Starry Sky Professional

With a resounding noise, a head dropped to the ground and rolled about, intermittently leaking bright red blood mixed with dark black oil.

This head bore shining golden hair and deep-set features, one eye replaced by a mechanical prosthetic whose inner red glow was fading away—it was Ross, the mech warrior!

For reasons unknown, this prodigy had suddenly died, failing to be transported out of the secret realm.

A shoe pressed down onto Ross's head.

Its owner was a pale-faced boy dressed in a school uniform.

Despite his youthful appearance, his eyes carried an ancient weariness. He scanned the surroundings before letting out a cold chuckle, "Such a poor imitation. Humans will never understand—only my Lord can truly wield the authority of the imaginary space. These faked secret realms are far too easily exploited... Conveniently, my Lord's bestowed power excels in such matters."

"Your Grace, the bishop!"

Nearby, a few other students, also donning school uniforms, bowed in unison: "We've cracked the monitoring and tracking on the wristbands. Who should we target first?"

"As planned, prioritize Gu Jiantong... I will beseech my Lord to bestow divine grace to shield and protect us... This operation shall succeed!"

The young bishop spoke calmly, examining the ground around him.

Corpses lay strewn across the ground, the pooled blood forming a faint ceremonial pattern.

More astonishing was the sight nearby of a massive subordinate beast, as large as a hill, now seemingly tamed, serving as a guardian for these cult followers.

...

In the space fortress,

On the plaza, flashes of silver light occasionally appeared, teleporting out students who were either severely injured or pale-faced.

Medical staff, who had been waiting, immediately attended to the critically wounded. The medical technology here was far superior to the school's infirmary; even if a head had been severed, it could be reattached with timely intervention before brain death.

Xia Long, with arms crossed, watched the monitors and nodded slightly.

Like the other instructors, he noticed nothing unusual on the surveillance.

The cultists remained hidden from all the surveillance footage, even producing fabricated images of the young bishop on an adventure, appearing to be just another student taking the exams...

...

Meanwhile, Fang Xing felt nothing in particular."

A girl, appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen, with a ponytail and a composed demeanor, had only determination in her eyes.

“Hmm, you should concede...”

Fang Xing waved his hand dismissively, "Step down voluntarily to avoid injury..."

It could be said that with his current strength, he could easily sweep aside anyone except a very few.

"I am Dong Yuhong, the sixteenth seat of Hongze Star!"

Dong Yuhong's voice was calm, but her inner energy was circulating at a frantic pace.

Seeing her state, Fang Xing frowned. "Are you using a self-harming secret technique? Is it worth it?"

"Surrendering to a strong enemy isn't my way of martial arts!"

Dong Yuhong let out a bitter smile, "Moreover, in the eyes of geniuses like you, what else can we cyborgs do but fight desperately?"

She seemed to have mistaken Fang Xing as someone with a powerful background.

At that moment, Dong Yuhong extended a finger, with a faint phoenix cry echoing in the void!

Her form was like a dazzling phoenix, burning herself, unleashing an attack surpassing the Jade Level!

A-rank martial art—Phoenix Fall Finger!

Bang!

In the next moment, she seemed to crash into a wall of solid iron.

The phoenix lamented, even shedding blood!

Dong Yuhong felt a sharp pain in her finger, as if the bones inside had shattered.

Without batting an eye, she twisted her figure, raising a long leg like a mighty axe, crashing down with a thunderous slash!

Bang!

Fang Xing blocked with his arm, and Dong Yuhong cried out in pain, losing her balance and falling to the ground, her leg bone fractured.

"With my current strength, even if I stand still and let you hit me, you can't break my defense... Why bother?"

He sighed.

"I have a reason to win!"

Dong Yuhong looked up, her eyes seemingly burning with flames.

In a daze, Fang Xing felt this girl resembled Gu Yun in many ways.

The same stubbornness!

"Your spirit is commendable... but unfortunately, your strength is lacking."

Fang Xing stepped forward, extending his hand: "Remember this sense of unwillingness... it's the drive that'll push you into the fourth realm!"

