Legend of the Supreme Soldier - Chapter 301

You should be thinking of an explanation for sir later,” said Sang Fan as he patted Hai Lian, expressing concern. Hai Lian looked at Sang Fan appreciatively. The girl from the White Streak tribe was looking around in fright. Her body was shaking as confused by the surrounding. The happening had alarmed the entire tribe in the building, other than those guarding Ye Chong’s room, the remaining Sangs had ran downstairs.

Sang Ling grabbed Sang Fan to a corner immediately after her arrival, having an interrogation with Sang Fan.

The guardsmen of Greda had tasted the kick of Sang Tie as they retreated into their trembling posture, stumbled. “What the hell are you guys doing! Move! Move! Move!” Greda’s scolding did not work as well as Sang Tie’s kick. The guardsmen were not dumb to be unable to recognize the power of the masked man. It was a total horror and their sacrifice would not be avenged by the great master. Greda’s father did not seem to be a figure to be as hot-tempered as his son.

Greda’s face got paler, the authority of his father that had been protecting him over the days seemed to have faded away.

Shi Xin was also in astonishment, the masked man was too potent and she even saw a few others of his kind wavering inside the hotel. She could not help but to begin speculating the identity of this hidden group.

The Ye family? I mean… Only Ye family is befitting of such combat ability among the aristocrats. They are different, very different, contrary to most practitioners, the Ye family members are all slender figures, yup, quite as slender as this masked man. Only the sole branch of Ye family could wield such strength too.

But weird… the core family members have always been low-profiled. They are the mythical figure in He Yue galaxy, they had hardly revealed themselves. These men were known to be the elite, not only they possess great command of combats, they are also superior in their piloting, thus being identified as one of the strongest pilot groups. Their outstanding close combat has bestowed them a recognizable position in He Yue galaxy.

Well, a team of elites of Ye family guarding a particular building. Could it be… Shi Xin could feel her fear overtaking her rationality, could it be the head of Ye family himself? If it really was him… Lunaris would be facing the greatest fissure in its history…

WOW! The men screamed the moment Sang Tie lifted a kick again. The city never lacked a bunch of bums to help cheering the big man eh?

But Greda was angered, as he picked a stone from the ground and tossed violently at the guardsmen, “Rubbish! Do your work already!” His expression was twisted, insanity had raided his fearsome eyes. The flirtious gentleman had long become a past.

The guardsmen were displeased of this insulting behavior but they dared not to word it. That did not mean they would take it like a puppy under command, one bodyguard gave a side kick and sent the rock off into the sky.

Oh no… Thought Sang Tie as he saw where the rock was traveling.

…

Ye Chong was analyzing the model. He felt he had picked the perfect place for his research as the room was fully soundproof and he was having his own space, undisturbed by the outside. Peace and qu-

Klank!

Ye Chong was astonished as he shifted his sight over the source. The window was… broken? There were cracks over the window, seemed to be reminding him something had happened. He got up from his seat and walked to the window.

There were a crowd below.

What had happened?

…

Meanwhile, Rui Bing walked on. She had generally lost her sense of direction, fortunately she brought a generous supply of nutrition capsules and water or she would be long dead out of starvation or thirst. “Inhabited with humans my foot!” Rui Bing kicked the sand angrily, as she had hardly met with anything human.

Her snow-white face was tainted by dirt and fatigue, her fair white garb had already been dirtied by the dust. Her determination remained untouched however, as she called it a trial, a training to her dignity.

She marched through the sandy place.

She had marched for the past 10 days. With her speed being a Jie expert, the mileage would be great, she felt she had traveled half the globe yet she had seen nobody. She did encounter lots of animals though. The animals could have been a good source of food to anybody else but her, as she was a vegetarian.

The wind was whispering through the sleeves of her dirtied garb. It was as if offering her a ride to the west.

She looked out afar, the summits seemed to be breathing, the height varied, she could feel the life of nature, a refreshing sensation. Being a girl who grew up in the metropolitan, she had never viewed the beauty of Mother Nature herself. The chilling breeze of the peak seemed to have sent her fatigue away.

Ah!

She saw something! Down the slope, there seemed to be a spaceship there. Tidied her garb, she hopped down and began dashing like a white eagle.

…

“Old Wang, how was it? Could you fix it?” asked Shi Chongming as he lowered his body.

Old Wang did not reply, his hands constantly moving from one circuit to another, his hands shifting back and fro, from the screen of the machine to the circuit.

Three minutes lapsed, “Ugh!” Collapsed Old Wang, “I can’t seem to fix it. Damn! I did not expect the Refraction Spring to be broken. This thing should be the last thing to break, but why? We don’t have anything like that in our storage…”

“Oh no…” Frowned Shi Chongming, “The Second Young Miss was still waiting inside the cabin. She was not allowed to ride a mech ever since she was born and we are 5000 kilometers away from Guilar… there’s no other city nearby either…”

“It’s my fault.” Old Wang looked troubled. “I should have placed a Refraction Spring in the storage. What should we do now?”

“I think we could only contact the Third Young Miss for the moment… see if she could send a spaceship here,” muttered Shi Chongming as he turned on the communicator and hurried himself into the cabin.

“Miss, my apology but the spaceship seemed to be beyond repair at the moment,” stated Shi Chongming courteously.

“Oh… what should we do then?” Shi Yinfu’s sweet voice rang in panic, “I ha contacted the third young miss.”

“What did my sister say?” said Shi Yinfu, her gaze jumping around Shi Chongming, which confused the man, “She said Guilar is in a sticky situation right now, so she hoped that we could arrive at Guilar much later. And she was out of hand. She ordered us to take our time.”

“Did something happen there?” Shi Yinfu sounded really nervous now. She had a strong bond with her young sister so she was worried.

“Hmm…” Muttered Shi Chongming, “Something should have happened… judging by her tone, it sounded grim. But don’t worry, the third young miss is very capable, she could handle anything.”

“True… sister is much capable than I,” Shi Yinfu relaxed, who then sighed, looking dejected of her statement, “Well, it’s good too, we could have some leisure looking at the scenery around. Uncle Ming, how do you think?” She forced a smile.

Shi Chongming who captured that tiny gesture of the girl, feeling his heart aching, also forced a smile, “Yes, miss. I had been the plain only on a trial when I was much younger. It’s been quite sometime…”

A shriek was heard.

Shi Chongming flinched… he whispered, “I’ll have a look.”

“Take care,” nodded Shi Fuyin in a smile.

He headed out and saw a running figure coming towards them.

It was Rui Bing.

She quickly held her steps, from total mobility to zero. Such skill! Shi Chongming complimented.

The tainted garb, the dirty face, it must be a practitioner in training! And it was a girl!

It was a rare sight to see a female practitioner, especially one who would undergo a tedious training like this. Only the practitioners who had mastered the skills would undergone a harsh training to further hone their skills.

Shi Chongming was also a practitioner himself and he had undergone similar training when he was younger, so he knew how tedious the training could be, he felt impressed of the girl’s bravery.

“My sincerest apology for causing such havoc.” Being alert, Rui Bing acted politely as she bowed at the far, “Would fellow gents tell me the direction to the nearest city?”

The voice was clear, the tone was soothing, exuding a different kind of sensation to the ears, a pleasing personality. Shi Chongming was again, impressed, for such girl maintained her modesty despite her masterly skills.

Shi Chong suddenly was inspired. He got an idea!

…

… …

“What the heck just happened?” Ye Chong’s flat voice was giving shudders to everybody. As more men had gathered by the gate, Sang Fan and his gang had started feeling stressful. Sang Tie was as if fighting the Great War, guarding the entrance surrounded by crowd. The strength he demonstrated was great, so no one dared to step to the front to provoke.

The Sangs converged their sight at Hai Lian in disconcert, wondering why Hai Lian would want to save this lady, since it was not a culture for them to save strangers from a fight.

Hai Lian pulled the White Streak girl away and kneeled before Ye Chong, he begged in shriek, “PLEASE! Sir! Please save my compatriot! Please! I plead you!” He torn his right sleeve and there revealed… also the same white streaks.

“Ah!!” The girl was shocked, “Ha…ha…” Her tears were wetting her eyes, that was the first compatriot she had ever seen other than her mother.

Ye Chong was silent, because he was not sure of the situation yet.

Hai Lian knocked his head on the ground vigorously as he kneeled, a typical sincerest begging position at the most pathetic plight out of the greatest desperation. His forehead was bleeding, the girl at the side was crying, pulling the arm of Hai Lian, muttering an imperceptible language as distorted by her sobs.

“Sang Fan.” Ye Chong frowned, “Lift him.” He pointed, at the manically behaving Hai Lian, whose forehead was stained by streams of his blood and tears. It was terrifying especially with more blood dripping from the corners of his lips.

Sang Fan forcefully lifted Hai Lian. The strength was so great, Hai Lian could not even struggle.

