Chapter 601: Main Text 601. Meeting Dong Qingxue Again, Old Acquaintances and New Events (3)

Book 601. Seeing Dong Qingxue Again, Old Friends and New Things (3)

Ever since Lu Sheng left the Alien Sky Battlefield, he had been trying to use his communicator to contact Dong Qingxue, who was far away in the Yamu Star District.

Yet, spanning across hundreds of star districts and countless light-years, the distance was immense.

It was only now that he managed to get this video call through.

On the communicator, Dong Qingxue's appearance came into view.

Lu Sheng's gaze instantly softened.

The Dong Qingxue in the video was quite different from the one in Lu Sheng's memory.

Her hair was tied up simply in a messy bun, and she wore loose, comfortable home clothes in the style of the Azure Planet.

But it was still clear to see that her entire figure was a bit more voluptuous than before.

The most noticeable change was her belly, round and prominently protruding.

And about Dong Qingxue, there was an added touch of maternal radiance that had never been there before.

The once Colonel Qingxue, who could control dozens of star cones and fight relentlessly within hordes of alien beasts for days and nights on end, entirely indifferent even when a thick layer of blood scabs hardened on her body.

Had now shed all of her sharp, cutting edge, completely transforming into the likeness of a gentle, delicate woman.

"Have I gained a lot of weight?"

The first thing Dong Qingxue did upon seeing Lu Sheng was to touch her own cheek with a hint of helplessness.

"No, you look just the same as before."

Lu Sheng said without blinking an eye, "You're even more beautiful than you used to be."

"Stop trying to coax me."

Even someone as powerful as Dong Qingxue could not avoid falling into the body anxiety that every pregnant woman experiences.

"I know I've gotten much fatter. Wanwan came to see me a few days ago, and she said she almost couldn't recognize me."

"Wanwan? Lin Wanwan?!"

Lu Sheng blinked, barely dredging up such a name from the depths of his memory.

"Mm."

Dong Qingxue nodded, "The daughter of the Transcendent Martial Saint Lin Zhengyue."

"Transcendent Martial Saint Lin Zhengyue..."

Lu Sheng softly repeated the name, his eyes tinged with a touch of sentimentality as he murmured, "What a distant name, I've almost forgotten it."

"Then do you still remember the Mingyu Martial Saint, Tan Zhongyu?"

Dong Qingxue suddenly seemed to catch a wave of interest for gossip, saying, "He broke through.

He became the first person among the Azure Planet's Martial Saints to break through the tenth rank.

And Harold, the Ring Seal Martial Saint, who followed you for a period of time back then.

He has now entered the city hall of the Yamu Star District, and can be considered the one living the most prosperous and successful life among the many Martial Saints of the Azure Planet.

He came to visit a while ago too, but I didn't see him."

Dong Qingxue spoke almost "incessantly" to Lu Sheng, recounting the matters regarding the old acquaintances of the Azure Planet.

Lu Sheng listened quietly, interjecting a few words from time to time to match her enthusiasm for the conversation.

He discovered that pregnancy was indeed a very miraculous thing.

The nurturing of a new life altered the hormone levels within the mother's body, and could truly cause a woman's temperament to change so drastically.

Take Dong Qingxue for example; once upon a time, she was known as an iceberg beauty.

If she could express herself clearly in one word, she would absolutely never use two.

Now, however, she was as "verbose" as his mother, Zheng Yufen.

Could his mother have also been a taciturn, cold beauty when she was young, only becoming talkative after giving birth to him?

Lu Sheng thought to himself this way.

Suddenly, he heard Dong Qingxue say, "Oh right, during the time you were away, someone else came to visit us.

You will absolutely never guess who this person is."

"Who?"

Lu Sheng inquired.

Only to hear Dong Qingxue softly utter a name, "Liu Qiming."

"Buzz—"

Lu Sheng's form trembled slightly, and waves abruptly surged within the lake of his heart.

Liu Qiming.

This name, buried almost deepest within his memory, was heard once again after such a long time.

It gave Lu Sheng a feeling akin to the sudden opening of an old wine that had been sealed away for hundreds of years, the fumes rushing straight to his head.

"How... how did he come?"

Lu Sheng didn't even know what he should ask.

Dong Qingxue said softly, "He enlisted in the army again. Before enlisting, he found out where we lived and made a special trip here, wanting to see you.

He didn't know that you had left a long time ago."

"Went to join the army again."

Lu Sheng wanted to laugh a little, but his eyes felt somewhat sour and burning.