Snap!

With a flash of silver light, Dong Yuhong's figure vanished in an instant.

Fang Xing hadn't inquired about her reasons for needing to win; every student here had their own reasons that couldn't be ignored. But so what?

On the martial path, the defeated must exit the stage — it's as simple and cruel as that!

【Gained 1 point!】

【Rank: 366】

...

Looking at his silver bracelet, Fang Xing shook his head: "Going after them one by one is too troublesome... and the key scores are low."

He wondered which was stronger, the lower-tier subordinates or the second-tier demon beasts. "What a pity... can't seem to find them."

Fang Xing sighed and continued wandering aimlessly.

Suddenly, a glint of golden light caught his eye in the sky.

Upon closer inspection, he saw it was a little golden man... or rather, Song Jingang!

The second seat of the fledgling star seemed to be running at an incredible speed, like he was being chased by a dog!

When Song Jingang spotted Fang Xing, his eyes lit up and he rushed over: "Fang Xing... there's a Thousand-Eye Demon chasing me! If we join forces, we can at least protect ourselves. With more people, we might even take it down... we'll split the points!"

Song Jingang considered himself, despite only at a stage of perfecting his qi, as formidable due to mastering several Grade A martial skills. Plus, with his Vajra Physique ability, he could match a weaker fourth realm.

But Fang Xing was already a fourth realm martial artist!

With some additional students, leveraging the advantage of numbers, they could aim to hunt down and defeat the lower-tiered subservient's race!

"A Thousand-Eye Demon?"

Fang Xing noticed the black mist behind Song Jingang, within which thousands of scarlet eyes gleamed ominously.

Just witnessing this scene made him feel engulfed by countless scarlet lights, threatening to plunge him into chaos.

Those eyes carried a peculiar allure, strangely captivating.

Roar! Roar!

In the next moment, a surge of spiritual force echoed with the roar of a dragon and a tiger within his mind, waking him up instantly.

Song Jingang opened his mouth as if to speak, only to see Fang Xing stride past him.

Carried on the wind came Fang Xing's faint words, "A mere Thousand-Eye Demon has left you in such a state... and you dare speak of teaming up with me?"

Fang Xing advanced with the vigor of a dragon, each step spanning several meters, and in a flash, he was face-to-face with the Thousand-Eye Demon.

Countless scarlet eyes fixated on him, yet his martial will did not waver in the slightest.

"The me who once shuddered before the Moon Worm Beast... is long gone!"

Fang Xing unleashed his hidden potential, and his vigor surged skyward.

Whoosh!

Within him, his blood rushed like mighty rivers, and his bones resonated with the rumble akin to dragon roars and tiger cries.

Upon his skin, golden patterns emerged, forming a scale-like armor and heralding the roar of a dragon elephant!

—Dragon Aspiration!

—Tiger Subjugation!

His martial will swept forth like a gale, colliding head-on with the mass of black fog!

Sizzle!

Amidst the harsh grating sounds, the black fog dispersed, revealing the true form of the Thousand-Eye Demon!

It was a creature resembling a writhing sludge, embedded with countless scarlet eyes that could evoke a fear of dense clusters.

Even the sludge-like body occasionally manifested unique purple patterns.

Just a mere glance made one dizzy, with a creeping madness stirring within the heart!

'As expected, these spawn of the dark gods possess the traits of idealistic beings!'

Upon witnessing this, Song Jingang felt that even his simulated realm had difficulty suppressing it, forcing him to turn away, unable to gaze directly at the Thousand-Eye Demon.

While distracting himself with various thoughts, he wondered, 'What level of martial will is required to obliterate the fog defense of a Thousand-Eye Demon?'

'Is the gap between me and the chief truly this vast?'

Song Jingang's eyes showed a trace of awe as he watched Fang Xing's back.

Whatever others thought, Fang Xing did not care.

He knew only one thing—this was the best opportunity to vent his frustrations from his earlier encounter with the Moon Worm Beast, and so he fought with all his might.

Fang Xing clenched all five fingers into a fist.

Boom!

