213 Gloria’s Kissing Scene [Four-in-one, a discussion on the romantic arcs of this book!]
For Lu Chen, the perfect chance might come only once.
If his initial invisible strike failed and Bishop Youming discovered his invisibility, what awaited him could be a widespread onslaught of magical flames.
His first choice was to stealthily approach directly above Youming’s head, channel resonance power, and cleave away the halo atop the bishop’s crown.
But he sensed that such a close-range maneuver was perilous.
No one would expose their weakness unless it was poisonous.
What if his sword strike caused the halo to erupt in magical flames or triggered some passive skill?
As Lu Chen neared the halo with these thoughts, a risk warning flashed before him:
【Recklessly attacking Youming’s halo will result in a backlash of holy white flames, potentially causing more harm to yourself than the enemy!】
Resolute, Lu Chen chose to attack the rest of Youming’s spectral body.
Yet he had to damage the halo itself; otherwise, this entity could endlessly regenerate.
He had already tried resonance power—his current cultivation level of thirty-five could collapse the spectral body but not harm the halo.
Thus, he resorted to a newly acquired technique:
Critical Strike Power!
One strike, then retreat immediately—reinforcements from the Uncrowned Kingdom were due shortly; killing Youming himself was not mandatory.
Originally, he intended to seize the spectral core, but the bishop retained his intelligence; those consumed were not fully digested, and the core was yet to form.
Now, driven purely by the mindset of an idealistic medalist, since he was already here, running away without a fight felt unseemly.
He wanted to deliver Youming a small critical shock!
At that moment, his profound spiritual vortex resembled a resilient rubber band, pulled taut into a high bulge.
The force of this bulge far exceeded his thirty-five-level cultivation, roughly matching a level forty-five’s orderly spiritual pressure.
Then, suddenly, he released it!
Like releasing a drawn bowstring, a fierce ripple of spiritual energy burst forth.
These ripples converged at the sword’s tip, raising another bulge of equal height.
The bulge discharged, and the ripples instantly shot into Youming’s body.
Quickly, they locked onto the halo above the bishop’s head.
This step was manually aimed by Lu Chen.
Automatic targeting might have locked onto the weakest point inside Youming’s body, causing the spectral form to collapse; as long as the halo remained intact, the form could recover.
The ripples burst and spread instantly over Youming’s halo!
Critical strike achieved!
The halo collapsed.
Lu Chen immediately shifted his power mode, adding resonance power to the sword’s edge, changing from a stabbing stance to a slicing motion upwards.
With a sharp hiss—
The sword’s tip tore a vibrating fissure across Youming’s spectral surface.
The crack swiftly expanded...
Lu Chen turned to flee, narrowly dodging the shattering halo fragments.
He returned unharmed to the ship’s top deck.
He realized that while the critical strike was powerful, it was on par with the Resonance Power, both likely top-tier abilities; without being a transmigrator with innate advanced aids, one could not learn them.
Crafting the Chosen Power himself… Algernon, this young man over a hundred years old, was even stronger than he’d imagined.
With the bishop’s grand spectral halo shattered, the spectral form trembled and soon collapsed from top to bottom.
In an instant, the humanoid shape vanished, collapsing slowly towards the halo.
This touched upon Lu Chen’s knowledge blind spot.
“Strange... I heard that formed spectral cores cause the specter to collapse inward, but unformed ones collapse downward. Why does this specter collapse upward?”
Gloria calmly explained:
“The white magical flame is a mark of a high-rank demon species. Their souls and wills transcend ordinary human limits, possessing a certain divinity.”
“So... does that mean his spectral core is more valuable?”
“Impressive as always… but after becoming a white demon, most lack spectral cores, possessing instead various sacred lights, relics, and halos fused with demonic essence. Once the demon is destroyed, they collapse and cannot be sold.”
“So I acted in vain?”
“Nonsense, if it were valuable, it wouldn’t be up to you!”
Lu Chen was speechless.
Fortunately, the unrest in the capital had subsided.
Once again, he became a hero, saving tens of millions of the Ge Wu star’s inhabitants.
The mayor sent his thanks and informed him that he had applied to the Uncrowned Kingdom for a gold card for interstellar buses, allowing free rides for a year.
Lu Chen felt some relief.