The compatriot grasped Hai Lian, like a treasure, a long-lost brotherhood, as her tears showering her pretty face, mumbling unknown words.

Sang Ling could not see this scene anymore.

“Guo Ren, mind briefing me what happened?” He would like to ask Hai Lian but that guy seemed to have lost his ability to speak currently, so he asked Guo the Old Chief instead.

So Guo gave a briefing on the backstory of the White Streak tribe, which gave a shock to everyone. “Dammit!” Angered Sang Tie, “This is inhuman! These people are cruelty! Lian my brother, no worries! Nobody would dare to even touch you with me at your side!” He tapped his chest and demonstrated deep brotherhood. The remaining Sangs seemed to be enraged of this bloody fact as well.

Sang Tie’s passion was great, but sometimes too great with that booming voice of his. The others could feel their eardrums rupturing, including the white streak girl, “Tie!” Shouted Sang Ling, “Sir is just right here! Have some manners! If you want to shout, shout elsewhere!”

Sang Tie withdrew himself, feeling embarrassed.

Normally, if something tragic happened to a total stranger, Ye Chong would refuse to even express his slightest sympathy, since there were many, many more people who had suffered worse fate… like he himself for example, who did not even know who his parents were. But well, Hai Lian was still a partner of his, so no way he could ignore this.

He turned his head to Sang Fan, “Tell Sang Huo to move everyone here. We would be meeting 10 kilometers outside the city. Be prepared.”

“Yes sir!” Replied Sang Fan, the Sangs were looking happy while Hai Lian crashed the ground with his knees again, “T-t-t-t-t-thank you.”

The White Streak girl also kneeled along. Hai Lian was having blood and sweat staining his face, as they dripped to the carpet, “From n-n-n-now on…” His voice rang hoarsely, “My life would be yours.” Worshipped he along with his compatriot.

“What is going on?”

“Did the masked man send a rock flying five floors high?”

“The Masked Man is a danger.”

“They did it again?”

The crowd was collecting at the hotel and did not intend to leave as they looked at the strange group inside the lobby.

At this stage, it would be impossible to cover up their whereabouts anymore. They had been dragged under the spotlight. Well then, it is time to gamble again.

Thought Ye Chong as his eyes traveled through the rumbling crowd outside the hotel, setting afar.

he Three Aristocratic Families all received the information. They immediately noticed the link between these 20 Jie experts and the 8 Jie experts that appeared in Foundation city. With that, countless people were deployed to Lunaris.

At the same time, in the auction of the Unmanned Black Market, 30 lavagold bullions were sold at a sky high price to a mining company. This was the purest lavagold anyone had ever seen in the Unmanned Black Market. No one knew how the 30 lavagold bullions were extracted to produce with such high purity. The auction may not be particularly well known, but those who participated were all aristocrats.

In fact, the aristocrats were not interested in the 30 lavagold bullions themselves, but the method of extraction. However, identifying the seller in the Unmanned Black Market was more than difficult.

In Guilar city, a thousand-strong battalion were advancing fast in the deserted plains. All of them wore a silver mask. Fortunately, many of the people in Guilar city wore masks too, so they did not particularly stand out. Even so, the deathly aura coming from them was conspicuous.

That said, anyone who could survive in Guilar city would be intimidating.

The hotel where Ye Chong settled down was already crowded. There were many who still were quickly making their way towards the hotel.

Greda was already much calmer by now. He knew that he could not win, and so he said, “Fine, you’re the man. Humph, we’ll do it your way!” He spoke venomously. The guards around him all relaxed at that.

Ye Chong could hear the grudge in Greda’s voice, and his eyes gleamed coldly. Ye Chong was in no habit of leaving potential threats alive.

“Capture them all,” Ye Chong pointed at Greda and his gang.

Of all the spectators in the hotel’s main lobby, a masked man pointed at Greda, and immediately, seven figures appeared in the room.

“Jie experts!” Someone gasped. Just like that, all the observers were thrilled. They kept their eyes wide open, unwilling to miss anything.

The seven figures moved so quickly that they only appeared as an afterimage. One could hear the dull sound of punches coming from Greda and his gang. The spectators could barely see the shadows of the seven figures as they attacked.

The crowd was riled up. These must be the legendary Jie experts! No one paid attention to Greda. The playboy was notorious in Guilar city, and everyone had only tolerated him because of his father. Now that he had met his match, many were happy that he finally got what he deserved.

In less than half a minute, Greda’s gang were all rounded up. Greda suffered the worst, his body covered with patches of green and black. Sang Tie had vented all his anger from hearing the fate of the White Streak tribe on Greda.

The arrogant gangsters were now all curling into themselves on the ground, moaning in pain. Old Chief Guo whispered into Ye Chong’s ear, “Boss, the Jin Gui tribe is rich, how about we …” As he spoke, he rubbed his right thumb and middle finger together.

Ye Chong’s eyes brightened, and he nodded. “Okay, I leave it to you.”

Old Chief Guo signalled his understanding, and approached the gang. He gave them a few kicks here and there, like he was teasing some animal.

“Alright, it’s you.” Old Chief Guo pointed at a guard on the ground, and the guard turned paled, thinking that he was about to be finished off. “Get up, get up,” Old Chief Guo ordered impatiently. “I’ll let you go now. You’ll go to your tribe leader, tell him that your Young Master has offended our master. Tsk tsk, not only that, he even wanted to harm our master. So, your Young Master’s staying with us. However, our master is mindful of the good relationship between your side and mine, and doesn’t want to make things worse. As long as your tribe pays up, your Young Master will be returned to you all safe and sound. Understood?”

Knowing that he was safe for now, the guard was overjoyed, and quickly nodded. “Understood, understood.”

“Alright.” Old Chief Guo seemed satisfied. “Every guard will cost you five million credits. We’ll let you off free of charge as a sign of goodwill. There are 12 guards here, so 60 million credits should be good. The Young Master is a man of status, so, let’s make it 20 million credits.” Old Chief Guo abruptly spoke with deep menace, “The total is 80 million credits. You have two hours. Hehe, there will be no deal after that. Understood?”

The guard swallowed heavily and nodded vigorously. “Un – understood …”

“Then scram! Remember, two hours!” Old Chief Guo glared at him.

“Yes, yes …” The guard bowed and nodded, and quickly turned to leave, like he was pursued from behind.

Sang Tie sidled up to Old Chief Guo and walked around him, studying the man curiously as he tsk-tsked in awe. Old Chief Guo looked at Sang Tie oddly, feeling his face for a moment as he asked in confusion, “Tie, what is it? Something on my face?”

Sang Tie replied jokingly, “Old Guo, I didn’t expect you to have a few tricks yourself, been breaking the law before haven’t you? Heh, what a daring sum, five million credits for one person, you’re quite the greedy man.”

Old Chief Guo was embarrassed by the tease, and explained reluctantly, “I did it for the squad, we’re poor after all. Besides, to these people, five million is just a speck. Look at him,” he pointed at the moaning Greda, “It’s probably just his casual annual allowance.”

Sang Tie looked at Greda, and felt angry all over again. The Sang tribe members had to go through so much to earn a little money, but this b*stard’s annual spending was already in the millions. He could not help but gave Greda a few “extra gentle” kicks.

“Hiss!” Greda inhaled sharply in pain, his body contorted backwards like a bow, and his eyes bulged like a fish’s. The guards around him quivered in fear as they looked nervously at Sang Tie.

Sang Ling could not help but let out a little laugh as she watched Sang Tie and Old Chief Guo doing their thing. Her cold eyes instantly melted into a blooming spring, and Sang Fan could only stare dreamily from her place.

The hotel was crowded, but no one dared to step into the empty space before the entrance. They all believed in the absolute strength of Jie experts. Besides, wasn’t there a rumor a few days ago of a Jie expert crushing a mech’s armor with only bare hands?

Shi Xin watched indifferently, unmoved by the fight. The only thing that confounded her was the fact that Ye Chong and his group had actually demanded ransom. The Shi family and the Jin Gui tribe were close. While the Shi family had a wide and more superior influence, both sides had cooperated with each other on even ground. In any case, she still had to pay her dues.

After some pondering moments, she made up her mind. Shi Xin stepped forward alone, bowing in the direction of the hotel’s entrance and hailed, “I am Shi Xing, from the Shi family of Tian Xing Cove. Greetings.” She greeted the way a junior would a person with higher seniority.

The Shi family was well known. The crowd that had only quieted down now came to life again.

“Shi Tiancheng has a respectable daughter!” Amidst the crowd, a middle-aged man commended as he watched Shi Xin with interested. A woman who could act so calm and dignified before a large crowd was stately and impressive.

“Shi Xin, female, age 24. Went for external training at age 17. Her outstanding performance led the tribe leader and her father, Shi Tiancheng to recognize her as a talent worth nurturing. She was involved in a series of significant events such as the Shi and Jin family alliance and the Shi family negotiation. Besides that, on March 20th last year, she was secretly engaged, her partner remains unidentified.” A fair-skinned and handsome young man who stood beside the middle-aged man commented swiftly. The middle-aged man wore a mask, and was surrounded by guards.

