put your root tendrils away first.”

“General, desire is part of our nature.”

“It’s already morning,” Duan Chenhui pointed out, and as he spoke, he noticed that He Qing, who was spouting lines about desire, was even more flushed than he was. He Qing’s face was easy to read.

He Qing obediently retracted his root tendrils, and Duan Chenhui got out of bed, still feeling weak in the legs. As he buttoned up his shirt, he received a message from Central Intelligence.

He opened it and turned back to He Qing, “They found a place related to the armor. It looks similar. Do you want to check it out?”

“Let’s go,” He Qing immediately jumped out of bed. “Where is it?”

“On an abandoned planet. No wonder it’s been so hard to find,” Duan Chenhui said as he opened the screen to show him.

He Qing looked at the image. The planet was barren, with almost no vegetation. “Let’s go after breakfast.”

Duan Chenhui paused, “Mm.” He finished getting dressed and went to wash up, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He Qing had shown some restraint and hadn’t left any noticeable marks on his body.

But He Qing had some from him.

A while later, He Qing joined him to wash up as well, and Duan Chenhui glanced at the red marks on He Qing’s chest.

He Qing caught his gaze in the mirror and smiled, “General… there are more on my back.”

Duan Chenhui chuckled, deflecting the situation easily, “There are some on my back too.” He Qing was always more reserved at first, but eventually, he couldn’t help himself.

He Qing fell silent for a moment. “We are Dao companions, so this is normal.”

Duan Chenhui smiled as he wiped his face with a towel. The only problem was that he still couldn’t sense any spiritual energy, which meant he couldn’t form a Daoist bond with He Qing.

After washing up, Duan Chenhui left the room, feeling a bit anxious. He slipped He Qing’s prayer beads onto his wrist. Ever since He Qing had been with him, he hadn’t worn the prayer beads anymore.

But He Qing would often come over to count them, like when Duan Chenhui was watching the news. He Qing would sit next to him and do it.

After He Qing finished washing up, they both sat down for breakfast.

“I invited Sun Tu to come with us,” He Qing mentioned.

“That’s fine,” Duan Chenhui narrowed his eyes slightly. He Qing’s sudden interest in using root tendrils probably had something to do with that koi spirit, Sun Tu. He asked, “Wasn’t he a demonic cultivator before?”

“One thought becomes Buddha, one thought becomes a demon,” He Qing replied, lifting his head, “Besides, I think we have some karmic ties.”

“Karmic ties?” Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow.

“Mm,” He Qing nodded, “He picked me up and we drifted into the human world together.”

Duan Chenhui recalled the story He Qing had told him and still felt a bit of an urge to punch Sun Tu.

He Qing added, “When I first awakened, it was like a human’s childhood. After growing up, I forgot some things, and sometimes I’d sleep for a long time.”

“Can’t you remember those things?” Duan Chenhui was suddenly curious about what He Qing’s past had been like.

He Qing shook his head. “I’m not sure. If the time comes, I’ll naturally remember.”

Duan Chenhui thought it was a pity. After finishing breakfast, they set off for the planet, bringing Sun Tu along with them, of course.