Suddenly, Gloria’s expression turned grave. She stood up.
“Don’t get too complacent. It’s not over yet.”
She straightened, hand on her sword hilt, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.
“Not over?”
Before Lu Chen could finish, the capital’s sky darkened with swirling black mist and gathering storm clouds.
In an instant, atmospheric pressure plummeted, raising goosebumps and rattling bones.
The sky suddenly tore open in a circular rift, like a blood-stained maw.
Crimson liquid, like molten lava, dripped down, staining the black mist overhead.
The blood curtain seeped from all directions, quickly forming a blood pillar space.
“Netherworld domain?”
Lu Chen recalled that on the Giant Grass planet of the Zu’an nebula, he had once been enveloped by a Netherworld domain.
But this time, the domain only encompassed the collapsed spectral form.
From outside, it appeared as a red-black blood pillar, accompanied by fierce mental attacks, impossible to see inside.
Gritting his teeth against the assault, Lu Chen asked Gloria:
“Is it that skeleton demon again?”
Gloria nodded.
“Yeah. The Abyssal demons’ earthly agents handle demonification incidents across the lands, reclaiming specters. They prevent humans from taking spectral cores. Usually, when we kill specters, they attack us, but this one seems disciplined.”
Lu Chen understood—she was posturing.
After all, the skeleton demon had been scared off by her and now was properly retrieving specters, not daring to attack.
“Then why are you tense?”
“Because earthly agents are chosen prodigy demons sent to reclaim specters by devouring them to increase their strength. Combined with their high innate talent, their cultivation rises rapidly.”
Luckily, no risk warning appeared for Lu Chen.
The skeleton demon had been scared off by Gloria’s identity, not defeated. The skeleton demon could easily crush them even with rapid leveling.
Those meant to be scared, were scared.
Just then—
Atop the blood pillar,
In the center of the circular rift,
The skeleton demon rode a bat-like specter, climbing out.
The bat specter’s eyes locked onto Lu Chen and Gloria.
Soon, the eyes began to split and multiply—two became four, four became thousands...
In moments, thousands upon thousands of white eyes opened and closed densely.
The skeleton demon bore a scythe on his back and held a wine flask.
Wine leaked down his bone frame, dripping directly into the bat specter’s mouth.
“Why do I always run into you wherever I go?” the skeleton demon spoke.
Lu Chen sensed the demon was even stronger than before.
Fortunately, Lu Chen had risen from level thirty to thirty-five, possibly improving faster than the demon, even without devouring a specter.
“Isn’t it you who’s been tracking us all along?”
The skeleton demon paused, eyeing the armored young captain closely.
“Only five or six days passed, and you’ve leveled five times, faster than me devouring specters. No wonder your tone’s tougher.”
Lu Chen thought: Does my level thirty-something growth compare to your sixty-plus level?
“You’re dodging the main point. The real feat is that I killed a white haloed specter at level thirty-five.”
The demon’s eyes ignited with crimson flames.
On the bat specter’s myriad eyes, only Lu Chen’s figure was reflected.
He knew full well that this young man, besides invisibility, wielded the demon-slaying sword to unleash two strange powers unseen before, accomplishing the killing of a holy light specter.
“Seems you’re quite the figure. No wonder this succubus lady follows you... Besides, your ship carries a demon-purifying spirit cat and a devolutionist humanoid tainted by demons. Evidently, your ties to our demon clan run deep, so I have no reason to attack you, sprout.”
Lu Chen relaxed slightly.
Even the demon’s earthly agent was cozying up to him.
The succubus lady’s nickname was quite sweet... Last time, she called him “little succubus.”
The skeleton demon took a swig, spilling wine all over himself, then continued:
“I should thank you. Earthly agents aren’t authorized to devour newly born white demons unless dead... Without you, where would I have found such a pure high-rank white demon to devour? Once fully digested, my rank will rise. When that day comes, maybe I’ll invite you for a drink.”
Mentioning drinking, Gloria frowned deeply, not relaxing at all.
“You underestimate this white demon’s rank. If you truly want to digest it, I advise you to quit drinking early.”
Lu Chen was startled, sensing a strange aura.
The blood pillar Netherworld suddenly rose, enveloping the skeleton demon and bat specter in reverse.