The middle-aged man smiled and said nothing.

Old Chief Guo stepped forward at Ye Chong’s signal and said, “Well met, well met. What can we do for Miss Shi?” Initially, he was quite uptight, but he soon played his role smoothly. Life was truly mysterious. A few months ago, he was still in the lowliest ranks of society. Now, he could speak on even ground with the likes of the aristocrats like the Shi family.

Shi Xin spoke respectfully, “Begging your great indulgence, Uncle Roland had always took care of me, and Greda is like a sibling to me. His offense to you and your own was most disgraceful. However, he is also young, rash, and ignorant. Please consider forgiving him. He would definitely see the error of his ways and make amends.”

The middle-aged man could not help but applaud, “She can speak well.” The young man beside him did not look so impressed. The middle-aged man sighed to himself and explained, “The girl is discreet. She’s not familiar with the other party, so she chose not to speak in the name of the Shi family. She spoke only of herself, about her gratitude to Roland, and asked for mercy based on their sibling-like relationship. This way, not only would she not offend the other party, they might even commend her for her willingness to repay another’s kindness, and chose not to make things difficult for her. Impressive!”

Seeing the middle-aged man being so generous of praise, the young man could not help but feel unconvinced. “These social etiquettes are common.”

The middle-aged man took a glance at him and said plainly, “To act decisively and appropriately before thousands of people, before 20 Jie experts, is that something you can do?”

The young man was silent for a long moment in deep thought, as he finally felt shame. “I’ve underestimated the situation.”

While Old Chief Guo did not like the aristocratic arrogance in Shi Xin, the girl was still alright in other respects. He laughed and said, “Miss Shi, no need to worry, you’ll find out in a moment.”

Shi Xin realized then that the other party did not intend to kill Greda. She bowed again respectfully and said, “You have my sincerest gratitude,” and retreated into the crowd.

With his part done, Old Chief Guo heaved a sigh of relief and made to return to the hotel. Just then, another person emerged, leaping out from the crowd.

Greetings sir, my name is Zhang Sunli!” Zhang Sunli had a squarish face, with thick brows and large eyes. He was a fine man, his muscular body reaching 180 meters in height. He was obviously a man of emotions. His palms were calloused, and he behaved courteously.

“Oh, how can I help you?” Old Chief Guo looked curiously at the 30 year old-ish man.

Zhang Sunli affected a look of respect and bowed slightly before replying, “Zhang Sunli has trained in combat since young, and has always worked hard. However, due to the lack of a capable teacher, I’ve not have much success thus far. Your warriors are all strong, in the realm of Jie, something we all dreamed of achieving. I beg your greatest indulgence to please consider having me by your side. I would not dare to wish to be accepted into your clan, only that you’ll allow me to assist your miscellaneous tasks.” Zhang Sunli spoke sincerely and with determination.

Old Chief Guo was stunned. The man was asking to be a disciple! However, he could sympathize with Zhang Sunli’s desire. There were many people just like Zhang Sunli in society. Old Chief Guo himself was in his position before. However, he had chosen to train as a mech pilot instead. He had also trained hard from childhood, but without an eminent teacher to guide him, he could only barely pass as a mech pilot now.

With this precedent in place, others followed. The crowd began to make similar requests. “Please have me too, please have me too!”

“That’s right, that’s right, if I can have a Jie expert as my teacher, there’s hope for me just yet!”

“Please accept me, please accept me. I have good fundamentals, I work hard …”

The crowd was boiling with enthusiasm as the people all stepped forward to offer themselves. Old Chief Guo was suddenly their gateway to success.

Old Chief Guo was shocked. He never expected people to ask to be his disciple! Zhang Sunli was also shocked. He did not imagine that his actions would lead to this madness.

Old Chief Guo grew troubled. Ye Chong and the rest inside the hotel also turned wary. The situation was getting risky. If someone was instigating the crowd, then they might lose control of the situation. No matter how strong Ye Chong and the group was, they would not be able to handle a huge crowd like this.

Old Chief Guo dared to linger further, and quickly ran into the hotel. Heck, given the situation, if he continued to stay where he was, he might just be overrun by the crowd.

Ye Chong was also looking a little grim. Sang Tie quickly brought Old Chief Guo over. Just as Old Chief Guo stepped into the hotel, his comms device rang. Old Chief Guo took a look at it, and his panic dissolved away instantly. He ran to Ye Chong and cried, “Sir, our items are sold.”

Ye Chong was overjoyed. The only reason he was still on Lunaris was because the money was not yet transferred to his card. Just then, the credits from the lavagold auction were registered in his card.

Sang Fan added then, “Sir, Huo and the others are already outside the city, ready to move.”

Ye Chong ordered Sang Tie, “Get Hai Lian and the other one here, we’re leaving the city.” After that, he turned to Sang Fang and said, “Ask Sang Huo to prepare to receive us.”

The crowd outside was still brimming with excitement, but no one had dared to enter the hotel. The Jie experts were still scary, after all.

Ye Chong and his group packed up. Ye Chong himself had no interest in the potential disciples outside like Zhang Sunli. Zhang Sunli himself was already buried in the crowd. Greda and his guards were of insignificance now.

oland was deeply anxious. He cursed the no-fly zone around Guilar city, but recalled that he had actually voted for it to be set up. He smiled wryly to himself. Greda was too disappointing. His son’s usual troublemaking was tolerable, since other people would be wary of him and leave his son be. But now, Greda had messed with those Jie experts!

Roland had decided to pay the ransom. He would give his son a good smacking, see if he would dare do this again! “To think that he had went against Jie experts because of a mere woman! The stupid boy will die in a woman’s hands if this continues!” Roland cursed inside.

However, the Jie experts were not trying to make things difficult for him. Roland knew this from experience. 80 million might be a tremendous figure for the commoners, but it was only a drop from the ocean for him. Why would Jie experts be in need of money? It would be such a joke. Any aristocratic would pay more than this to the Jie experts. It seemed that the other party only wanted to make a tiny show of punishment to Greda.

Killing at the slightest provocation was not befitting of a Jie expert.

What would Ye Chong and his group think if they knew Roland’s thoughts on them? Roland ran fast. Even though he was Tribe Leader, he was also one of the tribe’s elites when he was young, and had even completed his own ascetic training. He was a formidable fighter in his own right.

Roland’s group was much more formal than Ye Chong’s. Full security measures were taken with the Tribe Leader himself making an appearance, . More than 300 guards clad in black close-fitting combat suits surrounded Roland at the center. The group advanced quickly, but none of them showed any signs of fatigue, evenly breathing as they were. Their procession attracted attention along the way.

Roland arrived just when the crowd’s enthusiasm in requesting acceptance into Ye Chong’s group was at its peak. The guards around Roland noticed the dense crowd, and forced a way through. The people pushed out of the way turned back to glower and yell, but when they saw who it was, they forcefully stopped themselves from uttering their first words.

Roland and his guards entered the scene, and the crowd gradually quieted down to a deafening silence. Anyone who survived long enough in Guilar city would recognise the Jin Gui tribe’s leader. Now that the Tribe Leader was here to save his own son, anyone who made a misstep here will have to bid farewell to Guilar city.

“I am Roland, greetings!” Roland stood formally and bowed. Attaining Jie was no mean feat. Usually, one attained Jie at around 50 to 60 years of age. Hence, Roland chose to speak in a respectful tone.

Ye Chong and his group was about to leave when Roland’s voice grinded them to a halt. Ye Chong took a glance at Greda and signaled to Old Chief Guo. Old Chief Guo took his meaning and walked out of the hotel with deliberate ease.

“To have Tribe Leader Roland himself visiting, you honor us!” Old Chief Guo did not sound very honored.

Roland spoke pensively, “My unworthy son has behaved most inappropriately to offend you and your company, he deserves the harshest of punishments.”

Old Chief Guo laughed. “Tribe Leader Roland, you exaggerate. Boys are boys, it is in their nature to be petulant, he just needs a little education. Alright, back on topic, do you have money ready, Tribe Leader?”

The crowd was stunned. A Jie expert was asking for money!

“Here is a billion credits. Please accept it with my sincere apologies.” Roland produced a purple-gold card.

A Tribe Leader in all his power and glory was openly negotiating with a group of Jie experts. It was too outrageous!

Most of the people stared at the card, panting greedily. A billion credits was an impossible figure for the average commoner.

However, Roland did not hand over the card to Old Chief Guo. Instead, he bowed down deeply and said, “Roland has a request as well, if all of you would be so kind to consider it!”

“What is this request ?” Old Chief Guo looked at Roland, intrigued.

