Wu Qi recalled, "I became an orphan because of the demon's scourge. I suffered all kinds of hardships, wandering until I reached Cheng'an Prefecture. I've forgotten many of the hardships of my youth; they were just too painful."

Xu Jingming listened, imagining the kinds of things a refugee child would encounter in the harsh environment of the Demon Subjugation World.

Wu Qi said, "Back then, I injured my spine when I was hit by something. I couldn't get medical treatment while I was fleeing, so I became a little hunchback. It was only later, when I started practicing martial arts and nurtured the injury, that the hunch wasn't so severe. You didn't see me when I was a kid; my hunchback was much worse than it is now."

"I remember that year it snowed heavily. It was so cold, and I had nothing to eat," Uncle Qi said. "I was so frozen on the street that I was about to fall asleep."

"If I had really fallen asleep back then, I probably would have died," Uncle Qi said. "Just when I was dazed from the cold, your mother appeared. Your mother was about the same age as me back then, still just a child. Your mother was a young lady of the Wu family. I remember she was dressed so beautifully."

"It was your mother who gave me food and drink. She even took my hand and led me into the Wu residence," Uncle Qi said. "Your mother was truly kind. She didn't嫌弃 (xiánqì) me, a hunchbacked little beggar, for being dirty. She brought me into the Wu residence. There, I learned to read and write, I learned martial arts, and I truly turned my life around."

Xu Jingming listened attentively.

"I wanted to repay the young lady for the rest of my life. I studied martial arts very hard, and finally, I entered the martial Dao," Uncle Qi said with a smile. "And I was finally able to become the young lady's guard."

"The young lady trusted me very much. When she married into the Chen family and took a group of maids and guards with her, she had me follow along, and even arranged for me to become a steward," Uncle Qi said. "Naturally, I wouldn't betray the young lady's trust. I served her wholeheartedly."

"It was only through living together day and night that I discovered Chen Shi'an's true nature. On the surface, he seemed like a wealthy young master, well-mannered and courteous. But in reality, he was greedy and selfish," Uncle Qi said through gritted teeth. "I even wanted to kill him with a knife. But after all, he was the young lady's husband. Without the young lady's approval, I couldn't act."

"The young lady was heartbroken in secret, but she still had to manage the affairs of the second branch of the family and run some businesses," Uncle Qi said. "Perhaps she was heartbroken by Chen Shi'an and too worried about business matters. The young lady fell ill..."

Tears welled up in Uncle Qi's eyes. "When she was in the Wu family, the young lady was carefree and happy. How could she have imagined that marrying into the Chen family would be like this? Before she died, the young lady was most worried about you, young master. You were only eight years old back then. Although the young lady forced Chen Shi'an to swear in front of her that he would treat you well and give you eight thousand taels of silver when you came of age, she still didn't quite trust him, so she secretly instructed me."

"She gave me five thousand taels of silver, which she had secretly saved over the years," Uncle Qi said. "And she told me that I must take good care of you."

"Later, the young lady died, but Chen Shi'an was very happy. All of the young lady's dowry and the money she left behind benefited him. That year, he married your second mother. He even ostracized some of the servants and guards who had come with the young lady," Uncle Qi said. "I was transferred to be responsible for transporting medicinal herbs. Although I had entered the martial Dao, I wasn't much in the Chen family. To stay in the Chen family and protect you, young master... I couldn't resist at the time."

"Do you remember when you were nine years old, the Chen family's team transporting medicinal herbs was attacked and killed by bandits, with heavy casualties?" Uncle Qi looked at Xu Jingming. "Actually, that time, I died in the bandit siege."

"When I killed more than ten bandits in a row, provoking one of the bandit leaders to lead the crowd to besiege me, I knew I couldn't escape," Uncle Qi said. "I tried to resist, to find a glimmer of hope. I didn't want to die. I still had to protect you, young master. In the Chen family, with Chen Shi'an's nature... without anyone protecting you, young master, you would have a very hard time."

Uncle Qi's eyes turned red. "But sometimes, you can't live just because you don't want to die. I wasn't strong enough, I really couldn't stop them. That saber slashed across my chest."

"I really didn't want to die."

"I couldn't die either. If I died, who would protect the young master?" Uncle Qi said. "Perhaps at the moment of life and death, my obsession was too strong. My body died, but my obsession still existed."

Uncle Qi smiled gently. "It's good too. By becoming a demon, I truly possessed the strength to protect you, young master."

Uncle Qi looked at Xu Jingming and said, "After becoming a demon, I seemed inconspicuous in the Chen family, but I could secretly influence many things, so I was able to take care of you, young master, all this time."

Xu Jingming nodded.

In Chen Qi's memory, he was always cautious at home, never daring to make his father or stepmother angry. But in reality, Chen Qi hadn't encountered any major dangers or troubles. Now it seemed that Wu Qi had secretly blocked them all.

