"If a Star Seed faces the threat of capture, they ought to commit suicide imdiately," Wu Feng couldn't help but say, his expression turning rather ugly. "Martial Uncle Qing Cang, surely you didn't forget to tell him this?"
"First, first, find them!" Qing Cang's gaze was icy as he barked out a series of furious commands. "Quickly contact the sect! Have them use their spiritual imprints to calculate the location of Wan Chen and the others. The place where I dropped them off is very close to the Taiyue Hub. Hurry!"
"I'll go right away," Hu Qi imdiately complied, hurrying off.
Lin Langtian retracted his gaze, worry evident in his eyes.
Wu Feng sighed heavily several tis. Before leaving, he still couldn't resist throwing out one last remark, "Martial Uncle Qing Cang, how could you allow the Ancient King's power to be wasted on that desolate planet?"
"Fortunately, the tifra was short. The other factions didn't have ti to react, leaving only Ni Chuan's small group. Otherwise, you might not have made it back alive."
Qing Cang's eyes hid a scrutinizing gleam as he panted heavily, though he offered no response.
"That's right, that is exactly what Qing Cang said."
Inside a room, a man was reporting in a low voice. Before him, interlacing light ford a blurry projection that spoke in a hoarse tone, "I
understand. Once their location is calculated, the information will be intercepted and delayed for half a day. That will be enough ti for you to act."
"However..." the man hesitated. "They might still have Xia Jie and a few guards by their side. With such a short tifra, I'm afraid we won't be able to find any high-tier professionals willing to make a move."
"What are you so afraid of?" the projection countered. "Who would fight to the bitter end and insist on uncovering the truth for the sake of a few dead n?"
The man fell silent for a mont before replying, "Understood."
"This is an armory. Looks like they're all energy firearms. The boss was probably an arms dealer."
In the base's main hall, Xia Jie had already thoroughly scouted the area and was conversing with Su Chen and the others.
"Energy firearms..." Su Chen muttered, looking at the several sample weapons the guards had scavenged. He picked one up and weighed it in his hands. It was quite heavy. They all utilized compressed energy blocks, and their attack intensity possessed significant lethal force even against third and fourth-tier professionals.
"Tsk..."
'A single shot from this would take out a Southwind City Lord,' Su Chen couldn't help but marvel.
Xia Jie waved his hand, instructing his n to return the items to their original places.
Lin Yue, anwhile, sowhat hesitantly approached Wan Chen and asked, "Do you have any Nether Realm Stones left? I want to contact the sect to see if my father has arrived yet."
"I'm out. I gave them all to Master Qing. According to him, the sect's guides shouldn't have arrived yet," Wan Chen replied, shaking his head.
Within the warp channel, space flowed at extre speeds, rendering all thods of external communication completely useless.
"You gave your Nether Realm Stones to Master Qing too?" Lin Yue asked in surprise.
"Too?" Wan Chen repeated, puzzled.
Su Chen grew thoughtful as Lin Yue moved on to approach Lan Hao.
Lan Hao also shook his head, his eyes shifting evasively. "Yeah, I gave mine to Master Qing as well."
He had lost his Nether Realm Stones. It was a difficult situation to explain, and outright refusing to lend them wouldn't look good either, so he had simply used the sa excuse as Wan Chen.
When Qing Cang left, he had indeed ntioned this to him, even opening his personal dinsional space to prove it.
After asking around, Lin Yue was stunned to discover that Qing Cang had confiscated everyone's Nether Realm Stones.
"It might be to prevent us from contacting the outside world and accidentally leaking our coordinates, which could attract danger," Wan Chen theorized.
Lin Yue felt helpless. They were on the verge of reuniting, yet he still hadn't been able to contact his father.
'What exactly is Old Qing planning?' Su Chen pondered to himself. The old man had only ntioned wanting to go fishing, but hadn't specified what kind of bait or thod he was using.
He instinctively touched his chest. At the thought of the small bronze figure, the slight unease in his heart vanished in an instant.
'Who cares how he fishes? With dynamite in hand, if push cos to shove, I'll just blow up the whole pond.'
'Though, I wonder if this Ancient King can monitor the outside world,' Su Chen mused.
However, everyone who needed to advance their class had already done so, and breaking through the limits of the body-tempering techniques was still a work in progress. For the ti being, he didn't have any secret matters that required tending to, so he had nothing to fear.
