Soul Ink was shocked. "How is that possible? A World Tree can normally nurture one avatar. Some can manage two, and that’s already extremely rare. I’ve never heard of a World Tree being able to nurture a third avatar. Your World Tree’s mutation is just off the charts, isn’t it?"

He had once obtained two World Trees and used one for himself, but that tree had only produced a single avatar.

"I don’t know what’s going on either." Li Yang shook his head.

But he thought to himself, ’Could it be because I’m practicing the Cultivation Technique from that mysterious little sword?’

The only things Soul Ink didn’t know about were the mysterious little sword in his mind and the Cultivation Technique that came from it.

The Body Refining Chapter, the Foundation Establishment Chapter, and the Soul Chapter!

Right now, Li Yang had just begun practicing the Soul Chapter. As he cultivated, he could feel the speed at which his Thunder Star Beast avatar comprehended the Thunder Law slowly increasing!

Keep in mind, the Thunder Star Beast was naturally born with mastery over Explosion—one of the four foundations of the Thunder Law. Its comprehension speed was already incredibly fast to begin with!

And now, it was accelerating! This just went to show how powerful the Cultivation Technique from the mysterious little sword was!

Soul Ink was stunned for a moment, then his shock turned to elation. "Haha, whatever the reason, Li Yang, this is a great thing! An extra avatar means you might be able to master an additional Law in the future!"

He was already counting on Li Yang’s rapid growth. Only if Li Yang became powerful enough could he help him be resurrected.

Now, that possibility had grown much larger.

Li Yang asked, "What kind of avatar should I nurture?"

When it came to avatars, Soul Ink definitely knew more than he did.

"Let me think. Other than the Thunder Star Beast, there are no life forms with a sufficiently high life-level on Earth. To nurture a new avatar, you’ll have to leave Earth and search for one in the Cosmos..."

Soul Ink said, "Li Yang, when are you planning to leave Earth? The sooner you can nurture the avatar, the better."

Soul Ink was practically buzzing with impatience.

"Soon," Li Yang said after a moment’s thought. "I’ll leave once the matter of the mining partnership on Earth is settled."

The two continued their discussion. A day later, Lu Tower came to introduce Li Yang to someone who was interested in Earth’s Purple Brilliance Crystal Stone mines.

Somewhere in the Virtual Space, Li Yang, Shen Xuan, and Lu Tower were gathered in an open-air plaza. Seated on the other side of a table in front of them was a short, elderly man, not even 1.3 meters tall.

"Li Yang, this is Bano of the Dwarf Race," Lu Tower said with a smile. "After I put the word out, Bano offered the lowest commission fee for the mining rights. He only requires a ten percent commission."

Since they were coming to Earth to mine, a fee was naturally expected.

And a ten percent fee was clearly very high.

However, for a Planet Zero like Earth, this was already quite a fair price.

"Haha, Li Yang, I’m very interested in the Purple Brilliance Crystal Stone mines, and in all the planets around your Earth," said Bano. His beard was a mess and his eyes were small, but he had the distinct look of a shrewd man. "If possible, I’d like to take the contract for all of them."

Hearing this, Li Yang conferred with Shen Xuan for a moment before replying, "Mr. Bano, for now, Earth is only selling the rights to the Purple Brilliance Crystal Stones on Mars and the Moon."

Seeing that Li Yang wasn’t agreeing to the larger deal, Bano didn’t press the issue. He smiled. "Very well. Let’s first sign a cooperative mining agreement for the deposits on Mars and the Moon. In the future, only our team will be allowed to mine on these two bodies; no one else may interfere."

"Of course." Li Yang nodded.

With Lu Tower as a witness, the mining rights for the Purple Brilliance Crystal Stones on Mars and the Moon were handed over to Bano’s team. After deducting all labor costs from the mined Crystal Stones, Bano would take a ten percent cut of the net profit.

Although the profit share was steep, Bano’s was actually the lowest offer.

Some had demanded a forty percent share of the profits, while others had asked for thirty.

"Mr. Li Yang, here’s to a fruitful partnership."

Once the agreement was finalized, Bano immediately paid a deposit of one hundred million Galaxy Coins.

If Bano were to back out later, he would forfeit the deposit.

If Earth’s side backed out, they would have to refund three times the amount.

After all, the Purple Brilliance Crystal Stone mines on Mars and the Moon were worth at least two hundred trillion Galaxy Coins. A deposit of one hundred million was a mere drop in the bucket.

To Li Yang and his people, however, this was an enormous sum. At the very least, it meant they wouldn’t be locked out of the Virtual World in three days’ time.

After the Galaxy Coins were deposited, Li Yang transferred half to Shen Xuan to manage.

"So you’re really not coming with me to the Milky Way Galaxy tomorrow?" Li Yang asked.

"That’s right. I’m worried about things here on Earth," Shen Xuan said bluntly. "That Jin Mola definitely won’t give up so easily."

"I’ll stay behind for a while. I’ll go after the mining starts, we’ve secured some resources, and Earth has grown a bit stronger," Shen Xuan stated.

Right now, he and Li Yang were the only Law Realm experts on Earth.

Li Yang nodded at Shen Xuan’s words.

"Li Yang, you must be careful on your trip to the Milky Way," Shen Xuan said, his expression cautious. "I’m worried Jin Mola won’t let this matter rest."

"Don’t worry," Li Yang nodded. "I know how to handle myself."

...

「The next day.」

Li Yang woke up bright and early. He had breakfast with Zhou Yao, Li Guohai, Zhao Rou, Li Xue, and the others.

Finally, Li Yang stood up.

"Li Yang."

Seeing him stand, a look of reluctance immediately filled Zhou Yao’s eyes.

"Yangyang."

Li Guohai and Zhao Rou watched their son, knowing that today he would be leaving Earth for the other civilized worlds of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Li Yang held Zhou Yao’s hand, looked at his parents and sister, and said, "Dad, Mom, Sis... I’m leaving."

"Yangyang, you have to be careful," Zhao Rou said, unable to hide her worry.

"Don’t worry, Mom. We can meet often in the Virtual World," Li Yang said with a comforting smile. "I don’t expect to be gone for too long on this trip to the Milky Way; I’ll be back before you know it."

After saying that, he turned to Zhou Yao. "Zhou Yao, I’m leaving now."

"Li Yang, you have to promise you’ll log into the Virtual World often."

Zhou Yao couldn’t bear to let him go, hugging him tightly.

"I’ll do whatever my wife says," Li Yang chuckled.

WHOOSH!

In the distance, a shuttle approached at high speed. A hatch opened, and Lu Tower stepped out.

"Li Yang, it’s time to go," Lu Tower said with a smile.

He was the one taking Li Yang on this journey.

Li Yang nodded, took one last look at his family, then turned and flew directly into the shuttle.

The shuttle powered on and completely vanished from sight in less than two seconds.

...

Li Yang felt the shuttle enter a strange tunnel. Looking through the vessel’s window, he could see layers of hazy, gray currents flowing outside, a peculiar sight.

"Li Yang, this is a spatial wormhole. By traveling through it, a ship can drastically reduce the distance between two points. It’s similar to space-folding."

Lu Tower stood beside Li Yang and smiled. "We’re headed for the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy, which is also the area with the highest concentration of life-bearing planets."