"But I didn't expect that even though you didn't offend anyone in the Chen family, the Chen family still forced you out," Uncle Qi said, shaking his head. "It's better to leave. With me protecting you, young master, you can suffer less hardship outside."

"Speaking of which, fate is really playing tricks. You actually received the Demon Subjugation Secret Art and became a Demon Subjugator, making the Chen family regret it so much that their intestines turned green," Uncle Qi praised. "What's more, you have such outstanding talent for Demon Subjugation. In just over ten years, you've grown to such a point. Your strength is already stronger than mine."

Uncle Qi's demon body was only equivalent to the eighth realm Heavenly Demon in terms of strength. It was only by relying on his top-notch saber technique that he could resist Heavenly Demons of a higher realm.

"Your strength is now stronger than mine, young master, and your martial brother Gu Shan is even more unfathomable," Uncle Qi said with a sigh. "I can't protect you much anymore. With my current strength, if I encounter danger, I'm afraid I'll need you to protect me, young master."

Xu Jingming's eyes were filled with reluctance.

"I did what the young lady entrusted to me," Uncle Qi said, looking at Xu Jingming with a smile. "Also, you don't need to be troubled, young master. I haven't done any evil these years. I'm not the kind of demon that you hate."

"I'm not troubled. I believe in you too, Uncle Qi," Xu Jingming said.

"Alright, now that I've said everything, I feel relieved too," Uncle Qi said. "In the end, I also want to give you some advice, young master."

"Tell me," Xu Jingming said.

"These past ten years or so, you've traveled everywhere, caring about the common people. But, young master, you should care more about yourself," Uncle Qi said. "People only live for so long. You should do things that you like, things that make you happy."

"Like me, I've always done things that make me happy in this life, following the young lady in the past, and protecting you later," Uncle Qi said. "After I leave, you'll be alone, young master. You should do some things that make you happy, don't make things too hard on yourself."

Xu Jingming nodded slightly. "Thank you, Uncle Qi."

"I'm leaving."

Uncle Qi put down his wine cup, smiled slightly, and his figure dissipated.

As he dissipated, Uncle Qi looked at the sky.

He would always remember that day, when that delicate and pretty girl took his hand, and the hunchbacked boy walked into the gates of the Wu family together.

Xu Jingming sat at the stone table, with a pot of wine and two cups in front of him. Uncle Qi had already disappeared.

Demons: if their obsession remains, they are immortal and indestructible.

If their obsession dissipates, they disappear completely.

"Uncle Qi's obsession was to protect the young master. Now that the young master doesn't need his protection anymore, he insisted on staying to tell me everything, and to give me some words of care and advice," Xu Jingming murmured. "I should do things that I like, things that make me happy."

These were Uncle Qi's last words.

"Uncle Qi, our decade or so of acquaintance was also a缘分 (yuánfèn) [a predestined fate]," Xu Jingming said softly. "This departure in the Demon Subjugation World is just the beginning of a long life to come. You and I will eventually meet again."

*******

A distant star system.

A huge ring-shaped structure completely enveloped a star. The light and heat constantly emitted by the star were also absorbed and utilized by this ring-shaped structure.

There were countless lives within the vast ring-shaped structure.

Inside a room on the 132nd floor of Zone B37.

In a nutrient solution pod, a man with messy hair suddenly sat up straight. He was a little dazed, "Wu Qi? Qi Weike?" Soon, he became completely awake.

"53 years have passed."

The man with messy hair sat in front of a mirror, trimmed his hair and beard, and soon transformed into a weathered middle-aged man. His face was lined with wrinkles, and some of his hair had turned white.

"Before I went to sleep, I was still considered young. I woke up from a dream, and I'm already over a hundred years old. Should I call myself Qi Weike, or Wu Qi? Qi Weike's days were too boring. Wu Qi's days were happier."

"Anyway, no one cares about Qi Weike."

"From now on, I'll call myself Wu Qi."

Wu Qi looked at himself in the mirror.

In reality, he was a resident of a mineral planet. He grew up among the wind, sand, and metal. The mineral planet... everything was for mining. The living environment here was much harsher than on life-supporting planets.

He didn't know who his father was.

After giving birth to him, his mother finally accumulated enough points, and she immediately applied for a transfer! His mother left without any hesitation, abandoning Wu Qi and leaving this hopeless mineral planet.

Wu Qi worked hard on the mineral planet. No women ever looked at him. It wasn't until he was 62 years old that he saved enough points to apply to leave the mineral planet.

When he first arrived on a life-supporting planet, Wu Qi looked at the wonderful world, but his poverty quickly led to all sorts of setbacks.

A message recruiting "Virtual World Indigenous Residents" gave Wu Qi hope.