The sound was akin to a cannon's roar as the ground trembled, layers upon layers of astonishing inner force and energy wrapped around his fist, leaving a massive imprint on the Thousand-Eye Demon.

Splat!

Hundreds of scarlet eyes on the demon burst open at once, spraying crimson blood in all directions.

Sizzle!

Countless holes appeared instantly on the ground, corrosion marks left behind by the demon's blood.

However, when this blood landed on Fang Xing, it was immediately repelled by layers of vigor, unable to penetrate the Dragon Elephant Armor's defense.

Song Jingang almost had his eyes popping out of their sockets at this sight, "Is this... Dragon Elephant Art? But this level of Dragon Elephant Art... it's simply, simply..."

He too had learned Dragon Elephant Art but regretted never mastering it. To ignore the Thousand-Eye Demon's corrosion, at least the third stage was required, wasn't it?

This meant that even if he advanced to the fourth realm, his defense might not surpass Fang Xing's!

A guttural sound rumbled from the Thousand-Eye Demon in its severe injury, a series of strange notes, part roar, part howl, part incantation...

Fang Xing chose to ignore it.

He remembered Lan Fei's stern warning during his alien language studies not to delve into the language and script of the Cthulhu offspring.

Otherwise, the deeper the research, the deeper the obsession, leading towards more madness... Madness arose from within due to voluntary exposure, and even the indomitable will of a martial artist in the Guts Courage realm was useless!

"Die!"

He slashed his hand downward like a blade.

Splat!

A radiant blade aura appeared, seemingly linking heaven and earth, cleaving through the Thousand-Eye Demon with a tremendous crash.

Rustle!

The demon split in half, both halves of its body falling lifelessly to the ground.

"This... is it dead?"

Song Jingang looked at the demon's corpse and then at Fang Xing standing upon it, falling silent for a moment.

Even though the Thousand-Eye Demon wasn't deemed strong among lower-ranked subservients, it usually required a squad of martial artists from the fourth realm to encircle and destroy it, often with casualties. Yet, it died so easily now?

'Just how powerful is the chief of the Young Eagle Planet?'

]

92. Pride

[Defeating a Lower Servant, you have gained 50 points!]

[Rank: 3]

…

Fang Xing glanced down at the silver bracelet thoughtfully. "It seems someone else has also single-handedly taken down a spawn of the evil god, or maybe slaughtered a lot of examinees... The first must be Gu Jiantong, but who could the other be?"

He turned around and looked at Song Jingang.

Song Jingang instinctively stood at attention, "Boss... I've decided. From now on, I'm sticking with you!"

His surprisingly mature face was earnest.

"Do you want to leave on your own, or should I send you out?"

Fang Xing pursed his lips.

"Boss, I'm serious..." Song Jingang seemed a bit aggrieved.

Although he had initially harbored thoughts of competing with Fang Xing, after witnessing the violent scene of him single-handedly defeating the evil god's servant, all his thoughts vanished.

Who would have thought this guy wouldn't even let him latch onto his leg!

Fang Xing shook his head, his right hand forming a sword with two fingers, ready to strike.

A cold sweat broke out on Song Jingang's forehead as he shouted loudly, "Wait... I saw Gu Jiantong when I was fleeing. I can take you to him... I know a unique tracking technique."

"Why would I want to find Gu Jiantong?" Fang Xing asked, a bit puzzled.

"Uh... don't you want to compete for first place in the Hundred Stars Exam?"

Song Jingang was thoroughly confused.

"Well, it's not like it's the college entrance exam. Let's just see what happens." Fang Xing pointed the sword at Song Jingang, and an invisible sword energy followed.

Song Jingang suddenly felt as if he was about to die...

Bang!

He fell to the ground with tears streaming down his face, fresh blood in his mouth, but there was a hint of surprise on his face, "Huh?"

"Hmm?"

Fang Xing grabbed Song Jingang by the collar and hoisted him up. "Why weren't you transported out?"

“I... I don't know...”

Song Jingang was hit by the Extreme Emotion Sword and felt a sense of despair. Instinctively, he raised his hand and entered a series of codes.

