Age of Evolution

Chapter 485: 485: Another Year Passes

This period was a time of steady growth for Lin Zhen’s realm.

He was currently at Constant Star Level 1. If he wanted to upgrade, other than personal cultivation, he could only buy metals to devour, or absorb the Constant Star Crystals inside the Star Fruit Tree.

Now, if Lin Zhen wanted to continue devouring metal, he had to buy Thunder Crystals.

The price of these crystals was ridiculously high. Even with Lin Zhen’s assets, he couldn’t afford them in the short term, not even with all of Xilanke’s wealth.

So, Lin Zhen simply decided to give up buying for the time being. He had upgraded at a high speed recently and he needed time to settle down.

After all, the Constant Star Crystal inside the Star Fruit Tree could still support him. At least, in the early stages of the Constant Star Stage, he can upgrade just by relying on the Constant Star Crystal.

The Dark Star was also improving quickly. The Heart of Plants and Trees unleashed its immense power and has already reached the middle stage of the Evident Universe.

Every day at home, he was focused on studying combat skills, or, entering the simulation field to battle with fighters of the Star System Stage.

Sometimes he would chat and drink with friends. Occasionally, he would check on the constitution of his territory. With his beautiful wife by his side, his days were extremely comfortable.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

With short strides, Lin Ping and Lin An came running down the garden path reaching their father’s usual spot.

Lin Zhen picked up both his sons and sat them on his lap, his face full of smiles: “What, only the two of you are here? Where’s Aunt Anqier?”

Lin Ping lifted his little face: “Aunt Anqier is helping mother and Aunt Su prepare us some New Year’s delicacies. Daddy, what’s New Year?”

“New Year… is when Ping’er and An’er each grow a year older. After the New Year, you two will be three.”

“What about little sister? Is she also three?”

“Your sister is a bit younger, she’ll be two after New Year.”

“Dad, can I become a Martial Artist after New Year?” Lin An asked.

“Oh? Is that your New Year wish?” Lin Zhen asked with a smile.

“Yes, we both want to become Martial Artists, just like dad. So that we can protect our little sister.” The two youngsters proclaimed loudly.

Lin Zhen roared with laughter. His children were his source of happiness and treasure. Being able to give his family happiness was Lin Zhen’s greatest achievement.

After a short while, the garden got lively.

Lin Mei’er walked over with an unsteady gait, she was not even a year old, not very good at walking, but she insisted on walking by herself. Once she reached Lin Zhen, she started babbling and talking with her father.

In front of Lin Mei’er, Lin Ping and Lin An showed some brotherly care, letting little sister do whatever she wanted and protected her meticulously.

With the sounds of laughter ringing out like silver bells, the beautiful ladies of Lin Zhen’s family arrived.

An Ning, Lin Zhen’s first love since his teenage years, was once the school beauty and the most beautiful woman in Ice City. Since she started cultivating, her beauty blossomed even more.

Su Mingyue was the saintess of the Divine Sect and a global idol, presenting a gentle beauty with purity akin to water.

Anqier and her sister were of the Angel Clan, while Ling’er was from the Elf Clan. The looks from these two races were already more exquisite and beautiful than humans’, let alone if they were the most outstanding among them.

The beauty of this group of women was beyond this world. Their arrival made the garden even more animated.

“Husband!” An Ning approached Lin Zhen warmly, took his hand and said, “We’ve prepared a lot for New Year. Look at our clothes, do they look nice?”

Several beauties stood together, wearing the festive Chinese Tang Dress, which contrasted their fair faces stunningly to the point it made people dazed.

“They look good, very good.” Lin Zhen commented sincerely.

“We’ve prepared one for you too. You should try it on later.”

“Okay, tomorrow is New Year’s Day. It’s rare that we are all together, so we should enjoy the New Year.”

Four months have passed since the Xilanke incident, and the New Year was just around the corner. During the past four months, the whole family has made great progress.

With Lin Zhen providing an unlimited supply of Comet Crystals, An Ning and Su Mingyue progressed at rocket speed, reaching the peak of the Comet Stage and were about to enter the Satellite Stage.

Lin Liye and Li Qin did not possess any combat abilities, but they reached Star Core Level Eight. If they had the same talent as Su Mingyue, I’m afraid they would have reached the middle stages of the Meteor Stage by now.

Ling’er and the Anqier Sisters have just advanced to the Planet Stage, and they were already considered high-level fighters on other Life Stars.

On the contrary, Lin Zhen’s progress was the slowest. He upgraded from Constant Star Level 1 to Level 2 and was working hard to reach Level 3.

There was no helping it, his realm was higher, and leveling up naturally wouldn’t be as quick as it was for low-level martial artists. In fact, even under the provision of Constant Star Crystal, estimation for Lin Zhen’s leveling up despite his good aptitude would still take several years or even more than a decade.

With Lin Zhen’s help, the children already have a solid foundation. They possess talents that defy the heavens thanks to their parents, and their future potential was limitless.

Time had swiftly passed zoomed to New Year’s Eve.