“What’s happening? This holy light…”
The skeleton demon’s shocked voice vanished within the domain.
A halo slowly appeared above the blood column.
It looked down on Lu Chen but reined in its magical flames and mental attacks, calmly saying:
“Thank you.”
It was no longer a human voice but still full of humility and resignation.
Lu Chen was dumbfounded.
“Is that the bishop?”
Gloria sighed softly, lifting the wine flask.
“After absorbing the skeleton demon, he has completely demonized—a rare high-rank being.”
Lu Chen sighed as well.
He had underestimated the bishop’s faith and will.
When idealists go astray, their disaster can surpass that of the vile.
Yet he believed that, even so, idealists are humanity’s light, defining a civilization’s baseline and ceiling. If they choose the right path, they could lead all mankind to transcendence.
Just then, the bishop opened the Netherworld domain, releasing the trapped humans.
Though their bodies were bloodied beyond recognition and none alive, they deserved burial on this land.
The halo slowly sank, merging with the blood pillar’s circular rift.
The entire Netherworld vanished from the night sky.
—
The mayor quickly contacted Lu Chen.
“Senior Lu, what exactly happened just now? I think I heard the bishop’s voice…”
Lu Chen said simply:
“The bishop is dead. That was his soul’s final words.”
With that, he and Gloria returned to the ship.
At this time, Aili had fainted from fright.
Lu Chen gave her a calming pill she had purchased herself, then carried her to the resting pod.
Back in the cockpit, Gloria suddenly said:
“You lost.”
Lu Chen was stunned.
“What do you mean I lost?”
“You cheated, so you lost.”
“How did I cheat?”
“We agreed to train together after buying the cultivation pod, but you secretly practiced critical strike power!”
Unfazed, Lu Chen snorted coldly.
“I didn’t practice it; it comes naturally. Maybe I’m just that chosen one. You and Aili owe me massages!”
Gloria curled her lips in disdain.
“Cheating and asking me for massages? Dream on! You owe us massages to make up for it.”
Lu Chen shrugged.
“We’ll see when we get to the Bai Lu. I’ll give you plenty of time to learn it yourselves.”
Gloria was left speechless.
Lu Chen then contacted the mayor.
After contacting the Uncrowned Kingdom, they learned reinforcements would arrive at Ge Wu star in half an hour.
“Is the interstellar bus still coming?”
“In two hours, the bus will arrive as scheduled.”
“Arriving as scheduled, but the station’s gone. Will it still come?”
“Yes, it will.”
Soon, a dozen low-level adventure ships that had hovered outside the atmosphere to avoid specters began to land in the capital, eager to get acquainted with the Lioning.
Among them was a live-streaming ship.
Its top bore signs of artificial repair.
It was the very ship Lu Chen had casually rescued while hunting the duckbill star beast, occupied by twin female streamers.
They immediately connected to Lioning’s large screen.
“I knew someone dared to touch a specter—it’s you, Captain Lu! We meet again!”
Lu Chen suddenly turned serious.
“What did you capture?”
“We filmed you killing the specter, then the Netherworld domain appeared. You seemed to be talking to it, and we even heard a demon say thank you!”
“Delete the latter part; just keep the heroic killing.”
“But over a dozen adventure ships saw it!”
“Fine, I’ll kill you all.”
“Uh, maybe it’s an illusion... Specters can’t appear on camera; you were probably just chatting with Miss Gloria. Yes, that must be it!”
“Get lost.”
“You’re at the interstellar station to catch the bus to Bai Lu? So are we!”
“I should charge you for saving your lives.”
“Sure, we’ve applied to headquarters. If you accept an hour-long exclusive interview, we’ll pay ten thousand spirit stones, half as your rescue fee.”
“Send me your question list.”
“Our interviews are live with no preset questions, just random Q&A, plus many viewer questions. You can skip sensitive ones.”
“Live call? So I can do the interview inside the ship?”
“Of course.”
Lu Chen considered it easy money—ten thousand spirit stones.
Previously, during an official interview with the Uncrowned Kingdom’s media ‘Light’, he got only a thousand spirit stones.
What a ripoff!
Commercial live streams were more generous.
Of course, ten thousand spirit stones matched his current fame.