"My life has been too boring. Perhaps the virtual world will be wonderful." Wu Qi submitted his application and was sent here with many others.

The virtual world he entered was called the Demon Subjugation World.

To better enjoy this world, Wu Qi chose to descend as a five-year-old child and signed a contract for 'eighty years'. If everything went smoothly, this child should be able to live to eighty-five years old.

He had stayed in the Demon Subjugation World for 53 years. His obsession dissipated, and he woke up in reality. His actual age had also passed a hundred years, and he had quite a few white hairs.

"Let's go out and take a look." Wu Qi walked out of the room and walked along the corridor.

After walking for a while, he took a sightseeing elevator and soon reached the outermost perimeter.

The huge sky-dome isolation layer greatly weakened the star's light and heat.

Wu Qi sat down, looking at the incredibly vast star in front of him through the sky-dome isolation layer.

"Compared to reality, these 53 years in the Demon Subjugation World were quite wonderful. The young lady was really good to me. She took care of me after I entered the Wu residence. I learned martial arts there and entered the martial Dao," Wu Qi said with a smile. "It was also in the Demon Subjugation World that I tasted many fine wines and delicious foods. The young master really loves food. I wonder if he will still be searching for delicacies from all over the world after I leave."

"I wonder if the young lady is doing well in reality?" Wu Qi said, a little worried and concerned.

Having lived for over a century, he was so concerned about someone.

"Young lady and young master, will I ever see you again?" Wu Qi wondered silently.

Buzz--

A light and shadow condensed beside him, forming a woman wearing a gray uniform.

Wu Qi turned his head to look.

"Qi Weike, hello, or should I call you Wu Qi?" The woman smiled. "I am Qu Nuowei, the first administrator of Zone B37. I am also from the Qingfang Civilization."

Wu Qi nodded slightly.

"Congratulations, you have gained a great deal in the Demon Subjugation World. Your combat bonus has reached 37 times," the woman said with a smile. "With this, you will reach the seventh-order cosmic life form in a short time."

"At the same time, your obsession can become a Heavenly Demon, and your mental power also has talent. You will be cultivated by the Qingfang Civilization. With the combination of your combat and mental power talents, you are expected to become an eighth-order cosmic life form," the woman said.

"Oh." Wu Qi nodded.

The woman was stunned. Wasn't he excited at all? Demon obsessions are generally more extreme and not useful in reality. One must reach the 'Heavenly Demon' level of obsession to have enough self-control and enough cultivation value.

Someone like Wu Qi, with a high combat bonus and mental talent, was a true talent.

"Do you have data on my experience in the Demon Subjugation World?" Wu Qi asked.

"Of course."

The woman nodded. "We have records of every indigenous resident's experience. The entire ring-shaped sky-dome where you now live is home to Qingfang Civilization volunteers from thousands of star systems, numbering over ten trillion! All the indigenous residents of Qing Country in the Demon Subjugation World... are on this ring-shaped sky-dome."

Wu Qi was stunned and asked, "Can I see the young lady and the young master?"

He had no attachment to the real world. But the young lady and the young master in the Demon Subjugation World were the two most important people in his life.

"In theory, we cannot reveal their identities in the real world," the woman said with a smile. "But your young lady also lives on this ring-shaped sky-dome in reality. As long as you join the Demon Subjugation Group and have enough contribution points, you can submit an application and meet your young lady."

Wu Qi's eyes lit up, and he asked, "What about my young master?"

"Your young master?" The woman was slightly stunned.

According to Wu Qi's experience.

That young master was a Demon Subjugator! Although she could view Wu Qi's experience, she couldn't access detailed information about the young master. She only knew that the Demon Subjugator's strength had surpassed Wu Qi, which was why Wu Qi's obsession had dissipated.

That young master was no less than a ninth-realm Demon Subjugator!

"Your young master is a big figure in reality," the woman said, not hiding too much.

Because Wu Qi would soon know after his breakthrough that such a powerful Demon Subjugator... represented the peak of the eighth order. Moreover, he could fight beyond his realm, which was not comparable to ordinary eighth-order experts.

"I'm afraid I won't be as good as him even if I become an eighth-order cosmic life form?" Wu Qi smiled happily. "That's good, that's good."

"Are you willing to join the Demon Subjugation Group?" the woman asked.

"Yes, I am," Wu Qi nodded.

He had learned about the Demon Subjugation Group through the internet. It was a group company established by the official human beings of the universe, with tentacles that penetrated multiple universe domains, and its strength was unfathomable.

The woman smiled. "Good, the group will soon have a working group to pick you up. This is my personal contact information. You can contact me at any time if you have any questions." Soon, the administrator's projection dissipated.

Wu Qi sat there, in a very good mood. "There's hope of seeing the young lady, and the young master is much more powerful than me. Everything is so good."