“Roland’s unworthy son is impossibly stubborn, and Roland acknowledges his inability to educate him any further. However, if he continues like this, he will never succeed in life. Roland would ask for you and your group to accept him as a disciple. Roland would not expect him to be a Jie expert like yourselves, only that you would change his ways for the better.”

Taking a disciple? Boss would never agree, Old Chief Guo was certain of it. Before he could reject the man, however, Roland’s next words came like a bomb, “Roland would offer 50 billion credits as the teaching fee for Greda!”

50 billion credits! The crowd went mad! Just what in the world was 50 billion credits worth? A Moonlight mech cost 30 thousand credits. A small-sized starship was worth two million credits. A mid-sized starship was 30 million credits. A large-sized starship was five billion credits.

This was the price of ten large-sized starships! Even the powerful Trilobita Mech Squad had only 15 large starships, and that was the result of decades of savings.

Old Chief Guo hesitated, and replied, “Please wait a moment, we will discuss this.”

The middle-aged man in the crowd sighed, “The old fellow’s cunning.”

The handsome young man beside him countered, “He knows nothing about the other party, how could Tribe Leader Roland act so rashly?”

“You don’t understand!” The middle aged man said, “He’s taking a gamble!”

“A gamble?” The young man’s handsome features twisted in confusion.

“Yes. Greda’s upbringing is such that Roland can no longer make his son behave. Besides, the old fellow’s busy with his own work, and has no time to take care of Greda. Roland is gambling with 50 billion credits for a chance to mold his son into a better person. Don’t forget, the Jie experts are mysterious, affiliated with no aristocratic family. If they really accept Greda as a disciple, the Jin Gui tribe might just find themselves an ally. Roland is crafty.”

The young man was unconvinced. “But no one knows the background of these Jie experts, why would he feel that his son will be safe with them?”

The middle-aged man took a glance at the younger man and said, “Remember, a man of status must have the right mindset. He can always bear another son, but this opportunity will not present itself again. He is now given a golden opportunity for both Greda and the Jin Gui tribe. If Greda continued the way he was, he will never be a man of substance. Roland loved his son, that’s why he’s willing to invest with 50 billion credits for him, and for the Jin Gui tribe.”

The middle-aged man added, “In this world, nothing comes without risks.”

The handsome young man pondered for a moment before asking, “If it was you, would you make the same decision?”

“I will,” the middle-aged man answered without hesitation.

“Third Young Miss,” an old servant came to Shi Xin. Shi Xin was surrounded by more than a dozen guards. They were either openly or discreetly protecting her .

Shi Xin did not turn to look at him. “Uncle Hua, you’re all here.” Uncle Hua was one of the people she trusted most. Growing up in an aristocratic family, she would always be accompanied by an attendant. Attendants often come from the families that branch out from the main aristocratic bloodline. They were all excellent in combat and managing tasks, and they were loyal to the aristocratic family. Uncle Hua was Shi Xin’s attendant. He had watched over her ever since she was born.

Uncle Hua did not look his age. His skin was smooth and fair despite being over 50 years old. He spoke with a mellow voice, “The starship that Second Young Miss is on is stranded, should we deploy some men to assist?”

“No need, they just got in touch with me. I asked them to take their time arriving to Guilar city. The city is in a state of unrest now. Second Young Miss has always been fragile, it will not do for her to be troubled.” Shi Xin asked, “Uncle Hua, did you bring the card?”

Uncle Hua nodded. “Here. Isn’t this for buying mechs from the Xue Lan clan?”

“It was. Let me have the card for now, we’ll see how it goes. We might not be getting mechs.” Shi Xin looked meaningfully at the hotel.

Uncle Hua and the rest had just arrived, and was not aware of previous proceedings. However, Uncle Hua did not hesitate and handed over the card to Shi Xin.

Shi Xin would never imagine that her second elder sister, Shi Fuyin had gotten into trouble just then.

The group chatted amiably. Shi Chongming described to Shu Fuyin his ascetic training experience while he was younger, and Shi Fuyin could not help but gasped again and again at his misadventures. Rui Bing still looked like her usual cold self, but she was getting eager to try out this strange method that they called ascetic training.

She realized that the annoying but beautiful woman had brought her to unfamiliar territory, a place not part of the Five Galaxies. When she first found out that she was no longer in the Five Galaxies, her first thought was that she might never see Ye Chong again. The thought made her deeply aggrieved.

Perhaps this was her fate. Rui Bing sighed quietly to herself pitifully. She was in no mood for conversation, and maintained her silence throughout the journey. No one dared to approach her for a chat, since she was obviously a cold person. Aside that, ever since her surprising demonstration of her skills that day, any admirer of hers would now be revising their judgment of their own merits.

Just how strong was this cold woman? Shi Chongming was very curious.

Nonetheless, Shi Fuyin had developed a fondness for Rui Bing, and always entwined her arm with Rui Bing’s. Rui Bing was also sympathetic towards a fragile lady like her. Besides, back at home, Rui Su had always liked to embrace her as well, so the intimacy was not unfamiliar.

On the other hand, Shi Chongming was secretly happy to see Rui Bing and the Second Young Miss being so close.

The dry weather had caused the earth to crack beneath them. The deserted plain was only occasionally interrupted by a few crooked gray-brown salix willows.

Rui Bing abruptly halted. Her expression turned severe as she listened intently.

Everyone else was startled.

“Careful!” Rui Bing’s eyes turned sharp.

The group was still confused when they heard a disquieting rustling sound becoming clearer and clearer. Zhi Chongming grew nervous.

he cracks on the ground suddenly glowed light blue. Everyone was stunned by what they were seeing, except for Shi Chongming. Shi Chongming’s face was already drained of blood as he gasped, “Blue Crown Serpents!” He had seen this animal before during his ascetic training. Back then, he had watched from up high and afar at the chilling blue light. It was only when the blue light receded that he carefully approached the place to take a closer look. For kilometers around where the blue light had been, he could only see mechs reduced to useless wreckage.

The already startled group turned a shade paler.

On the ground, a misty blue light leaked out of the cracks. It would have made for an astonishing sight from high above the skies. The blue light stretched outwards for a few kilometers.

The rustling sound became louder and louder. Shi Chongming acted first. He deployed his mech while the rest of the guards recovered from their shock and took out their mechs next. However, Shi Chongming knew that, even with his mech out, it was already too late.

Blue Crown Serpents lived beneath the earth’s surface, and only emerged occasionally. They were naturally vicious and moved quickly, making them terrifying creatures. More importantly, they often appear without warning.

The guards’ mechs were already out, the pilot cabins opened. The guards rushed to their mechs like their lives depended on it.

“Imbciles, come back here. Dmn it, are you leaving the Second Young Miss behind?” Shi Chongming was infuriated by the escaping guards.

The guards stopped in their tracks and looked to each other. They quickly turned back. Shi Chongming was right. If anything happened to Shi Fuyin, they would not survive for long even if they outlived the young lady. Unlike normal hired guards, the guards assigned to protect the aristocrats themselves were all chosen from their own clan or tribe. The guards families were all with the aristocrats. If they left the Second Young Miss to escape themselves, not only would they be punished by death when they returned to the tribe, their families would also suffer greatly.

Their escape just then was done out of instinct to save themselves. Shi Chongming’s yelling had brought them back to their senses. Shi Chongming sighed to himself. The Second Young Miss rarely headed outdoors. These bodyguards were all inexperienced, and had panicked when trouble arrived.

He stole a glance at the cold female combat expert, and found her to be completely at ease. Just her reaction was enough to prove her superiority over everyone else here. Shi Fuyin had always stayed close to her parents, never experiencing anything so frightening like this. She quivered in fear and held on tightly to Rui Bing, her face as white as a sheet.

In just the blink of an eye, the blue light suddenly glowed more intensely. Rui Bing finally saw the Blue Crown Serpents clearly. Each snake was two to three meters long. The source of the blue light was a glowing pattern on its body. On its belly was a muscular protrusion and at the tip of the snake’s head was a sharp horn, flanked by two air sacs that expanded and contracted rhythmically.

Rui Bing had never seen anything like it, but she was not too perturbed. Not many things in the world that could disturb Jie experts, and lesser still for Rui Bing.

Based on the Jie experts’ level in the He Yue galaxy, many of the Jie experts in the Five Galaxies would not be on par with them. Combat was a dying skill in the Five Galaxies, so it was natural that their level was no match against the He Yue galaxy. However, the Five Galaxies were also home to many talents, such as Rui Bing. Her battle with Ye Chong had enabled her to attain Jie and become the third Jie expert in the Rui family. After that, with her intense mech piloting training, she had broadened her skill set and improved herself even more. It was this extra improvement that allowed Rui Bing to be on the same level as the Jie experts in the He Yue galaxy.

Female combat experts were rare, and a female Jie expert was even rarer.