Xia Jie had already cleared out a few rooms for them to rest in. Without the energy-supplying areas of a spiritual pressure ring, they could only train at a low efficiency.
A few days later, a spaceship silently arrived near the temporary base where Su Chen and the others were stationed.
"This is the place."
Inside the cabin, a withered old man stared at the coordinates on the screen. Surrounding him were several figures clad in black robes, all standing with their heads bowed.
The withered old man's voice was frigid. "Our objective is clear. Leave no survivors."
"Yes, sir!" A uniform response echoed from the surrounding figures.
The group was exceptionally well-equipped, donning mitic shielding robes that could not only camouflage them against their surroundings but also absorb various probing electromagnetic waves.
With practiced ease, they arrived outside the energy barrier covering the teorite. They first tossed out a stabilizer, locking it onto the glowing blue shield, before using a crystalline cutter in the center to slice open a rift just wide enough for a single person to pass through.
The team filed inside one after another. The defensive asures of this teorite were far too rudintary to withstand their infiltration.
However, just as they encroached upon a certain radius around the central base...
Xia Jie, who was holding down the fort in the main hall, abruptly lowered his head. He stared at the fingernail-sized orb of white wind in his palm, which was now rippling with faint, wispy waves.
"This is..." His expression twisted drastically as he let out a sharp, urgent roar that pierced through the entire base. "Enemy attack!"
'The identity of a Star Seed is both prestigious and dangerous.'
Inside his room, Su Chen was busy training. Based on the conversations he'd had with the others during their journey, the historical success rate of all Star Seeds in the Dust Star Sea advancing to the Morning Star tier was a re thirty percent.
A fraction of them perished during the promotion process itself, but the vast majority t their end in various conflicts and power struggles.
"In order to ruin a rival's spirituality, they would literally freeze them in a state of eternal suspended animation—neither truly dead nor alive, just hogging the position without putting it to use."
When Su Chen first heard this, a chill had run down his spine. He couldn't help but marvel at how these people would resort to any extre to achieve their goals.
Without the assistance of a spiritual pressure ring, his training efficiency had dropped by more than just a notch, but being idle ant he might as well keep at it.
"Enemy attack!"
A harsh shout suddenly exploded in his ears. His eyes snapped open, his expression tightening. "They're here already..."
The thought had barely crossed his mind before he bolted out of the room, running headlong into Wan Chen, who wore an equally grim expression. The two exchanged a quick glance and hurried to the base's main hall together.
Their sheer speed whipped up a piercing gale, primarily generated by Wan Chen.
"Gather around ..." Xia Jie ordered, his voice low and solemn as he stared intently at the base's main entrance.
Lin Yue, Lan Hao, Ming Lin, and the others arrived one after another, along with the remaining guards. They clustered tightly around Xia Jie, their hearts filled with shock and uncertainty as they eyed their surroundings with extre vigilance.
"As expected of soone from the Bronze Sect..."
BOOM!
The main doors of the base were violently blown open, accompanied by a suffocating wave of vital energy that crashed over them.
Writhing shadows crawled across the tallic walls and floor. Wherever the darkness passed, all light was devoured, leaving behind a profound, dead pitch-blackness that seed to possess a will of its own as it slowly crept toward the group.
"Since you know this is the Bronze Sect, retreat imdiately, and we'll pretend this never happened," Xia Jie shouted sternly.
"Heh..." A voice from within the shadows sneered. "What a pity. The people I kill are exactly those from the Bronze Sect."
Xia Jie's expression turned incredibly grave. Crimson energy surged around his body, layering like molten lava. It spread from the soles of his feet outward, clashing violently against the encroaching dark matter.
BOOM!
Like fire colliding with water, the impact erupted into an explosive energy storm.
In an instant, the entire base shuddered violently, as if caught in the grip of an invisible giant's hand.
The alloy flooring buckled upward with an ear-piercing screech of tearing tal, and the composite armor plating—several ters thick—crumpled like fragile tinfoil.
Dirt, rock, and shattered tal ford a chaotic tempest within the intertwining red and black energy turbulence. The berserk energy fluctuations rode the shockwaves, scattering wildly in all directions.
Bang!
After a brief, heart-stopping stalemate, Xia Jie was forced to take a step back, his expression turning ashen.
From just that simple clash, the surrounding area had been reduced to ruins, and the entire teorite was groaning and cracking under the strain.
'Xia Jie is no match for him...' Su Chen realized this in a flash, his brows involuntarily furrowing.