Idle now, why not earn it?
“Okay.”
The twin streamers cheered:
“Great! We’ll prepare briefly and start in half an hour.”
Gloria stretched and patted Lu Chen on the shoulder.
“I told you, streaming makes more money than adventuring.”
Lu Chen mused:
“To make big money streaming, you have to go frontline. Death rate’s not small.”
Soon, the Uncrowned Kingdom’s reinforcements arrived.
A level sixty cruiser, two level fifty battleships, a frigate, an exploration ship, and a construction ship.
They found nothing—the specter was gone.
The fleet quickly cleaned the battlefield, investigated, and repaired the station platform.
A middle-aged female captain boarded Lioning to thank them and presented the highest-level black gold card from the Uncrowned Kingdom’s railway department.
“Thank you, Captain Lu, for aiding us again and saving tens of millions in Ge Wu’s capital. This black gold card never expires but is limited to Lioning and its three crew members.”
“Thank you!”
Lu Chen thought the card was even better than the mayor’s application.
Too bad he was about to get a new ship, and if it was much larger than Lioning, he’d have to pay extra.
The female captain glanced at the ship’s various strange adventure treasures, amazed but refrained from asking.
She had clearly seen news of the Primitive Starfall Adventure Group’s exploits in the Zu’an nebula.
“The bus won’t arrive for two hours. The Light editorial wants another interview with Captain Lu, offering a special two-thousand spirit stone fee. Interested?”
Two thousand spirit stones? Try to fool me?
Lu Chen yawned, exhausted.
“Killing specters is tiring; I want to rest.”
“Then I won’t bother you.”
—
Turning, Lu Chen connected to the twin streamers’ live room.
One was called Chun Song, the other Xia Xian.
He couldn’t tell them apart.
Not ugly, but not exactly pretty—cute and quirky.
They didn’t use beauty filters and wore all kinds of funny makeup.
Their stream was popular, with donations right away.
“Stop donating! No jokes today, keep it serious!”
“We’re live with the recently popular Starbreaker Lu Chen for a simple interview.”
The chat was flooded with messages about Dogwa and Gloria.
Viewers were mostly male.
Lu Chen pointed the camera at Gloria.
“Gloria, this fat cat, is gaming. Dogwa fainted from specter fright and is resting. I’m the only one here. If you don’t watch, get lost—doesn’t affect my pay.”
The chat was full of scorn.
Then the streamers said:
“Whether Starfall is real, we don’t know, but we just saw Captain Lu pilot a level forty battle armor and kill a level forty specter with a white halo.”
Silence fell over the chat.
Someone explained:
“Holy light demons are high-rank in the demon clan, and white halos indicate near top-tier status. Such demons are usually fallen heroes with noble missions; even after demonization, they retain their sacred purpose. The nobler the mission, the more dangerous to humans.”
“Notably, these holy light demons far exceed ordinary specters in combat power. How Captain Lu killed one is unknown.”
The chat fell silent from fear.
Lu Chen boldly responded:
“Simple. I have an ancient demon-slaying sword plus some tricks. Like this, then this — the demon dies.”
Right from the start, he went big, setting the tone.
“So Starfall is real?”
The twins probed.
“Starfall is easier. Ancient planetary arrays have degraded over time, exposing runes. With some methods like this and that…”
Lu Chen gestured casually.
No one dared interrupt.
“Empire Entertainment Weekly said you’re the idol promoted by the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Questions grew direct.
Lu Chen answered bluntly:
“What kind of question is that? Even if true, I wouldn’t say so—that’d spoil the cover. Princess Yin Lan wouldn’t admit being an imperial idol, either.”
The chat flooded with “Understood.”
Lu Chen smiled silently; it didn’t hurt him.
Perhaps Fei Ang Di company would soon approach him for endorsements by the Primitive Starfall group.
Soon, the stream’s link was posted on the adventurers’ forum.
A flood of viewers came—mostly fans of the trio, some onlookers, even journalists.
“Wow, record viewers today! We underestimated Captain Lu’s popularity!”
“Looks like Aili and Gloria are more popular!”
The twins asked many daily life questions about the one guy and two girls living together.
Lu Chen laughed and answered:
“Overall, one man and two women don’t affect things much. We keep proper boundaries and respect each other.”