The Blue Crown Serpents were fast, but Rui Bing’s sharp eyes could follow their movements easily. The protrusion in their bellies helped them to move. As the meaty protrusion pushed, the snake could move from one place to another in a flash of blue. The intense blue light made it even harder to see them clearly.

The mechs out in the open were the first ones to be hit. Ding ding ding! The Blue Crown Serpents launched themselves at the mechs, like blue energy beams raining on the metallic machines.

The seemingly invulnerable mechs were destroyed instantly, spraying a million fragments outwards.

Everyone but Rui Bing turned even paler. The Blue Crown Serpents were known for their viciousness, but no one imagined that the creatures could be so terrifying. Rui Bing’s expression remained calm, but she was also surprised inside. These creatures were truly horrible! She was the only one of the group who could see exactly how the snakes launched their attack.

The Blue Crown Serpents were fast. They attacked with the seemingly thin horns on their heads. Rui Bing was surprised to find that they had attacked repeatedly in the same spots. After the first wave of snakes, the second wave launched themselves to the exact spots targeted by the first wave. The tough mech armors finally gave way under these continuous and accurate attacks.

That was how the snakes could penetrate the mech armors. Normal people would only be horrified by the power of the Blue Crown Serpents, but Rui Bing could appreciate with her sharp senses the uniqueness of these creatures.

The Blue Crown Serpents were not so scary themselves. It was their continuous attacks that made them terrifying.

Shi Chongming looked at the mech fragments scattered on the ground, feeling hopeless. He looked to the Second Young Miss with guilt and regret.

This was the limit of any mech pilot. A mech pilot without a mech would be vulnerable. Any close range attack would likely end a mech pilot’s life, unless he or she had excellent combat skills.

An alloy pole fell beside Rui Bing. She gently hooked it up with her leg and took it in her hand. The alloy pole was suitable enough to use, weighing just right and providing a good grip. While Rui Bing was confident of her combat skills, the situation at hand was not one that could be resolved quickly. With a weapon in hand, Rui Bing felt a little safer.

What else could she do in this situation? This was a fight for survival!

Rui Bing’s aura suddenly transformed from pure coolness to intense focus, like a blade unsheathed. Her long, black hair flew a little despite there being not even the slightest breeze. With a pole in hand and her white training garb on, she looked positively handsome and valorous.

She brushed gently on her left arm, and Shi Fuyin’s right grip was instantly released. She gave another push, and Shi Fuyin was tossed in Shi Chongming’s direction. Shi Chongming was startled, but he quickly reacted and caught the Second Young Miss.

“Stay behind me.” Her cool voice was absolute.

Just then, the Blue Crown Serpents began to attack the group.

Rui Bing’s face was grim as the pole in her hand began to move. Rui Bing’s movements were simple, but her attacks never missed. Once the trick to the Blue Crown Serpents’ attack was known, their power was greatly reduced. Rui Bing got better and better at predicting their attacks, and her movements grew even sparser.

She could hear painful howls and shrieks from everywhere around her, but Rui Bing kept to her attack range. She was determined not to be distracted, since she knew that protecting two people was the most she could do by herself. She could only steel her heart and continue fighting, but her attacks grew more and more ruthless.

Shi Chongming held onto the Second Young Miss tightly, looking at the back of the figure in white training garb. Her shoulders were not exactly wide, but he felt strangely safe behind them.

Just who was exactly this woman?

He knew next to nothing about this cold lady, except for her name, Rui Bing. Where was she from, and who was her teacher? He did not the answers to those.

He took a quick glance at the guards around him, most of them reduced to bones. Shi Chongming felt miserable. The Blue Crown Serpents attacked like a crazy shower of lasers. Amidst the blue flashes of attacks, a single pole had carved out a safe space just enough for three people to fit in.

Whack! Splat! He could hear the continuous attacks from the pole. The rustling sound loomed over him like the depths of despair. Time seemed to slow down. How long could she hold on? This was the only question in Shi Chongming’s mind.

As fate would have it, Rui Bing was not the only one in a crisis.

On Coxcomb, Mu and Shang’s bionic eyes were blinking madly. Little Rock sat in front of the photon processor, drenched in sweat. He stared fixedly on the photon processor as his hands flew across the controls. Zhu Ling watched him worriedly, and even Lian Yue refrained from his usual lackadaisical and foolish manners, staying quietly at the side.

Finally, Little Rock heaved a sigh of relief. However, his forehead was already lined with trickles of sweat, and he was completely soaked. Zhu Ling’s eyes softened as she handed over a towel for Little Rock. He returned a sincere smile to her. Lian Yue could not help but exclaimed jealously, “Ah, poor me, no one handed me a towel!”

No one paid him any attention. Zhu Ling asked Little Rock softly, “What happened just now?”

“Mu just met a really strong guy in the virtual world, and they fought for awhile. Then a couple more strong guys came to watch from the side, so I went to help. But it was dangerous, getting to the end, Mu nearly lost himself in there,” Little Rock explained, still a bit shakened.

“Impossible! Who can possibly be stronger than Boss Mu in the virtual world?” Lian Yue protested despite himself. Indeed, Mu had always reigned supreme in the virtual world. They had all witnessed it themselves. Even Shang was almost undefeatable in the virtual world. How could Lian Yue not be surprised by the news of a few new characters at the same level as Mu?

I can identify four of them. As for the rest, information is insufficient for further deductions.” This came from Mu. His bionic eyes were back to normal.

“Yeah, those people are strong,” Little Rock nodded in agreement. “If it wasn’t for my opponent being a little careless, I wouldn’t have noticed them.” He behaved just as usual. To him, meeting strong opponents was a normal occurrence. He did not know that he was already well beyond most of the advanced computation experts. After a pause, Little Rock spoke with a curious look, “The virtual world is very different from the one we’re used to. The computations used look nothing like from our virtual world. Strange.”

“Boss Mu, what is this place?” The question came from Lian Yue.

Mu paused for a moment before replying, “Information is insufficient for confirmation. 62 percent of the data fragments from my database is related to this place.”

Lian Yue was shocked, and howled pitifully, “You can’t be serious, Boss Mu, even you can’t tell our whereabouts? What should we do next?”

“Here are three action plans, each one of them has about 70 percent probability of success, and each has its own advantages and weaknesses. Do you have other suggestions?” Mu asked, just as the holographic screen on Coxcomb displayed all three action plans.

The three of them shook their heads almost in unison.

“Due to the given circumstances, the decision will be made randomly.” Mu acted quickly. The three action plans began to take turns showing on the holographic screen. When the screen finally stopped changing, only the third action plan, Plan C, was left on display.

After a good few minutes, Old Chief Guo finally came out of the hotel again. The spectators knew that the moment had come. Roland looked at ease, lacking any signs of nervousness.

Old Chief Guo came to a stop and stood there for a moment, as if thinking to himself, before speaking plainly, “We are humbled by your offer, but we have a few conditions.”

“Pray tell,” Roland gestured with his hand.

“First, your son will not be in contact with you for five years.”

“I agree.”

“Second, we will not be responsible for his life.”

The crowd erupted into an uproar. Never had a teacher refused to be responsible for their disciple’s safety. It was outrageous to accept so much money and still act so irresponsibly. This was 50 billion credits!

Just when the crowd expected Tribe Leader Roland to refuse, the man spoke with resolution, “I agree.”

The people were riled up once again. They stared blankly at Tribe Leader Roland. To them, the proudly standing old fool was the most witless person ever. Nonetheless, some of the spectators looked thoughtful. These were mostly people who knew Tribe Leader Roland personally. They knew that the tribe leader would never act so imprudently. There must be some scheme behind this seemingly foolish agreement.

“We have an accord,” Old Chief Guo found himself feeling oddly calm as he received the card with 50 billion credits in it from the tribe leader.

Zhang Sunli glared at him condescendingly. He stepped forward and pronounced loudly, “I did not expect that you so-called Jie experts would be so materialistic. I’ve overestimated you.” Zhang Sunli’s words resonated with many in the crowd. They too looked at Old Chief Guo with disdain, but dared not speak up.

Old Chief Guo took a quick glance at Zhang Sunli. He knew what the Boss was like, and did not care to waste the effort of arguing with Zhang Sunli.

Old Chief Guo turned to go back into the hotel, when another person spoke up, “Sir, please wait.”

Recently, Old Chief Guo had been called “Sir” for more times than all the other times in his life combined. “It’s not easy to be recognized as a person of higher status,” Old Chief Guo mocked himself. He turned back and found that person calling him to be Shi Xin.

Shi Xin stepped into the empty circle before the hotel entrance and hailed, “I too would like to be your disciple, and will accept your two conditions. Here is 50 billion credits as payment, please accept it.”

Once again, the crowd exploded in an uproar. This was the biggest drama of their lives, enough to fuel gossips for decades to come. Never again would they encounter anything like this! Shi Xin’s guards were all stunned. Even Uncle Hua was speechless. He quickly made a call to the tribe leader and reported the events discreetly. He decided that if the tribe leader opposed this idea, he would force the Third Young Miss back home.

