Chapter 118: Arrival

"What, have you all forgotten me?" In the profound silence, a somewhat ethereal voice reached the ears of those present.

"Lan Tian?!"

"Mr. Lan!"

"Chai... Chairman?!" Hearing that familiar voice, everyone let out an exclamation of shock.

This translucent phantom was indeed Lan Tian himself. Having spent 100 cosmic coins, he had used the projection function of the Virtual Universe Network to return to Earth once more. Of course, it was merely a projection; his physical body was still tens of millions of light-years away on Lanque Star.

Unlike the surprise shown by the others, Wang Ling bit her lip, staring blankly at Lan Tian without a word, her eyes already blurred by tears.

Lan Tian’s phantom drifted before Wang Ling, his gaze filled with tenderness. He said softly, "Why are you crying? Are you not happy to see me?"

Wang Ling did not answer, merely shaking her head vigorously.

"Haha, everyone, please disperse. Leave us some time. I am only back temporarily for a look; it will likely be quite a while before I can truly return," Lan Tian said with a hearty laugh, looking at the excited crowd around them.

"Haha, very well! Mr. Lan, you two go ahead and chat, we’re off!" Fan Ming was equally excited, but he was always one to follow Lan Tian’s requests without question. With a wave of his hand, he ushered everyone away.

Chen Xiaoxuan had wanted to stay as well, but seeing the way Lan Tian and Wang Ling only had eyes for each other, her expression dimmed. Gritting her teeth, she eventually followed the others out, glancing back every few steps.

"You... what happened to you?" Once they were alone, Wang Ling couldn't help but rush into Lan Tian's arms, only to find herself grasping at air. She passed right through his flickering figure and looked at him in sudden terror.

"Heh, don't worry, I'm fine. This is just a projection. My real body is still on an alien planet tens of millions of light-years away." Seeing Wang Ling’s frightened expression, Lan Tian couldn't bear to keep her in suspense any longer and recounted everything that had happened since he left the planet.

"What?! You mean you currently own over eight thousand life-sustaining planets?!" Listening to Lan Tian’s narrative, Wang Ling felt as if she were hearing a fairy tale.

When she heard about him encountering a powerful Earth Dragon Beast upon arriving at Lanque Star, her face turned pale, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Later, when she heard how he had bluffed the Lord of Lanque Star by pretending to be a scion of a great power, she couldn't help but giggle, chiding him playfully. However, when Lan Tian mentioned that he had inherited the legacy of the Battle God and now possessed over eight thousand life-sustaining planets, she finally couldn't help but shriek in astonishment.

"Heh, yes. Although I can't bring them to light just yet and haven't fully inherited them, the ownership deeds are in my hands. And each of those eight thousand planets is far more precious than Earth!" Lan Tian said proudly. "You wouldn't believe it—before I came here, I had the Virtual Universe Network assess Earth's value. Guess how many cosmic coins it's worth?"

"How would I know? But based on what you said earlier about how valuable cosmic coins are, I suppose Earth isn't worth much, right?" Wang Ling stuck out her tongue, indicating she had no concept of the value of cosmic coins.

"Take a guess," Lan Tian said with a mysterious smile.

"Hmm... ten thousand? No, one hundred thousand?" Wang Ling said uncertainly. Initially, she guessed ten thousand, but feeling that a planet as large as Earth couldn't possibly be worth so little, she added a zero.

"You’ve overestimated Earth. Forget it, I'll just tell you... Honestly, I was devastated. Earth is my home planet, after all, but the Virtual Universe Network’s valuation was only 10 coins!" Lan Tian said, looking utterly dejected. "Which means, a planet as big as Earth is only worth a single Level 7 energy crystal or a bottle of Red Saliva Wine!"

"Oh my god, that must be a mistake, right?! A planet this big, with so many people, only worth a bottle of wine? This universe is too terrifying; I’m scared to go..." Wang Ling looked just as devastated.

"I didn't expect it either. It turns out Earth is incredibly barren. The population doesn't count for much—the universe has no shortage of people. The main issue is that Earth has absolutely no useful resources; there are no minerals, and the technological level is extremely low. That’s why it’s only worth a measly 10 coins..."

Lan Tian sighed as well. He truly hadn't expected the wealth gap in the universe to be so vast. An entire planet like Earth was worth no more than a Level 7 energy crystal. Forget the major figures in the universe; even for him now, a mere Level 7 energy crystal was negligible.

"Alright, I suddenly feel so insignificant..." Wang Ling said, looking downcast.

"No, you are not insignificant. You are the girlfriend of the great Lan Tian, how could you be insignificant?" Seeing her sadness, Lan Tian felt a pang of heartache and immediately tried to cheer her up, changing the subject. "Let's see, it's been about half a month since I left Earth. How is it going? What level of Energy Gathering have you reached?"

"Heh, my aptitude and Xiaoxuan’s are quite good. In half a month, we’ve already reached the 6th level of Energy Gathering, which is even faster than your cultivation speed back then!" Mentioning cultivation, Wang Ling finally perked up, speaking with a touch of pride. "Right now, I bet Xiaoxuan and I are the strongest people on Earth."

"Well, that's not bad. The cultivation speed is indeed faster than mine was. But don't get arrogant; my aptitude wasn't great back then. It's a shame there was so little of Yan Ze's blood essence—I could only use it myself, otherwise, I would have left some for you." Lan Tian nodded.

Reaching the 6th level of Energy Gathering in half a month was decent, but only decent. In the universe, such aptitude was considered low-to-mid tier, barely even touching the threshold of an average genius.

"No, no, it was best that you used Yan Ze's blood essence. I was just an ordinary person then; how could I have handled such a divine medicine?" Wang Ling stuck out her tongue. "I think things are pretty good right now. Anyway, we don't face any danger on Earth. You can think about finding those aptitude-enhancing medicines for us once you're more powerful."

In truth, aside from Lan Tian not being by her side, she felt their current life was quite good. After all, on Earth, her and Chen Xiaoxuan’s current strength already gave them a sense of standing above all others.

Lan Tian smiled and shook his head, deciding not to mention their low-to-mid tier aptitude again so as not to dampen her spirits. He asked with concern, "By the way, after I left, did anything happen on Earth? The people from the Yuanlan Empire haven't arrived yet, have they?"

"No. If they had, you wouldn't see Fan Ming giving speeches on stage so spiritedly. The first person the Yuanlan Empire would capture would be him, the head of the virtual network company!" Wang Ling laughed.

"However, Earth has indeed changed a lot. People can't live without the virtual network now. And ever since you exposed the cruelty of the universe to everyone, people have been highly motivated to cultivate. They are all determined not to be enslaved by aliens and are working very hard to improve their strength."

Seeing the person she missed day and night again, Wang Ling was in high spirits, her face blooming with smiles as she constantly filled Lan Tian in on the changes on Earth.