The chat corrected his idiom usage angrily:
“That’s not how you use ‘respect each other’!”
Lu Chen smiled quietly.
Later, the twins even asked about Gloria’s race.
Gloria’s translucent demon flame on the Giant Grass planet had been detected by passing ships.
Lu Chen candidly admitted:
“Gloria is indeed half succubus but a law-abiding citizen who never eats people—just spends a bit, not too hard to maintain.”
The chat erupted.
Succubus!
The twins excitedly gossiped:
“Succubus means that kind, right? Does she suck your blood?”
Lu Chen replied:
“Not just my blood, also my money.”
The chat went wild.
He then explained:
“Usually, I absorb her blood for mana replenishment. Of course, we keep it clean—no exploitation; I give her personal money afterward.”
The chat’s neutral fans joked: “Your ship’s really chaotic!”
Gloria’s fans suddenly mourned.
Dogwa’s fans said: “Thanks, Gloria, for protecting Aili’s purity!”
The twins then asked about Aili’s race.
Lu Chen wanted to boost Aili’s popularity.
“Dogwa’s nickname fits. Aili can transform into a wolf, which saved her from harm and kept her pure. Even I can’t touch her casually; she claws me and draws blood—very cute. But long captivity gave her some psychological scars. I’m working on her mental recovery and hope her fans show more kindness.”
He revealed the truth because many forum posts had analyzed their races, some quite lewd, forcing him to clarify publicly.
The twins laughed and asked:
“Captain Lu, with two such cute teammates, all keeping clean... are you into men?”
“Well, as a science guy, I prefer adventure and odd things. Love? What’s that? Not even dogs deal with it!”
“If you had to marry one woman, would you choose Gloria, Aili, or another sweetheart?”
“Nonsense! Kids make choices; I want them all!”
The twins fell silent, pointing behind Lu Chen.
“Captain Lu, behind you...”
He turned to see Gloria in an open-front green sweater, towering like a voluptuous giant, her red eyes like a high-dimensional being gazing down.
“You want them all, huh?”
She swung a fist the size of a sandbag and pummeled him, ending the interview forcefully.
The chat was filled with joyful atmosphere.
The Primitive Starfall group’s association bank account soon received ten thousand spirit stones from the Crazy Little Sun streaming company.
But after the stream closed,
Lu Chen was still getting beaten...
Could he tolerate this?
Though it didn’t hurt, pride mattered.
He flipped over and pinned Gloria to the pilot seat.
“I thought you were playing along. Why take it seriously?”
Gloria kicked him off, then straddled him again.
As a succubus, she could see through men’s hearts at a glance.
“Heh, you make a few bucks and want a harem? Unless you let me manage all your money, forget it!”
Lu Chen was stunned.
So it wasn’t fear of marriage or a harem but fear of money being split.
Just like you...
“You’re overthinking. I’m just fooling the stream to boost your and Aili’s popularity. Anyone can tell it’s fake!”
“Oh, really?”
Gloria tilted her head, dropped her hold, and curiously asked:
“So, you like men?”
“...”
Lu Chen was speechless and quickly clarified:
“I like women. My orientation is normal. I just don’t like dating during adventures.”
Gloria smiled broadly, leaned down, and patted his chest.
“That’s perfect. I don’t like all that lovey-dovey stuff either. Just keep the money flowing!”
Lu Chen relaxed a bit.
At present, Gloria wore white ultra-short shorts and a moss-green sweater with a cute heart-shaped cutout at the chest, revealing ample and alluring curves, full of youthful vigor.
The scent of purple grass shower gel mixed with alcohol wafted like a summer evening breeze.
Lu Chen felt slightly dizzy and hastily explained:
“Who talks about love or family onboard? What if more teammates join?”
Gloria touched her lips thoughtfully, seriously considering.
“Then only women you like can board?”
Lu Chen was stunned.
What a silver hare adventure...
But on second thought, wasn’t this a shortcut to paradise?
Even without romance onboard, adventuring with a harem of beauties matching his tastes wouldn’t be bad.
He nodded slightly, as if enlightened:
“If we meet capable beauties who benefit our adventures, it’s a good plan.”