Inside the hotel, Ye Chong was already speechless. Another 50 billion credits! Why did it seem like any person could be richer than the previous one? However, why would anyone refuse money? Besides, Ye Chong needed the credits now. Even so, Ye Chong could not help but think about how poor they were compared to these filthy rich aristocrats.

Old Chief Guo saw Ye Chong nodded, and said, “Alright, since you have this determination, please join us.” He accepted the card from Shi Xin and led the girl into the hotel.

Uncle Hua was struggling with himself, but he could only watch as Shi Xin entered the hotel, unable to stop her.

Shi Xin was already beginning to regret this. Was she being too rash?

She knew almost immediately what Tribe Leader Roland was scheming. Just who was behind this mysterious and powerful organization? She was sure that this group was not the full force of the organization. This was a power that could tip the scales on the power balance in He Yue galaxy. More importantly, this power was still a mystery to everyone. For now, she was the only one who could shoulder the responsibility of finding out more about this group.

It was after this chain of reasoning that she finally came to this decision.

“The girl has a bright future!” The middle-aged man in the crowd sighed with emotion.

A hundred billion credits had showed itself to the world. The people could feel the temptation, but no one acted on it for fear of the Jie experts.

Old Chief Guo entered the hotel and passed the two cards to Ye Cong. Shi Xin was observing them, and deduced that the lanky man must be the leader. Too bad that they were all wearing masks, concealing their faces.

Ye Chong said to Sang Ling, “Bring her to a room and take whatever she has on her.”

Sang Ling nodded and led Shi Xin to a room.

Ye Chong looked at Greda, lying weakly on the floor, and said to Sang Tie, “He’ll be your disciple from now on.”

Sang Tie grinned as he rubbed his hands together. “Hehe, alright.” Upon hearing that, Greda instantly blacked out. The rest of the group looked at him with sympathy. Greda will almost certainly live a bleak five years as Sang Tie’s disciple.

Ye Chong nodded at Greda and said, “Take what he has on him too.”

Sang Tie gave another laugh before carrying Greda into another room.

On the other hand, Greda’s guards were all released right then.

After a few minutes, Sang Ling and Sang Tie came out of their rooms, but the people they carried made Old Chief Guo’s eyes bulged. Shi Xin and Greda were both wrapped up in blankets. Shi Xin was carried horizontally across Sang Ling, but Greda was carried under Sang Tie’s arm, his white thighs showing occasionally through the blanket.

“What are you …” Ye Chong began.

Sang Tie was confused. “Didn’t sir asked us to take what they have on them?”

“You took everything they have on them?” Ye Chong wasn’t sure if he should laugh or cry. He had intended for any communication devices to be removed from them, but Sang Tie and Sang Ling had been so thorough that they had removed everything, even their clothes. He was left with two naked disciples.

Greda was still unconscious, unaware of his naked flesh. Shi Xin, however, was wide awake, but she hoped against hope to be blacked out instead, her face now flushed with embarrassment.

“Yes,” Sang Tie answered matter-of-factly. Sang Ling shared his sentiment. Hai Lian and Old Chief Guo felt like fainting. The White Streak tribe woman clinging onto Hai Lian was surprised, but soon laughed heartily at the sight.

“It’s alright. What about their stuff?” Ye Chong asked.

“All destroyed, ground to a pulp.” Sang Tie laughed sheepishly. Ye Chong looked to Sang Ling, and she nodded as well.

“Alright, good work.” Ye Chong commended their thoroughness.

Extremists, the lot of them! Hai Lian and Old Chief Guo shared a bewildered look.

“We’re leaving the city.” Ye Chong announced. Just like that, everyone stood up. Hai Lian, Old Chief Guo, the White Streak lady, Greda and Shi Xin were all carried by one member or another of the Sang tribe.

Just as Ye Chong and his group was about to leave, a woman’s voice suddenly came from outside the hotel. “On behalf of the clan leader, Duo Huan of the Xue Lai Clan would like to invite you as honored guests to our place.”

The crowd was silenced. Only Duo Huan’s voice echoed in front of the hotel. The Xue Lai Clan had come for this group! Everyone shared the same thought.

Amidst the confusion, a man in black uniform stepped out of the crowd, wearing a cold expression. The sharper members of the crowd recognized this as Ye Bei, Consulate General of the Ye family on Lunaris.

Ye Bei stepped forward, reaching the side of Duo Bei and spoke in a low voice, “By the order of the Patriarch, Ye Bei would like to invite you all to the Ye family’s place to discuss some important matters.”

They’re popular alright! Roland was pleased with his own foresight. The crowd around him was already gossiping loudly again. Two of the Three Aristocratic Families had issued invitations to the group. Any organization would be envious of this honor. Xue Lai Clan’s Clan Leader and the Patriarch of the Ye Family were both discreet personalities who preferred to stay in the shadows. Even those within the clan or family would rarely see them in person. Now, both leaders had issued an invitation for this group of people!

“Haha, looks like we all had the same idea. In the name of our Chieftain, Feng Wuqing of the Xi Feng Tribe would like to offer our hospitality.” Feng Wuqing’s calm announcement was like dropping a bomb into an erupting volcano!

he appearance of the Three Aristocratic Families was a terrible surprise to Ye Chong, and an event that he had desperately tried to avoid. The rest of the group looked troubled as well. While they did not know of the relationship between Ye Chong and the Three Aristocratic Families, it was obvious that they were not on friendly terms. Besides, under the repeated cautions offered by Hai Lian and Old Chief Guo, Sang Fan and the rest finally got the idea of the strength of the Three Aristocratic Families. In Archipelago, one would never deliberately meddle with powerful wild beasts.

However, since they were enemies of Ye Chong, Sang Fan and the rest of them were ready to treat the Three Aristocratic Families as enemies too.

Hai Lian was standing beside Ye Chong. He had seen first hand Ye Chong’s massacre of the Xue Lai Clan’s members in Foundation city. He spoke up abruptly, “Sir, let me try something.”

Ye Chong wondered at Hai Lian’s sudden proactiveness, and nodded. “Alright, please go ahead.” Ye Chong did not know what he was planning, but since he offered, he must be confident of the plan.

Hai Lian made to walk out of the hotel, when the White Streak tribe woman clung tightly onto his elbow, her eyes filled with terror. Earlier in the room, Hai Lian had put a mask on her face, and her delicate features were concealed behind the mask. Hai Lian patted on her hands clung onto his shoulder and cooed softly, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

The White Streak tribe woman looked at Hai Lian carefully, but her hands finally loosened as she said, “Please … Please be careful.”

Ye Chong spoke up from the side, “Fan, go with him, keep him safe.”

“Yes sir,” Sang Fan nodded.

The two men walked out of the hotel together, showing no fear. The people gathering around immediately looked to them. The crowd was silent. Today’s drama had been suspenseful and climactic all the way.

Hai Lian spoke, “Our leader is grateful for your kind offer. We are all honoured by your invitations. However, due to certain matters that we need to attend to, we are unable to stay here. Perhaps some time in the future, when there are no urgent obligations, our leader will visit your tribes and accept your hospitalities.” Hai Lian spoke with much subtlety, but the refusal was clear. All this while, he had been a freelance mech pilot with his own reputation, and had been offered recruitement more than once. As such, he had developed a certain finesse to deal with situations like these.

The spectating crowd was large, and most of them were neutral parties. No matter how arrogant the Three Aristocratic Families were, they would not dare to be too forceful.

Feng Wuqing smiled softly, his delicate features captivating the audience. “Oh, what urgent matters do your party need to see to? Our tribe may not boast a large community, but we are always happy to lend a helping hand. Perhaps you can tell us about it, our tribe will offer what assitance we can.”

Ye Bei humphed coldly, and stayed silent.

Duo Huan gave a soft laugh, which sounded like the comforting ringing of windchimes. She stretched her body slightly, her curves attracting the attention of all the men nearby. Her flat, smooth abdomen was exposed, showing her sensuous navel. The men around her inhaled sharply.

Duo Huan winked at Sang Fan and Hai Lian and said, “My two handsomes, don’t listen to what Sister Feng, who knows what kind of scheming she’s had in mind. Why not tell me about your troubles? Oh right, the Clan Leader said that the last time was the result of a misunderstanding, no need to worry about it. Xue Lai Clan has always been the most hospitable.” Her intonations hooked the attention of her listeners in the crowd. When the people around her heard Duo Huan referred to Feng Wuqing as Sister Feng, they laughed softly despite themselves.

Feng Wuqing laughed softly, and was not offended. Xi Feng Tribe placed heavy importance on mental and spiritual training. He would not be so easily offended by words.

Hai Lian and Sang Fan were both unaffected by Duo Huan; Sang Fan due to his steady heart, and Hai Lian due to his recent encounter with a certain woman.

