"What is going on here?"
"How did we end up outside the ship..."
Confused and helpless clamors echoed all around them, quickly followed by waves of alard gasps.
Below them, the Copper Star appeared to be restrained by an invisible force. The protective energy shield coating its outer hull fluctuated violently, forming radial folds as if being crushed by imnse pressure.
Blazing exhaust flas spewed from the thrusters, but they could not stop the ship from drifting sideways. Swaying erratically, the vessel gradually approached the spatial barrier of the warp channel.
Screech!
The ship's flank scraped against the barrier, erupting in a shower of brilliant particle sparks. Under the spatial compression, the tal alloy at the wingtip stretched out into a thousand-ter-long glowing wire, like molten glass.
'Good heavens...'
Su Chen's eyelids twitched. The Copper Star's durability was extraordinary. Not only the hull, but the various facilities inside, like the training room, were so tough that he could barely leave a scratch even with his full strength.
And now... it was being twisted into such a state.
A warp channel was no ordinary space. Without a stargate to alleviate the spatial pressure, the pressure differential with the outside void was sothing no ordinary material could withstand.
Everyone watched helplessly as the Copper Star sank like it was caught in a quagmire, dragged into the spatial barrier before gradually vanishing. A chilling dread gripped their hearts.
If they had still been inside the ship, rely crashing out of the warp channel would have been enough to spell their doom.
"Soone intercepted us..." Wan Chen whispered.
"But this is a warp channel. How is it even possible to intercept soone mid-warp?" Lan Hao exclaid.
No one could give him an answer. Su Chen scanned their surroundings. The warp channel was overflowing with streaks of light, and floating in such an environnt truly brought an intense sense of insecurity.
The spatial pressure of a warp channel was beyond what ordinary people could endure. Ships capable of making the jump were constructed from highly specialized materials and cost a fortune.
"They delayed us for ten days, likely just to prepare this trap," Qing Cang's voice rang out. Streams of light converged, taking his form as he stood within the cluster of energy.
"This is the work of the Royal Court..." Lan Hao blurted out.
"Indeed," Qing Cang nodded, his eyes profound. "There have long been rumors that the Royal Court was working to break through the relevant technological barriers. From the looks of it, they succeeded."
A flash of azure light flickered in his hand and vanished just as quickly. Without careful observation, it would be difficult to distinguish its hue from the ambient streams of energy surrounding them.
'If I hadn't relied on Master's power, breaking free from that gravitational pull would have been near impossible...' He still felt a lingering sense of shock. The essence of a warp channel was highly compressed space, not absolute nothingness.
As long as soone had precise temporal calculations and the necessary ans, an interception was entirely plausible.
However, such a level of technological prowess was likely sothing only the Royal Court could achieve.
'Old Qing was well-prepared.' Su Chen thought back to the scene just monts ago. If they had been dragged out, it would have undoubtedly resulted in a bitter battle.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness..." The others all breathed sighs of relief, looking at Qing Cang with unmistakable admiration.
"Teacher Qing, what do we do now..." Wan Chen could not help but ask. Floating in a warp channel in their physical bodies offered absolutely zero sense of security.
"The spatial pressure in this warp channel is intense, but there are only a few days of the journey left. I will do my best to carry you forward," Qing Cang declared. As he spoke, the azure energy stream enveloping the group suddenly surged, its brightness multiplying dramatically.
The mont they moved, the energy cluster emitted a sharp screech, like the sound of shattering glass.
The entire energy field propelled forward with Qing Cang at its core. The vanguard ford a conical shape, etched with faint golden runes, while spiraling turbulence of energy whipped up on both sides.
The group could not help but tremble in fear, tacitly huddling closer toward the center.
'Is this the strength of a dual Ninth Tier? Ferrying people across a warp channel...' Su Chen marveled inwardly. He had long since learned of Qing Cang's true strength level from Lan Hao and the others.
Naturally, he also learned about those senior brothers he had yet to et.
The Ancient Bronze King had a total of thirteen disciples. Only five remained alive, two of whom were Morning Star Tier professionals. Qing Cang was the youngest among them.
It was worth noting that among the deceased disciples, one had also reached the Morning Star Tier.
anwhile, in another stretch of silent deep space, a cylindrical tallic structure hovered in the void, its surface covered in a honeycomb arrangent of black hexagonal armor plating.
The front third of the structure had plunged into a continuously rippling spatial distortion. The surrounding void shimred with an eerie luster reminiscent of boiling rcury, slowly dragging out an incredibly compressed mass of tal wreckage.
In a battleship far off in the distance, Ni Chuan's stern, battle-ready expression gradually faded, replaced by doubt and bewildernt. The scanners had not detected a single trace of life.
"Where are they?"
"They actually dodged it?" Ni Chuan frowned deeply. "As expected of the Ancient King's disciple. Or could it be..."