But this guy clearly wasn't from Qing Cang's faction; he was likely a professional assassin. If a re assassin managed to force the Ancient King to show his hand, it would be way too much of a loss.
"Stay behind ..." Xia Jie reiterated forcefully. He scanned the area, noting the nurous dark figures standing tall. The withered old man stood off in the distance, glaring at him with the sharp eyes of a falcon.
Seeing that everyone had huddled together, Xia Jie suddenly crushed the fingernail-sized orb of white wind in his hand.
Whoosh! A violent white gale abruptly erupted and rapidly expanded. Like an arctic behemoth breaking free from its chains, it lunged in all directions. Wherever it touched, ice crystals condensed in the air, and a creeping shell of frost blanketed the ground amid sharp, crackling sounds.
Even the residual molten lava from their earlier clash was instantly frozen solid, and the impending fractures of the teorite were forcefully frozen over.
"The Breath of Wind!" The withered old man's face twisted in sheer terror. Disregarding everything else, he instantly spun around to flee, but the white storm was far faster than he anticipated. It had already engulfed him from all sides.
The bone-chilling cold didn't seep in from the outside; rather, it erupted from within. His footsteps stiffened, his thoughts ground to a halt, and the horrific look of panic froze permanently on his face as he turned into a statue of ice.
'So Old Qing actually left behind a trump card.' Su Chen breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone stood within a specific radius around Xia Jie, enveloped by a do of wind that shielded them from the ravaging white frost.
'I wonder just how many professional abilities are packed into this wind...' Su Chen couldn't help but speculate. anwhile, those assassins were reduced to icicles in the blink of an eye.
However, the white storm showed no signs of stopping; in fact, it only grew fiercer.
"The Breath of Wind? Qing Cang certainly planned thoroughly. To think he even left them a preemptive counterasure..."
Outside the teorite, a pair of eyes observed the white tempest erupting across its surface. The watcher's brows furrowed slightly as they turned to glance at the distant Taiyue Hub.
"Fortunately..."
Xia Jie couldn't help but admire Lord Qing Cang's ticulous foresight. Before leaving, he had set up counterasures in the vicinity. Whether dealing with hidden enemies or facing powerful foes, they had a backup plan.
Still, as he watched the white storm raging ever stronger around them, a trace of worry crept into his eyes.
Lord Qing Cang had only given him the ans to detonate it, but hadn't told him how to rein it in! If this kept up, what if it attracted even more enemies?
'Hmm?' His expression froze. He watched as the intensifying white storm suddenly stagnated and actually began to gradually shrink.
'There's soone else?' His face darkened, anxiety surging in his chest. Anyone capable of suppressing the Breath of Wind had to be at least a ninth-tier professional...
Through the blur, a silhouette descended from the sky. Before he could make out their features, Xia Jie focused his gaze and couldn't help but reveal a look of joy. "Supervisor Hu?"
"Xia Jie..." Hu Qi suppressed the dissipating white storm into a confined area and landed gracefully before the group, wearing a gentle smile.
'This guy...' Su Chen clearly saw that many people, including Wan Chen, breathed a sigh of relief and looked elated.
"This is Hu Qi, one of the higher-ups in the faction in charge of dispatching logistical resources," Wan Chen explained discreetly. "He has a great reputation, and many people are on good terms with him."
"I've finally found you all..." Hu Qi let out a relieved breath as he surveyed the surroundings. His gaze swept over Su Chen without lingering.
Deep down, he felt sothing was slightly off. Why wasn't a single person in this group injured?
Hearing his words, the previously joyful expressions of the crowd dimd slightly. Could it be that Lord Qing Cang...
Seeming to realize sothing, Xia Jie hurriedly pressed, "How is Lord Qing Cang?"
"He's fine, just heavily injured. He regrouped with us a few days ago," Hu Qi explained, shaking his head. He added considerately, "These past few days, he has been constantly urging to find you all as quickly as possible. Find us as quickly as possible?"
The crowd's initially worried expressions froze, replaced by looks of bewildernt. Qing Cang had secretly urged him to find them?
'They must be out of tricks...' Hu Qi had already moved right next to Xia Jie. At such a close distance, even if they had any counterasures left, he would have enough ti to stop them.
"Are you absolutely sure it was Lord Qing Cang urging you to find us?" Xia Jie asked with a growing sense of uncertainty.
