The extinction of the Black and White Clan, the warm-hearted old rascal

"Longyuan Empire, Year 685 of Longheng, Early Summer." 

"Today, we encountered the True God Amraese on the frontline. It was truly powerful, and both Ming and I sustained grievous injuries. 

Although there is a potion available to heal us, it is but a drop in the ocean." 

"Thus, we plan to carry out the task entrusted by Tang, to show these True Gods the might of our Black and White Clan!" 

Xu Que blinked, puzzled. What on earth was this Black and White Clan? 

"Never mind, the universe is vast, with billions of creatures, why bother about it?" 

After his moment of exasperation, Xu Que continued flipping through the pages. 

As he reached the tenth page, a passage left him stunned. 

The Longheng army had finally arrived, and with the Primordial Sword in hand, Longheng struck at the head of the True God Amraese! 

Xu Que's heart skipped a beat. He quickly drew the Primordial Sword, glancing nervously around—he was beginning to feel a bit of fear. 

Turning to the next page, the words there left him utterly dumbfounded. 

"Longyuan Empire, Year 899 of Longheng, Mid-Spring. 

The Demon God Yali has descended, and its terror has instilled fear in us. Our once bright hope has been extinguished." 

"Longheng fell in battle, and Tang was grievously wounded." 

"Tang told me that the apocalypse of Panlan is upon us. He can no longer save us… 

"Lu followed Tang. They intend to return Longheng's body to the mausoleum. 

"And the Longyuan Empire's calendar has been changed to the 'Demon Ancient' calendar!" 

Xu Que clicked his tongue in astonishment. It seemed like he was beginning to understand something. 

He turned the page, and the tone of the entries shifted dramatically, becoming more like a record of flight and survival. 

The following pages also chronicled Chen's records of exile. 

Xu Que flipped through them rapidly, and by the third-to-last page, he found the information he had been looking for! 

"Demon Ancient, Year 122, Late Summer." 

"Liu and I fled to the mausoleum, and here, I discovered ancient texts left by Tang, along with his records." 

"Tang was a great forbidden guardian of the mausoleum. His items, I dare not touch. Thus, Liu and I, following the instructions on the stone walls, sealed away these forbidden relics within the underground barriers of the mausoleum." 

"We exited and shattered the blocking stones, gazing up at the dark sky with a quiet smile…" 

Xu Que let out a low whistle. While he didn't yet know where this mausoleum was, the information recorded here was utterly shocking! 

"Mausoleum, Panlan Star, Old Gods, True Gods, Gods and Demons… Celestial Beasts!" 

Xu Que pondered over it carefully. Though the details were a bit jumbled, the facts were becoming increasingly clear. 

"Forget it, thinking too much is a waste of energy. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." 

Xu Que firmly believed in not overthinking matters he couldn't solve. As for the future… surviving it was his first priority. After all, if even an emperor like Longheng could sacrifice himself, it made Xu Que realize how terrifying the creatures they would face would be. 

He glanced at the timer and saw there were still more than ten minutes remaining. Xu Que then moved over to Shi Xiaohao's side. 

Shi Xiaohao, deep in his meditation, was abruptly interrupted by Xu Que's trade request. 

"Brother-in-law, what's up?" 

"I have something for you," Xu Que replied. 

As the items appeared in the trade window, Shi Xiaohao was deeply shaken. 

"Wow, this brother-in-law really means business!" 

Xu Que wasn't just giving Shi Xiaohao an armguard; he had bigger plans for this promising young man. 

"Your current strength is still too weak. It's best if you go to some B-grade dimensional spaces," Xu Que suggested. 

"Yes, I'll work hard!" Shi Xiaohao replied, nodding vigorously. 

"Alright, time's almost up. We should be leaving," Xu Que said. 

In the afternoon, Xu Que left the Honorary Company, pleased with the immense gains from his trip. 

On the plane to Yinchuan, Xu Que took out his phone and sent two messages to the group, then sent a message to Liang Jinyu. 