Beside him, Ni Bin asked in a low voice, "Then what do we..."
"It seems we can only settle this at the Taiyue Hub." Ni Chuan shook his head. "I wonder if the Warden King will be able to make it in ti."
"My only fear is that they might split into two groups," Ni Chuan mused. "There are people within the Bronze Sect who want Su Chen dead. If we only snatch the spirituality, we would actually be doing them a favor."
Ni Bin furrowed his brow. The reason certain figures within the Bronze Sect wanted to eliminate Su Chen was that, even if he died, the Great Selection could still be held. As long as the spirituality remained, a new Chosen could always be found.
But if the spirituality was lost, Su Chen would beco the sole remaining Chosen. No matter what, they would have to pinch their noses and accept him.
Ni Bin added, "Conversely, if Su Chen falls into our hands, that spirituality becos useless."
"Exactly." Ni Chuan nodded in satisfaction. "By using the Law of Deep Freeze to put him into an eternal slumber, the Bronze Sect's spirituality would be functionally destroyed."
"The spirituality is our primary target. Su Chen is secondary."
Back in the warp channel, Qing Cang's initial movent speed was sluggish, but it gradually accelerated. During this process, no one dared to move recklessly. They waited obediently, completely unable to do anything else.
At first, the group was quite anxious, but as ti passed, their minds gradually settled. They chatted idly, and whenever a topic of mutual interest ca up, the atmosphere even beca quite lively.
It was almost impossible to feel the passage of ti in this space. No one knew how long it had been before Qing Cang slowly ca to a halt.
The conversing group uniformly looked over, their expressions tensing as they assud another crisis had arisen.
"Hmm... The Taiyue Hub is just ahead," Qing Cang announced. The seemingly endless warp channel had finally reached its end. A mirror-like brilliance shimred in the distance—the exit of the stargate.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had finally arrived.
"However..." His tone abruptly shifted, causing their hearts to skip a beat. Qing Cang continued, "The Taiyue Hub might not be safe."
"Therefore, we will not be taking the conventional route."
The group blanked, but before they could even process his words, their faces paled. The energy cluster carrying them sharply pivoted, charging headlong straight into the spatial barrier.
.
Su Chen's heart leaped into his throat. Let alone the others, who had turned deathly pale and were practically screaming aloud.
Silently, the energy vanguard made contact with the spatial barrier. The two intertwined without a violent collision, only rippling out in continuously expanding transparent waves.
Su Chen instinctively held his breath, watching helplessly as the bizarre and dazzling spatial barrier drew closer.
His vision flashed, and the world spun wildly around him. When his sight cleared again, they had already arrived in the middle of deep space.
Recovering their wits, everyone patted themselves down from head to toe. Only after confirming they were not missing any arms or legs did they finally relax.
Su Chen was imdiately drawn to the distant illumination. It was a gargantuan landmass, vastly more magnificent than the Hengdao Hub. Even from this extre distance, its brilliant lights were clearly visible.
The most striking feature was not the ship thrusters radiating out in all directions, nor the colossal stargates looming above it.
Rather, it was the myriad specks of light scattered around this massive hub, resembling a dense constellation of glittering stars.
"This is the Taiyue Hub, one of the eight great navigational centers of the Dust Star Sea. It connects over a hundred stargates. Those scattered specks of light around it make up the teorite Zone,"
"It is constructed from massive teorites anchored in place by gravitational fields. People often lease them long-term, use them to store cargo, or even turn them into makeshift bases..."
Wan Chen's ntal fluctuations transmitted over, seemingly explaining the sight for him. Su Chen cast him a surprised glance and voiced his thanks.
Qing Cang swept them up once more, darting through the starry void. As they approached those scattered specks, they revealed themselves to be irregular teorites dotted with various tal structures. So even had massive energy cannons stationed upon them.
This was the outer fringe, where defensive forces were relatively weak. Qing Cang selected a modest-sized teorite housing a few warehouse-like structures, which appeared to serve as a temporary base.
Su Chen vaguely sensed Qing Cang's vast ntal power blanket the area below. The few bored guards instantly lost consciousness. They were telepathically manipulated to open the defensive barriers before collapsing into a deep stupor.
Touching down on the teorite, the group looked around in bewildernt, unsure of what Qing Cang was planning.
"Wait here for now. Once I confirm that the Taiyue Hub is safe, I will return for you." Qing Cang looked at the group, his gaze pausing briefly on Su Chen.
Everyone was caught off guard. Imdiately after, Qing Cang called Wan Chen and the other two over one by one.
Lastly, he spoke with Xia Jie. It was unknown what instructions were given, but the group all wore solemn expressions.
However, what surprised many was that Qing Cang did not give Su Chen any specific instructions.
Finally, Xia Jie confiscated everyone's external communication devices, citing the prevention of leaked intelligence as the reason. Although it felt strange, no one dared to disobey his orders.