Festive reunion dinner with the whole family, elated atmosphere, and loosened moods. This meal was the happiest one Lin Zhen ever had.

Ling’er and An Qier, though not Lin Zhen’s wives, had perfectly integrated into his family. An Ning and Su Mingyue both occasionally subtly hinted implications towards Lin Zhen, probing his plans for the three exceptional ladies.

Lin Zhen once inquired their intentions, but all the girls coyly expressed their willingness to go with whatever plans Lin Zhen had, with none of them showing any intention of leaving.

Lin Zhen understood their feelings, but felt that it’s better to let things take its natural course.

Once the New Year’s chimes sounded, Lin Zhen officially turned twenty-six.

After his rebirth, he has now stepped into his ninth year.

The whole family raised their glasses, and Lin Zhen suggested they share their wishes for the New Year. They all seemed to have the same wish; hoping for the family to always unite and never part ways.

Lin Liye, as the head of the family, cast a glance at Lin Zhen, “Of course, we all wish for that. It’s just that this young fellow doesn’t often stay home, and only did so more frequently this year. We never know where he goes all the other times.”

Li Qin also complained at her son, “Though cultivation is important, you also have family duties. Every moment is fraught with danger, so you can’t leave us clueless of your whereabouts for long. If anything happens to you, we wouldn’t know how to live on.”

Lin Zhen was slightly embarrassed, as he had also recognized this problem.

However, with his increase in strength, he would naturally offend more people, and his enemies got stronger and stronger. He was still not afraid, but since his family and territory were here, there was nowhere to run.

In his heart, Lin Zhen also had a plan: once the Dark Star World became stable, he will move his family there.

Still, that day was somewhat far off. Although it was a Dark Star from the Evident Universe, it is still quite a distance from being a viable place for animalistic life forms.

For humans to live freely within the Dark Star, it will have to evolve to at least the Mesozoic Era.

The four months of rigorous cultivation, with the push from the Heart of the Star Plants, the Dark Star had advanced to the late stage of the Evident Universe. However, its progression had since slowed.

After the Evident Universe is the Mesozoic Era, and after the Mesozoic Era is the Cenozoic Era. It’s a gradual process.

The wait was on, and once the Cenozoic realm stabilized, the Dark Star will be another new world. Able to control freely, it’s a safe and stable new world. By then, migration wouldn’t be an issue, not just for Lin Zhen’s family, but for the whole Earth. He hoped that day would come soon.

On the contrary, his wife seemed to understand him better. Su Mingyue laughed and said to her parents, “Mom and dad, don’t blame Lin Zhen. If it wasn’t for his hard work, we wouldn’t be able to live in peace and happiness in Sky City. I believe he’ll have a bright future and he’ll also properly protect and manage us.”

“Dad, you’re the best! You’re the best!” Lin Mei’er, awoken by the New Year chime, exclaimed out loud, full of pride at her father.

“Alright, alright. Now that you have a wife and children shielding you, your mother and I can’t berate you any longer,” replied Jiang Liye as he waved her away. Despite his words, a wide grin was seen on his face.

“Boom boom~!!!”

Fireworks burst and rattled in the sky, filling Sky City with celebratory noises. Regardless the changes over time, as Hua Xia people, the New Year’s tradition was never abandoned, even when there were threats of monster attacks and everyone felt unsafe. The New Year must be celebrated.

The children were tired. Their wives took them to rest, and everyone retired to their own rooms.

Lin Zhen slowly came to the window, gazing at the lights outside that were like countless stars, yet his mind was occupied by the war between the Fire Kirin Empire and the Demon Insect Empire.

The war was increasingly disadvantageous to the Fire Kirin Empire; their forces were endlessly retreating within the Chaotic Star River, with constant news of their teams being defeated or killed.

At last, the Fire Kirin Empire’s higher-ups had reached a decision. They decided to set a training camp for those under a hundred years old in the Chaotic Star River.

The date was set to a month later. After spending the first month of the lunar calendar, the people from the concentration camp would depart from the Fire Kirin Empire’s capital, Kirin Holy Star.

Tianci, who had a grudge against Lin Zhen, didn’t have the time to bother him lately due to this training camp.

During this period, various media bombarded them with reports of the concentration camp’s experts.

Lin Zhen had heard about this news so much that he was tired of it. He also wanted to gain experience in the Chaotic Star River, but regretfully, he wasn’t part of the concentration camp.

“Perhaps I should depart in a few days. Even if I’m not part of the concentration camp, I can participate as a volunteer,” he said.

Though he was somewhat unwilling, Lin Zhen had to go. Staying home wouldn’t provide much help for his further improvement.

“Master, you’ve got a call from your friend Han Sha from within the Dimensional Universe. Would you like to connect?”

“Han Sha!”

Lin Zhen jolted in surprise. Since he returned to his hometown, Han Sha hadn’t contacted him for a long while, like he had forgotten him completely. Why would Han Sha suddenly contact him today?

Although Lin Zhen didn’t know what Han Sha wanted, he had a hunch that perhaps Han Sha brought some good news.