Hai Lian replied calmly, “Haha, your kindness is appreciated. However, this is a personal matter that we prefer to keep to ourselves.”

Ye Bei’s expression darkened, and he said coldly, “Are you really not going to give in?”

Hai Lian was pleased inside, but he asked sarcastically, “Oh, Mr Ye, what could you possibly mean by that?” If the aristocrats really dared to make their move in front of so many people, it would be a most foolish mistake.

“Ye Bei will not disobey the Patriarch’s orders. Please don’t make this difficult for me,” Ye Bei sounded even colder.

Hai Lian opened up his arms and said unabashed, “Ah, please forgive us, but we really have matters to attend to.”

Looking at Hai Lian’s performance outside, Ye Chong began to understand his intentions. He called Sang TIe over and whispered a few orders to him. Sang Tie stared at him for a moment, but quickly grinned widely.

Both sides refused to give in. Just then, Ye Chong suddenly led the Sang tribe members out of the hotel. Hai Lian and Sang Fan saw him coming, and retreated to stand behind him.

The mysterious Jie expert group’s leader finally revealed himself! Everyone stared at the mask on Ye Chong’s face, wandering just what kind of person was under that mask?

When Ye Chong came out of the hotel, Feng Wuqing’s thin smile vanished from his face; Duo Huan turned more serious; Ye Bei’s expressionless face turned a shade colder still.

“We’re busy. We will take our leave now,” Ye Chong’s plain voice sounded absolute.

He led his group and began to march forward.

“Please stay.” A small group of people blocked their path. Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan watched silently from the side. Those were Ye Bei’s men.

“Are you looking for a fight? The Ye Family is powerful indeed, perhaps you’ll even become the master of Guilar city.” Hai Lian said with mock surprise and sarcasm.

Ye Bei stopped in his tracks.

Some of the people in the crowd began to mock, “Yeah, it’s the Ye Family, the strongest aristocratic family, what wouldn’t they do?”

“That’s right, hehe, can’t be part of the Ye Family without being arrogant!”

Most of the people in the crowd were not used to seeing the Three Aristocratic Families’ unbridled arrogance. Some of them looked angry, including the Jin Gui Tribe Leader, Roland. The Three Aristocratic Families had ignored his tribe’s power in this area as they went about their business – how could he not be offended?

Ye Bei looked terrible. Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan cursed the man silently in their hearts. However, they were both anxious as well, since their own reinforcements had not arrived yet. They were also uncertain if they could hold down the Jie experts if it came to it.

“Please step aside.” Ye Chong used the word “please”, but he sounded anything but polite.

Ye Bei made his decision then. Since it had come to this, there was no need to for further restraint. He stood his ground.

Sang Tie and Sang Ling were both carrying Greda and Shi Xin, respectively, but they were both rendered unconscious. Beside Ye Chong were Sang Fan and another Sang tribe member, Sang Heng. All of the Sang tribe members that followed Ye Chong into Guilar city were all elite members of the tribe.

Sang Heng took a step forward and reached for Ye Bei.

Ye Bei anticipated this. Against a Jie expert, he could only hope not to be too gravely wounded. Ye Bei lifted his left hand to block, just as quickly. Sang Heng was halfway through his attack when his right hand suddenly reached for Ye Bei’s left elbow.

Ye Bei noticed the change and reacted immediately. They were both fast. The real action was over in the blink of an eye. A soft “Bam!” was heard, and Ye Bei stumbled backwards for a few steps, his face red all over.

His stumbling backward opened up the path. Compared to him, the rest of the group was more easily dealt with. Ye Chong did not even have to move a single muscle. The rest of the Sang tribe members easily pushed the rest of the Ye family’s people aside.

Ye Chong’s eyes shone – it was Black Cove’s style alright! Ye Chong was familiar with Black Cove’s combat style, and recognized it in Ye Bei’s moves.

Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan were both shocked and terrified. The three of them were all their families’ representative on Lunaris, and knew each other well. Ye Bei was the best amongst them in terms of combat, but he was now struck back with just one hit. It would be impossible for the both of them to stop the Jie experts from leaving.

Must they really use mechs? Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan both arrived at this conclusion. However, they were also very hesitant to act on it. If they used mechs here, it would be a direct violation of the no-fly zone regulations. They knew exactly how serious this violation would be.

Nonetheless, they could not just stand by and watch the group leave. Just then, a voice came from the crowd, “Brothers, Elder Wang just gave the order. If anyone dares to use mechs in Guilar city, kill them!” The true ruler of Guilar city had finally stepped in.

“Yeah, yeah, that’s right, let’s see which d*mbass would dare to use a mech in the city!”

“Humph, don’t think that Guilar city is powerless!”

The spectators all stared openly at the members of the Three Aristocratic Families. If any of them showed the slightest intent of deploying their mechs, they would face the wrath of the crowd. Tribe Leader Roland’s guards kept vigilant as well. To the Jin Gui tribe, the city was their home, and they would not allow anyone to destroy it, even if it were people as powerful as the Three Aristocratic Families.

Curses and spites were thrown from the crowd. Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan exchanged a wry smile. They could not do anything now. Their actions were already pushing the boundaries, something that the He Yue galaxy would not tolerate.

Ye Bei’s men could not stop the Jie experts. Ye Bei could only curse his reinforcements for being late.

Ye Chong and his group easily walked past the Ye Family’s people. They immediately picked up speed.

Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan exchanged a helpless glance, and followed Ye Chong’s group from afar with their subordinates. This was the only thing they could do for now. As long as they kept the group in sight, they would still have a chance. Once they were outside the 300-kilometer no-fly zone, they will be able to use mechs. No Jie expert, however strong they were, would be able to win against a mech.

Ye Bei recovered his calm composure, and took his men with to pursue the group.

Many of the more curious people in the crowd followed the aristocrats as well.

However, the distance between the three groups slowly widened. Ye Chong’s group was so fast they had managed a wide gap between themselves and the aristocrats. On the other hand, the aristocrats themselves were all physically superior to the commoners following them from behind. As the people following the aristocrats realized that they would soon be outrun, many of them gave up.

Some of these people, however, ran back instead. The fools in front of them had forgotten all about hovercars!

Both the aristocrats and Ye Chong’s group were moving fast, but soon, the Jie experts began to slow down. The Three Aristocratic Families were all encouraged by this and ran on.

Ye Chong watched as the Three Aristocratic Families pursued them from behind, the edge of his mouth lifting up into a cold smile.

Rui Bing breathing was beginning to shorten. Her vision was getting blurry. What she saw was no longer a colourful world, but only the blue light shot towards her. It was as if she had entered a one-dimensional world, made entirely of lines. Everything around her seemed to slow down. She could see the Blue Crown Serpents more and more clearly, despite their lightning fast strikes. She could even make out all their small movements.

Rui Bing did not know how long she had been at it. She was panting, and sweat covered her forehead, but her heart was peaceful. Against the possibility of death, she did not feel scared.

The Rui family’s combat style focused on mental training, bearing some resemblance to the concept of mentalist training in the Sanctuary. She was not an expert in purely physical exercises, but even the mental attacks that affected Ye Chong were of no use against these Blue Crown Serpents. In this battle for survival, she did not have much choice.

There were so many Blue Crown Serpents that it was impossible to count. Besides, they were surrounded by kilometres of these flickering blue lights. They could not hope to escape.

Under the circumstances, Rui Bing could only hold her fort. More and more Blue Crown Serpents appeared around her. These snakes could attack from all angles, with some even leaping into the air and coming from above her. Seen from afar, Rui Bing and her two companions looked like they were enveloped in a blue light cocoon. Rui Bing felt her senses turned sharper, and her instincts more reliable. If she could survive this …

Rui Bing’s attacks turned simpler and simpler, as the alloy pole met its attack with greater and greater accuracy. Rui Bing never let the alloy pole hit the horn on the Blue Crown Serpents; the pole would always hit the snakes’ bodies.

Shi Chongming felt a deep chill in his heart. Under the protection of the alloy pole, he and the Second Young Miss were entirely unharmed. His message calling for urgent assistance to the Third Young Miss was unanswered. His heart had chilled at that, and now, hearing Rui Bing’s gradually shortening breaths, he began to feel despair.

He never would have guessed that Shi Xin’s comms device was already smashed to pieces by Sang Ling.

Somewhere far away, high in the skies, a large battalion of mechs were heading their way. The 500 over mechs were organised into five standard battle formations.

he land was glowing in blue. The Blue Crown Serpent was fearsomely the pain for every man and woman who underwent their trial. You might be one of the strongest fews from your planet, but when you saw that deadly blue cloaking the entire place, the immediate despair would convince you to stumble. They came from the underground and soundlessly they travelled, silently they attacked their prey. It was already death before you noticed.

Every pilot from Ye family would have to complete such trial after passing their elementary test. Unlike the other families out there, the connection between combats and piloting were much closer than one could imagine, their hands were still used for close combats rather than tapping buttons on the control panel, which justified the hatred towards Blue Crown Serpent on their journey.