Qing Cang departed with a portion of the guards, while Xia Jie swiftly began sweeping the area to secure their position.
"Hmm..." Outside the teorite, Qing Cang glanced back down, his expression flickering. With a grasping motion, the guards trailing behind him gradually shrank, disappearing into his wide sleeves.
"Now then, the timing is just about right. It is ti to find them."
In a flash, a streak of light cut across the teorite Zone, hurtling straight toward the central hub.
Up close, the Taiyue Hub was revealed to be a fractured half-planet. Crisscrossing tal structures filled the ravines and chasms, with aircraft weaving seamlessly between them. Despite the apparent chaos, it possessed a unique, industrial beauty.
"According to the tiline, Qing Cang and the others should have arrived at the Taiyue Hub five days ago. Why is there still no news?"
Inside an opulent room, a burly man with a patinated bronze beard paced back and forth, his face etched with impatience and urgency.
"Lin Langtian." He glared at the back of the man standing by the window. The slender man, dressed in a sharply tailored black suit, offered no response.
"Hu Qi!" He spun around, snapping at the slightly plump man sitting on the sofa.
"Wu Feng..." Hu Qi stood up, his voice mild and placating. "Calm down. Perhaps they simply experienced a few days of delay within the warp channel."
"Sigh..." Wu Feng exhaled heavily, a profound worry flashing in his eyes. He could not help but complain, "Martial Uncle Qing Cang reveres the Ancient King far too much. He didn't even try to talk him out of it! How could that fraction of power be wasted on so desolate planet? If he had brought it along, would we even need to be this anxious?"
"Watch your words. The Ancient King has his own considerations. Martial Uncle Qing Cang would never question him, and if you were in his shoes, would you?" Hu Qi retorted with a trace of displeasure, then added, "Besides, that was a personal request from the Star Seed. Trying to dissuade him would only offend the Star Seed, wouldn't it?"
"Hmph..." Wu Feng scoffed coldly, his dissatisfaction plain. "Martial Uncle Qing Cang sure knows how to play the good guy. He only brought three people with him, and a bunch of useless deadweight at that."
"Mind your tongue." Lin Langtian, who had been standing by the window, finally turned his head, staring at him with dark, intense eyes.
Only then did Wu Feng rember that Lin Langtian's daughter was among the group Qing Cang had brought. However, he remained unbothered. "Am I wrong? If he had taken Qin Tianlin instead, what role would that Su Chen even have to play?"
"He possesses the most dazzling talent in the Sect. It is a pity he had not yet been born during the last Great Selection."
"I really don't know what Qing Cang is thinking. Even if he and Venerable Qin Yun had past conflicts, this concerns the critical matter of the Star Seed. How could he select his escorts based on personal grievances?"
Hu Qi spoke in a low, stern voice. "Wu Feng, since the Ancient King agreed, he must have his own plans. Your words right now are what's truly stirring up conflict within the Sect."
"You..." Wu Feng spat. "You are a disciple under Venerable Qin Yun too! Why are you turning against your own side?"
"That Su Chen is the legacy disciple of Venerable Crimson Sun. According to seniority, we all have to call him Martial Uncle! How is he an outsider?" Hu Qi frowned, scolding him. "If you spout such nonsense again, do not bla for turning hostile."
Wu Feng choked on his anger, forced to settle for a cold snort.
Lin Langtian remained silent, lost in his own calculations.
Just then, the three n's expressions shifted as they simultaneously looked toward the door. A frantic knocking echoed, followed by a subordinate's report. "Head Seat Lin, Teacher Qing has arrived."
"Oh?" Lin Langtian's face betrayed a hint of surprise as he imdiately opened the door to welco him, only to see Qing Cang stumbling in, his face frighteningly pale.
"Martial Uncle Qing Cang? What happened? Who ambushed you? Was the spirituality stolen?"
Wu Feng imdiately fired off a rapid barrage of questions.
"What are you rushing for!" Hu Qi snapped coldly. "Let Martial Uncle speak."
Qing Cang looked terrible. Clutching his chest, his complexion like gold foil, he leaned heavily against a chair and sat down. He said grimly, "We were intercepted by the Royal Court inside the warp channel. The spirituality is still safe, but I was forced to eject Su Chen and the others out of the warp channel. We got separated."
"As long as the spirituality is safe." Wu Feng sighed in relief.
"Safe my ass," Hu Qi scowled, his tone turning frosty. "If Su Chen is captured by the Royal Court and subjected to deep freeze, the spirituality in our hands will beco entirely useless."
As long as the Star Seed did not die, a new Chosen could not be born. That alone was enough to render the spirituality moot.
This kind of scenario had occurred more than once in the history of the Dust Star Sea. By utilizing special thods to keep the Star Seed barely clinging to life, they could completely prevent the faction holding the spirituality from initiating a Great Selection.
And every single ti, resolving the issue had required an astronomical price.
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