Chapter 5-1
A fact was team China had become very strong but there was still a gap between them and the peaks of the realm, team Devil and team Celestial. The strengths of the members were far from those at the top. In the Lord of the Rings, 70% of the credit belonged to Xuan. There was a rather high chance of being wiped if it weren’t for Xuan’s scheme.
“Therefore… we have to get even stronger. Like you, Heng. You wish to protect your girl. You wish to never run again. Never be a coward again. So you must become strong. And YinKong, you wish to seek the footsteps of that man and kill him. So you also must become strong. Xuan wants to find his feelings. Everyone wants to live. You all must become strong. And so do I. I have to become strong to face team Devil again. Keep growing until we do not fear any foes!”
These were words Zheng said before he entered the Lord of the Rings. Many things had not been concluded in the previous battle so this trip was necessary. Zheng also saved a lot of points and rewards from exchanges. He only discussed it with HongLu and didn’t tell Xuan. Then he exchanged a large quantity of medicines and some fancy ornaments. The ornaments were considered luxury items so they were inexpensive. He also exchanged a new spatial storage bag which stuffed his medicines and ornaments then he entered the Lord of the Rings. He exchanged a total of 90 days to conclude several things in the world.
Sauron died for real this time but the One Ring remained. Xuan’s speculation turned out to be true. The three Elven rings also remained. A part of the elves left Middle Earth due to the prophecy but the majority stayed. The age of the Elves ended in the original plot at this point. However, it was not the case in this altered timeline due to the existence of the Elven rings.
Zheng landed in Rivendell upon entering the world. The first people he met were Gandalf and Elrond. A long conversation followed between them. Zheng did not describe God’s realm in much details and the movie characters did not pursue this topic. They told him what happened to the various characters.
The only Hobbit who remained returned to his hometown. Aragorn knighted him for his contribution in the war and bestowed a piece of land to him. Aragorn naturally ascended the throne. Since Theoden died in the war, he was also helping the Queen of Rohan to manage the kingdom. Gimli and Legolas returned to their kingdoms. They became the heroes sang by the barbs and will be told in the histories of Middle Earth in the years to come.
The teams were the heroic mercenaries. Aragorn proposed to carve their portraits on the mountains outside Mordor as a remembrance.
“Sounds like remembering great persons that are dead… Don’t bother with it. It makes me feel something’s not quite right.” Zheng replied.
He was also moved. Knowing that these people who once fought together was the best news to him, even though they belong to different worlds, and there wouldn’t be another chance to fight together again.
Gandalf, being the White Wizard now, was extremely generous. He gave Zheng a hundred energy stones at once. Zheng estimated these were all equivalent to rank D and C energy stones. Gandalf then gave him a bag similar to their spatial bags. It had a smaller space, three cubic meters, but did not require any energy to use. So it was much more convenient.
Zheng parted with Gandalf and Elrond. He did not have to walk his way again as he did in the mission. He brought out the Sky Stick and headed to Lorien where Galadriel was at. The Sky Stick flew over the mountains and soon reached the golden forest. The elves were indeed here as Eldrond had said.
Zheng met with Galadriel. She did not attempt to look into his mind like before. She thanked him and told him to pass the words to Xuan, that the One Ring should leave Middle Earth forever, the Elven rings were more than enough. If it returned, it might bring back Sauron.
(I think… Xuan never considered giving the ring back to you. And the ring is on my hand.) Zheng smiled in agreement. He knew Xuan too well, intelligent and devilish. How could anyone expect to take from him what had reached his hands? The probability of that happening was zero.
Zheng brought out the medicines and ornaments which received cries of surprises from the elves. This world had magic but its technological level was low. Many diseases did not have the appropriate treatments. The medicines were as valuable as mithril. These medicines from God were of high quality and Zheng brought in a lot. He brought the ornaments as a gift rather than as a currency to trade. Elves love delicacy and beauty which the ornaments fit the bill. However, he underestimated the impact of the ornaments. The elves and even Galadriel praised them so much that she ordered the elves to bring Zheng 3000 energy stones. This shocked Zheng in return. The energy stones were lesser quality than the ones from Gandalf but they were still equivalent to rank D energy stones. So many energy stones would cover all their uses in the future. He had no abilities that required energy stones so they would be spent on rune word formations.
Both parties were contend with the deal. Afterward, Zheng flew to Gondor and met with Aragorn again. He spent a thousand energy stones and the remaining medicines to hire farmers to excavate the fallen wizard tower.
Aragorn called five thousand farmers but the lack of technology in this world meant it would take seven to nine months to excavate the tower than sunk two hundred meters into the ground. When they excavated Hamuptra, there were technology and explosives while in Middle Earth everything had to be done by digging.
The energy stones alone were a big surprise for Zheng. He didn’t expect too much in just once trip. The most important mission was the time he obtained to refine his Qi.
Gimli came to Isengard to visit him after words spread. And then he trained in peace while Aragorn took care of all the matters. The days were rather relaxing to Zheng.
Qi refinement was a dangerous process since this was not God’s dimension. There was no heal if the Qi exploded and might even be fatal. Zheng had to enter the fourth stage and use infinitesimal control each time he refined Qi. And so it took him days to refine a little bit. Refined Qi also could not be stored in the mithril rings so he had to store them in his body. He placed it among his Qi. Refined Qi was unique in that it only absorbed other energies but never reacted. Sometimes, Zheng was curious at what would come from refining Blood Energy. He did not have the courage to attempt though. Qi was a gentle energy and it still exploded upon failure. Failure from refining Blood Energy might be the end of his life.
Time passed quickly and the end of the ninety days had come. Zheng left Isengard and returned to Rivendell, where he had to be to return to God’s dimension.
“Then… it’s time for the next movie, Transformers!”