It was a pre-arranged signal for surrendering and exiting.

However, the silver bracelet seemed broken and remained absolutely motionless.

“What's going on?”

Fang Xing tossed Song Jingang aside like he was discarding trash and entered his own password, only to find that he couldn't leave either.

“This secret realm...”

He looked up, his expression growing serious: “The rules have changed... we can't get out?”

Fortunately, by slightly communicating with the attribute panel, he discovered that the Gate of the Heavens was still functional, ensuring a safety net.

Yet, as long as Fang Xing wanted to continue his activities within the Blue Star Federation, he certainly wasn't planning to flee so easily.

…

In the cosmic fortress.

On the plaza, numerous projection screens suddenly went black.

The teleportation lights that occasionally flashed also vanished.

“What's going on?”

Xia Long frowned, observing Wei Shentong's suddenly darkened face, realizing something serious had occurred.

“Report... the secret realm on Trial Star 073 has been attacked... energy ripples captured... confirmed to be the Gate Sect!”

A researcher immediately reported to Wei Shentong.

“The Gate Sect?! Damn it!”

A terrifying murderous aura erupted from Wei Shentong.

This organization, which worships evil gods, is not only active on fledgling Star Eagle but also on Hundred Mechanisms Star and Young Qilin Star... traces of its activities even stretch to other territories of the Blue Star Federation.

“How can the Gate Sect invade our spatial bubble and seize our permissions?”

Wei Shentong regained his composure; with the situation already at hand, the focus should now be on resolving and managing the aftermath.

"Preliminary analysis indicates it's related to the authority of the Eldritch God known as the 'Gate of Nihility!'"

The researcher wiped the sweat off his brow, "The 'Gate of Nihility' governs all concepts related to doors... In other words, it might have found a backdoor to our creation of space bubbles, a sort of ‘bug’..."

Eldritch Gods are not merely powerful; their conceptual abilities are even more terrifying.

There is even one Eldritch God whose existence cannot be proven, connected to ultimate conjectures in many mathematical problems. Once proven, it would truly descend!

Many of the federation’s top mathematicians have met tragic fates, either dying or going mad, due to their research into its trap conjectures...

It is said that there is a highly classified mathematics research institute in the Blue Star Federation, constantly engaged in a special battle with this unprovable Eldritch God.

"Is this another Eldritch God revealing new powers?"

Wei Shentong's face relaxed considerably.

Eldritch Gods possess mysterious abilities, but once exposed, there are possibilities to study and decipher them...

Once fully researched by the federation, it basically spells their doom!

‘Not impossible to make amends this way!’

With this thought, he immediately gave the order: "Command the research team to go all out... Deploy the Fortress Guards, sweep the surrounding star regions... Also, notify the prevention bureaus of all nearby planets; I don’t want to see any more Gate Sect news!"

Orders were issued one after another, and the space fortress, like a giant beast whipped into war, began operating frantically.

Spacecraft after spacecraft took off, heading towards the stars.

"This is..."

Xia Long watched this scene unfold, a worried expression appearing on his face.

With such a major upheaval occurring, what has happened to his student?

Inside the secret realm.

At the center of a bloody and sinister ritual, the Young Bishop opened his eyes: "Discovered at last... But the time gained is enough."

"Your Excellency... The Federation is fighting us for control of the space bubble, inputting many new rules..."

"The primary target has been found... along with killing 972 federal geniuses!"

"Our power is being restricted, and the Federation still has hidden space technology. Currently, this secret realm excludes powers above the fourth realm!"

A group of followers approached, their faces filled with concern as they reported the outcome.

“The fourth realm, is it?”

The young bishop clenched his fist. “Such a feeble power... But it will suffice. Where is Gu Jiantong? He is the primary target this time!”

“At Blade's Edge Canyon, three Saints and the Saint's Child have teamed up with the Guardians to trap him there...” a disciple responded with a bow.

The titles of Saint and Saint's Child are honorary within the sects and exceedingly rare. Normally, only one Saint and one Saint's Child can exist on a single planet. But with more planets, they become less valuable.