Hu Qi, who was just preparing to make his move, paused. His brows furrowed slightly as he realized sothing was wrong. "What do you an?"
"In the beginning, it was Lord Qing Cang who placed us here. He should already know our exact coordinates," Xia Jie pointed out hesitantly.
"Qing Cang placed you here? You didn't find this place yourselves?" Hu Qi stared blankly for a second before his expression underwent a drastic change. He snapped his gaze toward Su Chen in the crowd, only to find the young man staring right back at him.
His face shifted between dark and pale as the sudden realization hit him: he had been duped.
Qing Cang was never attacked in the first place. He had deliberately made a huge scene, ordering the faction to use their resources to calculate the coordinates of Wan Chen and the others.
If anyone harbored malicious intent towards Su Chen in the shadows, they would naturally take the bait, intercepting the firsthand information to dispatch assassins.
His face looked extrely ugly. His first thought wasn't even about falling into Qing Cang's trap, but rather sheer incomprehension over why Qing Cang would go to such lengths for Su Chen.
At most, they had only spent two months together.
Then... should he still...
He couldn't help but hesitate, a spark of apprehension flaring up within him. What if Qing Cang had another hidden trap waiting?
But things had already reached this point. He had exposed himself, and by extension, plainly revealed the involvent of Venerable Qin Yun behind him.
Since everything was already out in the open, if he did nothing...
Just before making his move, he had even specifically confird Qing Cang's location with that brainless idiot, Wu Feng.
'Right now, even if there's so sort of backup plan, as long as I act fast enough, it'll be a done deal...'
Xia Jie also realized that sothing was horribly wrong. Watching Hu Qi's rapidly shifting expressions, and recalling Qing Cang's contradictory actions, he couldn't help but gulp.
"Sigh..." Hu Qi suddenly let out a long sigh, his expression smoothing out as he finally made his decision. His gaze landed squarely on Su Chen within the crowd, and he spoke in a slow, detached tone, "You only have yourself to bla for taking a position you shouldn't have."
'Sothing's really gone wrong...' Xia Jie's face paled in horror.
Wan Chen also grasped the severity of the situation. His expression abruptly changed as he frantically blurted out, "Supervisor Hu, Su Chen... he's Venerable Crimson Sun's posthumous disciple! The Ancient King himself promised to protect him! You..."
His mind was still a chaotic ss, but he fully realized that Hu Qi was about to strike at Su Chen.
But if Hu Qi was willing to assassinate Su Chen, would he leave the rest of them alive?
"Is there anyone else backing you?" Su Chen finally spoke up at this exact mont.
Hu Qi's eyes were deep and unreadable, completely devoid of any interest in replying. Su Chen was nothing more than a lucky kid from a desolate wasteland. Whether he lived or died, no one gave a damn about his personal thoughts.
With a flash of his eyes and without any discernible physical movent, Hu Qi materialized right in front of Su Chen.
Even though Su Chen had prepared himself ntally, his heart still skipped a beat. The surrounding crowd trembled in terror, never expecting that this well-known nice guy of their faction could be so ruthlessly decisive.
A bitter feeling washed over Wan Chen's heart. To think... they hadn't died at the hands of outsiders, but were about to be slaughtered by one of their own.
But before Hu Qi could make another move, his expression shifted drastically. His body inexplicably felt a sudden wave of sluggishness and heavy obstruction.
Imdiately after, streaks of azure light began to surge across the surface of Su Chen's skin.
If one looked closely, they would discover that this light was entirely composed of dense strings of 0s and 1s.
"This is..." Hu Qi's face contorted in absolute horror. As if realizing sothing terrifying, the color drained from his face at a visible rate, and he stumbled backward in shock.
Monts later, a rich stream of green data intertwined and converged above Su Chen's head, manifesting into a small bronze figure.
Then, the figure shot into the sky, expanding at a terrifying rate—ten ters, a hundred ters, a thousand ters, ten thousand ters...
It ultimately transford into a colossal bronze giant sitting cross-legged amidst the starry void. Like a true god, the halo of gears rotating behind its back shone even brighter than the Taiyue Hub.
An aura belonging to the absolute apex of the food chain crashed down upon them, instilling everyone with an overwhelming urge to fall to their knees in worship.
It lowered its head, its eyes looking down upon all living beings.
"The... The Ancient King..."
Hu Qi's face was deathly pale, and every ounce of fat on his body quivered uncontrollably.
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