As he was about to message Shen Mengchu, Liang Jinyu's reply came swiftly. 

After reading the message, Xu Que's mouth twitched slightly. 

"Good grief, is this the prelude to baby-making?" 

"This plumber also needs to serve other clients, doesn't he?" 

While replying to Liang Jinyu's message, Xu Que overheard a conversation from a group of young men nearby, and his curiosity was piqued. 

"Damn, this Wu Zixu from Country H is really impressive!" 

"Of course! He's ranked number one on the [Formation Ranking], who wouldn't be formidable?" 

"I'm curious though, who is this Avenger? He's S-grade and still hasn't shown himself?" 

"Forget about the Avenger, even the big shots like Ya Zi, Jing Wei, Chi Bi, and Wang Fen haven't appeared." 

"Though, some say Ya Zi and Jing Wei are from our Z Country." 

"Don't be so sure, maybe they're from Country H after all. They love to steal our history and culture." 

"Stop it, I think Wu Zixu is a fake. Though he has formations, if you look closely, his power is only B-grade. And that A-grade ability user from M Country just barely upgraded." 

Xu Que smiled slyly at the mention of someone impersonating him, then glanced at the sky outside to see the current rankings. 

[Cultivation Ranking]: Aside from himself at number one, Zhao Xian had risen to second, Huang Bo was third, and Kun Shao had dropped to fourth… 

"This fool, he got the reward for second place but let Zhao Xian and Huang Bo overtake him." 

Xu Que sighed in exasperation. It was probably time to pair Kun Shao and Shi Xiaohao together, considering how these two fools were bound to stir up some chaos. 

When Xu Que saw that the top twenty-two of the [Cultivation Ranking] were all A-grade, he wasn't overly concerned. After all, these individuals hadn't learned any other skills. 

The [Formation Ranking] had also added three new names: "Mi," "True God," and "Shaye." 

Though he didn't know who was from Country H, anyone who could reach B-grade and still be a formation expert certainly had some real ability. 

As for impersonation? Xu Que didn't care. The more people who impersonated him, the better. 

The [Pet Beast Ranking] still had him at the top, which intrigued him—at this point, there should be a batch of C-grade beasts appearing. 

As for the [Territory Ranking] and [Divine Weapon Ranking], there had been many changes, but he remained in first place, of course—his territory was a combination of Zha Tian and Honorary Company's assets. 

As for weapons… Xu Que had submitted a C-grade Knight's Broadsword, but the core was the Primordial Sword, a weapon of Imperial level! 

Snapping out of his thoughts, Xu Que opened his phone and began browsing forums. 

In his past life, he'd loved lurking on forums, as that was where he often found valuable information. 

Opening an intriguing post, Xu Que quickly skimmed through it. Just as he was reading a post from abroad, Shen Mengchu's message arrived. 

Upon seeing that Shen Mengchu had successfully arranged the new batch of employees in Liaojang and Lijiang, Xu Que smiled and sent a reply. 

Switching back to the page, Xu Que clicked on the post he had just seen. 

It was a thread from a Middle Eastern country, and with the help of his translation app, Xu Que quickly understood the meaning. 

He copied the post, pasted it, and sent it to Ye Gou. 

"Please check if this is true or not. If it is, contact them. As for how you negotiate, that's up to you." 

Just after sending the message, Ye Gou replied instantly. 

"Boss, my old tortoise of a grandfather got us a cooperation order from both E Country and B Country. The high-level rifts will belong to us. As for the distribution, the territories are ours, and we'll split the production 60-40, with us getting the larger share. We'll settle accounts monthly." 

After reading the message, Xu Que quickly typed a reply: "It was your grandfather who negotiated this, right?" 

Ye Gou replied: "Yes, these two countries are allies of ours, so my grandfather just took charge and made it happen." 

Xu Que stared at the message in silence, muttering to himself, "Old Ye, you really have a heart of gold... Old tortoise son, pfft!"