Gloria immediately saw the man’s true nature in his eyes, took out her flask, sipped, and sneered:
“Tch, men... I knew you had no good intentions—lustful yet timid, always fantasizing about various races of beauties.”
Lu Chen breathed a sigh of relief. As a succubus, she overwhelmed him so thoroughly he could barely stand or think.
He then stood, straightened his clothes, regained composure, and gazed seriously at Gloria:
“Maybe adventure will end someday, but Lu Chen, Gloria, and Aili will never part... We’ll become a family.”
Gloria was slightly taken aback, feeling as if he had confessed.
Her eyes, usually sharp as sword energy, softened like shimmering ripples.
“That’s more like it. Sister rewards you with a kiss.”
She bit his lip, marking him!
Lu Chen licked the blood—only the taste of iron and sweetness.
“Hah, women are all the same.”
(Author’s note: This story is a warm harem tale, not a harem with harems. I’ve written many adult stories before, but now they don’t interest me much.)
—
An hour later.
The interstellar bus arrived on time.
A deep, distant horn sounded within the atmosphere, sending continuous waves of sound.
This was a fastest direct ship, without entertainment facilities, taking a safe but longer route allowing jump drives.
Though longer, the arrival time was earlier.
For passengers, multiple jumps were but a blink.
It stopped briefly at each interstellar station.
After several stops, it would reach Bai Lu.
The fare was higher than normal buses.
But for Lioning, it was still free.
At the newly built platform, the mayor and fleet captains gave a send-off ceremony for Lioning.
Lu Chen received local specialties like pure spirit wine, green corn cakes, and aquatic wool blankets.
Very peculiar—no matches online.
Amid the warm farewell, Lioning, the live-stream ship, and a dozen adventure ships boarded the bus—each in their own container—no contact between them.
In moments,
They arrived at the starry giant: Bai Lu.
Ships disembarked in turn.
After Lioning left the cabin, they immediately saw Bai Lu.
Inside the cockpit,
Lu Chen and Aili both saw a star giant face to face for the first time.
They stood at the helm, gazing into the distance.
Though far from the giant in deep space, the overwhelming presence still pressed upon them.
Gloria sat cross-legged on the helm, sipping wine, looking at Lu Chen and Aili as if seeing country bumpkins.
“First time seeing one? I’ve been out at sea three years, mostly on the giant.”
Bai Lu was pure white, eighteen thousand kilometers long—longer than Earth’s diameter—and three thousand kilometers wide, shaped like a blue whale with sleek lines.
It looked even more spectacular than the Wandering Earth.
Lioning accelerated, shrinking into a speck as it approached Bai Lu.
Its silver-white hull emitted faint pale blue light patterns, drifting silently in the dark void.
Lu Chen couldn’t see the whole ship, only a smooth silver wall slowly drifting.
A sense of cosmic awe stirred in his heart.
Even online didn’t compare to seeing it in person.
Aili couldn’t help but exclaim:
“Wow, so beautiful, like a deep-sea white whale.”
“Look, there’s a cruiser too!”
Lu Chen spotted an escort cruiser.
According to online info, Bai Lu had a warp drive rated at level three hundred.
Around it were six level two hundred cruisers as escorts.
Only a few top-ranked entities could threaten Bai Lu’s safety.
Behind Bai Lu stood the entire Adventurers’ Guild, teeming with powerful figures not even listed on rankings.
Even the Seven Emperors dared not challenge the guild recklessly.
The guild had built twenty-four such star giants.
Bai Lu had four ports: Qian, Kun, East, and West.
Lioning slowly flew to the West Port.
Ships large and small flowed in and out.
Following the traffic, Lioning reached a huge square security gate for scan inspection.
Soon, Lioning was detected carrying two humanoid girls with spectral poison but was allowed to land as the poison on hosts was not widely contagious.
Gloria was scanned and identified as a legal half-demon, also permitted to land.
Fortunately, the demon-purifying cat was not detected.
Otherwise, trouble would have been serious.
After scanning, a warm welcome message played:
“Adventure ship Lioning has passed capital verification with 62,000 spirit stones in bank balance. Free docking. Minimum daily spend per person is ten spirit stones. Charges settled on departure; insufficient spending will be deducted. Welcome to dock—wish you pleasant shopping!”
(End of chapter)