"This kid is truly addicted to being a soldier... did he leave any words for me?"

Dong Qingxue thought for a moment, picked up a cell phone from the side, found a certain video, and tapped it open to present it before Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng saw a young man with sharp eyes, well-defined features, and a bit of stubble appear on the screen.

Smiling at him, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth, and even waving at him.

He spoke only a single sentence: "When you come back, if there's a chance, let's have a drink together."

Lu Sheng stared at the person in the screen who was almost so unfamiliar that he could barely recognize him, yet appeared incomparably familiar.

He smiled slightly and said softly, "Alright."

Dong Qingxue put the phone down and said gently, "You don't need to worry too much about him either, he is now someone who has entered the seventh rank of the Martial Dao.

The place he went to isn't anywhere particularly dangerous either..."

"Seventh rank of the Martial Dao? That kid has already become a Grandmaster?!"

Lu Sheng felt a flicker of surprise.

Dong Qingxue nodded, saying, “Even an ordinary person on Azure Star has received at least two doses of genetic optimization serum.

Many have had their martial paths fully unlocked.

Qinghe is nearly Level Nine already.”

“So fast?!”

This time, Lu Sheng was genuinely startled.

Who could have imagined that the little girl who once constantly trailed behind him like a shadow now stood on the cusp of becoming a Martial Saint?

“Yes… truly fast.”

Dong Qingxue sighed softly, lowering her gaze to her belly, her voice thick with quiet reflection: “Yet for over a year now, my cultivation has barely budged.”

At last, Lu Sheng’s eyes settled upon Dong Qingxue’s abdomen.

His gaze pierced through the holographic projection, as if sensing the tiny life within—his own blood, his own flesh—quietly stirring in the womb.

A strange ripple stirred deep inside him.

He murmured gently, “The doctor said he’ll still need to stay inside you for how long?”

“Probably… another year or so.”

Dong Qingxue’s tone softened, her eyes fixed on her belly, brimming with tenderness and love.

Neither spoke again. They simply lingered in this hushed, sacred silence—their private moment, belonging solely to their family of three.

No one knew how long passed before Dong Qingxue suddenly stirred, breaking the stillness: “Wait—I’ll go call Mom, Dad, and Qinghe over right now.”

Lu Sheng hummed in acknowledgment, watching as she rose, movements slightly clumsy.

But before she could fully step away from the holo-display—*click*.

The image vanished.

“Damn it!”

Lu Sheng nearly punched the air in frustration, his face darkening like storm clouds.

The signal had cut out—*now*, of all times.

If this were any other day, perhaps it wouldn’t matter. But he was light-years away, stranded across the void.

Reconnecting with his family? Who knew when—or *if*—that would ever happen again.

“Fine.”

After several futile attempts, confirming the link was irreparable, he exhaled slowly, abandoning hope.

“When I reach the Hunting Bow, I’ll see if there’s a more advanced communication system.

As the most technologically advanced and prosperous region in the entire galaxy, they ought to possess real-time interstellar comms—maybe even cross-sector instantaneous transmission.”

He could only console himself with that.

He lifted the cup before him—cold, bitter coffee—and drained it in one swallow.

Then, from his storage ring, he withdrew a vast quantity of high-grade energy crystals, beginning his daily practice of the Stellar Path, absorbing their raw power.

Four cosmic months had passed.

Within him, immortal cells had multiplied by over five hundred thousand.

On the surface, that seemed no slow pace.

Yet compared to the absolute limit of the Level Twelve Stellar Immortal Martial Sovereign Body—its capacity capped at one hundred million immortal cells—

this number… was infinitesimal.

All Lu Sheng could do now was hope: that upon reaching the Supreme Academy of the Hunting Bow, he might find richer, purer, more readily absorbable energy sources.

If not…

Then he’d have to slip away, unseen, into some desolate corner of the cosmos—using celestial techniques to siphon raw cosmic energy, or worse, devouring stellar cores whole to force his ascension.

Just as he meditated, a visitor’s signal chimed.

Lu Sheng opened the guest list. Before him appeared a young man with dusky skin and emerald-green hair.

Aonotuling.

Lu Sheng’s eyes flickered faintly—not surprised, not unsettled. He activated the door controls, granting entry.

Over these past four months, Aonotuling had visited often—just to talk, to share thoughts.

Such unannounced arrivals had long ceased to rouse his curiosity.

*Send flowers.*

*Literature.*