Episode 120: Return to the Galaxy

Xiao Jin stretched its limbs, shifting from a sphere into an upright sitting posture. "Ye Xiu, the Green Light Academy has signed your appointment letter. It will be delivered to you within half an hour, and your start date is within seven days."

Ye Xiu nodded, frowning slightly as he sighed, "I hope Green Bud won't find excuses to skip class again this time."

"What’s wrong with Green Bud?" Sang Sang asked, puzzled. "I remember she didn't mind attending classes; she even competed with Little Dragon Lord over their grades."

"She stopped attending once she passed the common sense courses. After visiting Qian Ye’s home at the Temple, she was unsettled and now refuses to transfer to the Green Light Academy," Xiao Jin explained. "The Green Light Academy is a school for pure-blooded Wood Clan members, and that is where Qian Ye studies. Green Bud insists on staying with Ye Xiu; otherwise, she refuses to go to school."

Ye Xiu spread his hands. "You see? Children are difficult to manage. Have you decided how to handle the child Her Majesty brought back?"

Sang Sang looked toward the child currently being led by Little Dragon Lord not far away, who was giggling as he was teased by Green Bud’s hair.

"Xiao Jin has prepared a multi-functional nanny robot for him, and Little Dragon Lord can keep him company after school. Tom did offer to take care of him, but he has his own affairs to attend to, and he’s already helping Hu Yang look after Bai Ci—adding another child would be too heavy a burden. Let's keep it as is for now." Sang Sang shook her head, sighing in sympathy. "I don’t have much free time, and I’m bound to neglect him when I’m busy or in seclusion. I worry it might affect his personality or cause childhood trauma."

"In advanced civilizations, reproduction is difficult, which is why parents are inseparable from their young. But among the common folk, many children are raised by nanny robots, and they don't grow up with twisted personalities," Xiao Jin said. "Even in the Galaxy Civilization, child-rearing is a matter of ensuring they are fed and clothed, then sending them to school when they reach the right age. I’ve never seen them suffer from childhood trauma."

Sang Sang patted Xiao Jin, who was trying to comfort her, but remained silent.

"I have a suggestion." Ye Xiu returned to his gentle, leisurely smile. He winked at Xiao Jin with his right eye and said in his usual prophetic tone, "Her Majesty might consider my proposal."

Sang Sang had grown accustomed to everyone teasingly calling her "Her Majesty" and couldn't be bothered to correct them anymore. She raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

Ye Xiu stopped stalling. "I suggest you send him back to the Milky Way Galaxy. Whether it’s the Sang family, the Luo family, or the Jun family of the Galactic Empire, they could all take good care of him. Personally, I recommend the Jun family. Although Jun Lin is assertive and domineering—known as the cold-faced tyrant—he is well-suited to be a guardian."

Sang Sang shook her head. "Big Brother is the Emperor now; he’s far too busy to look after a child."

"Ahem." Ye Xiu cleared his throat and spoke the truth. "I ran into the Galactic Emperor on the StarNet today. He was the one who brought it up first. He said that both you and the Heavenly Emperor are still young, your careers are in a growth phase, and you haven't yet secured your footing in the Temple. You face constant dangers and opportunities, and having a child in tow is inconvenient. He is willing to take over."

Sang Sang was suspicious. "I haven't been back long; how did he find out about Duo Duo?"

Xiao Jin raised a hand. "I didn't issue a gag order. The people in the logistics team knew you had a child and assumed it was one you and the Heavenly Emperor had secretly conceived in the Danxia Painting Realm. They were loose-lipped when talking to their families on the StarNet, and Jun Lin found out."

"Setting aside the fact that advanced civilizations discriminate against artificial life, making it hard for him to find friends here, consider his genetic defects. The energy in the Temple's air is too concentrated; it will exacerbate his condition. Relying too much on medication isn't necessarily good for his future," Ye Xiu advised again. "Although the Milky Way is a remote, desolate place with thin energy, it is better for cultivation. Besides, as the Galactic Emperor said, you cannot afford to have a glaring weakness by your side. Sending him away is better for both you and Duo Duo."