“So... only the final step remains.”

The young bishop revealed a slight smile, extending his right hand as if grasping an invisible doorknob in the air.

On the ground, a ritual inscribed with blood suddenly flared brilliantly!

Ripples spread through the void, forming what seemed like an invisible portal!

Amidst the silver brilliance that exploded forth, he slowly twisted the doorknob, as if opening a heavy door, his face showing signs of strain, his movements incredibly slow.

This was an attempt to harness the power of the 'Gate of Nihility' over the void through the ritual!

Although this method would surely draw the Federation's attention.

But knowing that Wei Shentong was already aware of their presence in the secret realm, it hardly mattered now.

Unless the opposition dared to risk trial and imprisonment by using war weapons from their space fortresses to obliterate the entire secret realm and kill all the students, they couldn’t stop them!

Crack!

The invisible gate opened, revealing a hazy and illusory void on the other side, with a faint glimpse of a canyon.

The young bishop stepped through and arrived at the canyon's entrance.

Boom!

Within the canyon, Gu Jiantong erupted into a dazzling brilliance, his entire being like a small sun as he took a step forward.

Beneath his feet, a massive servant of an evil deity, resembling a small mountain, was scorched, displaying horrific wounds and blisters, its head exploded with a boom, and it fell heavily, stirring up a large cloud of dust.

“Too weak, too weak!”

Gu Jiantong looked at the bloodied mess surrounding him, comprised of several so-called divine children and holy maidens. “And you dared to plot against me? Really, who gave you the guts? Hmm?”

He turned his head and glanced at the young bishop traversing the void towards him. A trace of a smile appeared on his face. “The big fish has come. My time spent playing with them wasn’t in vain…”

“Gu Jiantong, you are the most cherished child of the gods. Your ability comes from divine blessings... Why join forces with the malevolent Blue Star civilization? Come, join us, and your powers will be developed beyond imagination!”

The young bishop's voice carried a hint of temptation. “Besides... you know the plight of Federal power users.”

“Hmph, my abilities arise from my talent. Even if it's an Outer Deity, they can only influence abstract mutations, unable to anchor a specific individual to awaken a particular power... Yet you claim my powers were a gift? How dare you overlook my talent and hard work, saying it came from an evil god?”

Gu Jiantong was suddenly furious.

Awakening powers is beyond human control, but that doesn't mean each power user is problematic. In fact, numerous power users have died in battle, contributing to the Federation in all aspects.

One might not choose their origins, but they can choose their path! Additionally... the Federation is now actively promoting a dual cultivation path of powers and martial arts, encouraging research and development of ‘psychi-martial arts’!

Martial will can fend off the corruption and erosion of evil deities.

Data shows that most strong individuals, who undergo dual cultivation of powers and martial arts, ultimately stand on humanity’s side!

For this reason, power user applicants in every year's college examination face no discrimination, and can take exams and be admitted normally...

“Stubborn fool… such extraordinary power, what a pity.”

The young bishop's brows furrowed.

Ideally, he wanted to recruit and corrupt this prodigy from Jiayin Star, embedding him as a sleeper agent within the Blue Star Federation, maximizing the benefits.

Unfortunately… Gu Jiantong was too proud!

Thus, they could only subdue him by force and then use the power of the gods to pollute him…

However, this would inevitably leave secret traces, with a thirty to fifty percent chance of detection by the Blue Star Federation, rendering it impossible to achieve anything significant.

At his thought, silver threads suddenly emerged in the void of the canyon, densely packed as if to weave a large silver cocoon to trap Gu Jiantong within.

"A thought-master? Turning thoughts into reality?" Again, Gu Jiantong licked his lips. "It seems your true self is someone significant… Too bad in this secret realm that suppresses cultivation, I am invincible among peers!”

His blood and vitality surged, and with the activation of his 'Light Transformation' ability, it was as if a blazing white sun had suddenly appeared in place!

Under the radiance of this sunlight, the silver threads rapidly melted away as if they were snow meeting the spring sun...

]

(End of Chapter)