Sang Sang fell into deep thought. While she often joked that Ye Xiu was a charlatan, his Time Clan ability to foresee the future was genuinely powerful. Unlike her and the Heavenly Emperor, whose use of space-time power for divination only yielded blurry glimpses, Ye Xiu’s visions were much clearer and more comprehensive.

Ye Xiu’s advice could not be ignored. However, Sang Sang was unhappy with her own childhood and did not want Duo Duo to lose his mother's affection just because he lacked a father. She channeled the space-time energy within her into her eyes and looked at the child, who was currently caught between Green Bud and Little Dragon Lord, learning the names of different foods.

The world began to blur, and in her vision, Duo Duo slowly grew...

After a long while, the glow in Sang Sang's eyes faded. She blinked; among the hundreds of futures she had seen, the one with the best outcome was indeed the branch where she sent him back to the Milky Way.

Xiao Jin grumbled with dissatisfaction, "Sang Sang, space-time energy is hard to accumulate. If you use it all up now, what will you use for protection when you go to intern with the Saintess of Hundred Flowers?"

"I can spend space-time energy for the Goddess of Danxia; why should I skimp on him? It just so happens that the Heavenly Emperor has overindulged and is struggling to digest it, so I’ll go over and share some of the burden later." Sang Sang flicked Xiao Jin’s forehead, chuckling as he turned his head 180 degrees in annoyance. "I've been influenced by the Heavenly Emperor. Aside from mother and son, there is also the bond of sister and brother. I’m not ready to be a mother, but there’s no pressure in being a sister. Before his perception of things is fully formed, I’ll change how he addresses me. From now on, call him little brother Duo Duo. The only problem is that Bai Ci might not be happy about it."

In the future branch of the Milky Way, her elder brother was truly kind to Duo Duo, treating him like his own child and even making him part of the Galactic Royal Family. Although there was some self-interest involved, it was a "benevolent conspiracy" that was hard to refuse.

Sang Sang suddenly thought of a question: to stabilize genetics, it is best to add a paternal line...

The Heavenly Emperor was in seclusion in the sparring lounge of the castle tower. Sang Sang went to find him after making arrangements for Duo Duo.

Her timing was perfect.

The destructive force generated by a space-time collapse is nowhere near as stable as normal space-time energy. It is nearly impossible to subdue without reaching the source, and the Heavenly Emperor had been too greedy, swallowing too much at once. He had barely managed to hold on by breaking through to the mid-stage of the Star Level, and if he had waited any longer, he would have been forced to push toward the late stage. Sensing Sang Sang entering his consciousness, he ran toward her, shouting, "Sang Sang, Sang Sang, save me!"

Inside the Heavenly Emperor's sea of consciousness, the manic space-time energy was rampaging. The sea of star power surged, and his swallowed star core acted like a powerful magnet. The space-time star core had become a tennis racket, chasing down the unruly energy; every time it struck, it absorbed a little more.

Sang Sang’s spirit was buffeted by the winds, and seeing the Heavenly Emperor’s spirit rushing toward her with a blurred outline, she couldn't help but snort. She activated her Law of Devouring, swirling two-thirds of the space-time energy back into her own consciousness. The remaining portion was beyond hope of total control and could only be suppressed by the Heavenly Emperor's "space-time racket," to be slowly ground down and absorbed.

Back in her own consciousness, the manic space-time energy became as docile as a kitten, floating above her sea of star power. It only struggled and darted about when she tried to draw it into the star core. However, since the sea of consciousness was hers, there was nowhere for it to escape. Eventually, it was swallowed by the star core, its destructive aura purified and converted into usable space-time energy, strengthening the star core.

Sang Sang mused to herself. She didn't believe her Law of Devouring was inherently superior to the Heavenly Emperor's, so there had to be a reason why she absorbed the energy so much more easily. There was no need to guess—it was certainly the source of space-time residing in her soul, which refused to listen to her.