Ye Qin was the significant figure in the younger generation of Ye family, who passed her trial at flying colors at the age of 18, while also being the youngest among the only 10 females who completed the trial alive. And currently she received an order from her family, of heading to Lunaris to assist Ye Bei, who – like most youngsters in the family – had a cold, lonesome personality and a crude desire towards strength. While she disliked young men like Ye Bei, the order was an emergency, also a compulsory one, with an elaboration stating to follow Ye Bei’s order wholly. “Who does Ye Bei think he is!?” She was not pleased by the setting this time.

The more thought-provoking part was, what had actually happened on Lunaris, that her family asked almost every descendant of Ye they could find to help. There were war machines, 500 of them, which would be a compelling sight even at the parking lot if you would ask me. In her family, you would surely be something if you were officially indexed in the family record. And there were 500 standard war machine models in standby, with 500 indexed, recognized and registered pilots inside. Those were more than enough to launch a small-scaled intergalactic war. He Yue galaxy had been at peace for all these years, which at most, little conflicts would happen sometimes but it would not be as outrageous as this time, where every pilot was called on.

Ye Bei should probably know why, I’m going to have a talk-to with him once I got there.

…

What?

Her eyes rested upon the blue screen of despair, where the Blue Crown Serpents covered the place. There was something different from the crawling mess she used to see. It’s a blue cocoon?! Ye Qin spotted the cocoon being constantly attacked by those Blue Crown Serpents.

She then quickly launched a full input on the control panel. Her Night Impaler was equipped with the most hi-tech detection system. It was powerful that it could give high definition zoom-in on any spot, like the cocoon for example. “What the…” There were people inside?!

That was skillful! Complimented Ye Qin in amazement, which to her more surprise, it was a female too! The female actually guarded all the raining attacks by the serpents! The Alloy Cane literally was dancing in her waving sleeves. Ye Qin was speculating if this white lady was an apprentice of some great masters.

But she should not be doing that. She had a mission to do, no time to stop. Well, she might not have the time, it did not mean she could not lend a hand.

Blue Crown Serpents were always a horror to martial arts practitioners, but they would be nothing as soon as they got into the air, fighting against mechs.

“Zi, lead two Netters and rescue those people. Don’t take too long, we won’t be waiting forever,” ordered Ye Qin.

“Yes, Ma’am. It will only take brief seconds to handle the pests.” A strong young man replied on the screen.

Three Netters zapped away from the formation and headed towards Rui bing.

Netter was a rescuing/assisting model built with great firepower. It was armed with Lux Terrain technology, which could impose a dense network of firepower to – as its name suggested – net friends or foes. The weakness was, however, its speed was mediocre, so as its guard. It was born to be the stapler between different mech models in the party, while it also had tedious demand on energy consumption, that it would be a hassle to constantly resupply the battery. The appearance was Netter was peculiar, it actually looked like a clam?

Rui Bing had changed to automatic mode herself, as she swung her cane subconsciously, so she did not notice the coming of the three Netters. Her ears had been drowned by the clashing sounds that negated her surrender to death, repetitively slamming the serpents away.

The Netters headed towards Rui Bing in a triangular formation.

“All in Battle Station.”

“Set the net.”

“3…2…1…”

Zappp! The Lux Terrain was launched, as hundred beams blasted from the launchers, forming the terrain itself.

Netter was the model exclusive to the Ye family, as they had gotten so used to close-ranged battles that they lacked a standard assistance on a long-ranged war. With this in mind, the Netter was built, to cover up their weakness, though the Ye family was notorious for their accuracy. The model was then designed in a way that it did an Area-Of-Effect attack rather than the standard firing.

The three Netters were gliding in the air, reposting the terrain like a spotlight, as the ground was painfully cut open, the Blue Crown Serpents obviously did not survive. If it was not an operation of rescue, they would have turned up the power and bombarded the entire place, and the serpents would be ashes by then.

Their army was leaving, as it was rather ahead of them now. Zi did not want to waste time any longer. Madam wanted to save these people, so the Netters would save them. The side quest would be accomplished once they netted the folks.

So they lowered themselves and flew by Rui Bing rapidly, they also adjusted the range of their terrain to a diameter around 5 meters. It was like a cage that isolated the folks from the serpents.

They turned up the lever, “Full Power Initiated!” The density of the terrain intensified, that every serpent would be grilled upon contact.

Rui Bing had finally gotten out of her trance, she grabbed Shi Fuyin and Shi Chongming tightly and followed the Netters.

The Netters moved forward and cleared out a zone with their terrain. Rui Bing began sprinting, sprinting hard, on the scorching grilled ground for her and her ally’s lives.

She ran on and made a close escape from the aggression behind.

She took a glance back, those horrible blue glows… Rui Bing might be a Jie expert, but she still had the nature of humanity of being in fear, that she almost tripped herself. She was fatigued, drastically fatigued. The moment she confirmed her successful escape, her adrenaline sank, that fatigue caught her steps, she panted heavily, wondering when she would fall before she noticed, hoping that she could regain little vitality from her catch of breath.

The Netters – upon seeing the folks escaped – made a sharp turn and zoomed back to the army.

Pant… pant…

“Wh…” Rui Bing took half a minute to finally comprehend the situation, “What was that? Who… were those mechs?”

“It’s the Ye family!” Said Shi Chongming with joy, “But…” His face tightened right away, “They seemed to be heading Guilar… what was happening there, that the Ye family would send such a huge army…?”

“Ye family?” Rui Bing was choked, “Ye… Ye…”

…

… …

Feng Wuqing, Duo Huang and Ye Bei led their own underlings and chased the group desperately. The strength demonstrated by those Jie experts had convinced them to even consider about attacking in a No-fly zone. The 3 teams only hoped they would not lose the Jie experts for now, although fortunately the Jie experts seemed to be slowing down, as their distance did not increase.

A No-fly zone about 300 kilometers was rather distant to be passive. Feng Wuqing and her mates were wondering if they could deploy their mechs now. “No, I don’t think that’s right. It would be really bad…” They agreed on the opinion and scrapped the idea.

The landscape was tiring ahead, as it was no longer flat, rather there were slopes, even a few hills too.

The Jie experts had already entered the area and submerged into the valley. “No! You aren’t going away!” Feng Wuqing and the mates panicked as they ran even faster.

Ye Bei and his own underlings were ahead, thanks to their well-built physique as required by their family. Beep Ye Bei received a message from Ye Qin – We have entered Lunaris, coming soon. “Good!” Ye Bei was overjoyed.

The flocks headed into the valley. The Jie experts might be strong, but there were merely 20 of them, and we have at least 300 men on our side. It would be a daydream to capture the Jie experts without our mechs, but it also would be a joke if the Jie experts wanted to annihilate us.

I would love to have a one-on-one with those Jie experts, it would be fantastic if they stopped chickening out and turned back like a man. That is too what we desired in the first place – to cling to them.

Ye Bei and his allies were well-prepared so no fear, no worries.

But after they got into the valley, they changed their mind.

They were welcomed by 10 teams of hundred men army standing still in formation wordlessly. The atmosphere was frightening, as their mask showed an emotionless cruelty.

Ye Bei, Feng Wuqing and Duo Huan flinched.

They quickly turned back to have a glance, which then they realized a few silhouettes were circulating at the exit.

Luring the foes into trap – that was the simple yet effective strategy Ye Chong came up with, as somehow that instinct he grew up with back on Trash Planet was coming back to him and guiding him out. That was when he still piloted good old Winnie with that poor piloting skill of his, despite of which he still fought on, bravely.

And in his cold eyes, those foes in a flock about 600 to 700 were nothing but those preys he once hunted back on Trash Planet.

“Charge,” briefly he spelled the commencement.

The air was clouded by countless afterimages, the Sangs finally revealed their deadly fangs again.

This speed! Jie Experts?! ALL of them?! The three aristocrats were in utter grief, as fright filled their eyes begging with mercy. The slaughter happened fairly quick. Compared to those beasts in Archipelago, killing these aristocrats would be a piece of cake. There was no letup from the Sangs however, despite the foes they were fighting being weaklings. The formation was there, so was the strategy, which boosted the efficiency dramatically.

“ARE YOU HUMAN!” Screamed Ye Bei on top of his lungs, “I KNOW YOU GO BY THE YE FAMILY’S NAME! Don’t YOU too, want to know who your PARENTS-” And he was ambushed.

Ye Chong lifted his head straight away, the glow in his eyes shook like his will.

Parents… Parents? What a foreign word… If it was not the biology lesson Shang had with him, he would have assumed he never had any parent. He only remembered his Papa, but never once Papa had mentioned anything about his parents.

He knew it, he knew it well, that those words of rage coming from Ye Bei was for no one else than him.

He knew he went by the Ye family’s name. His name was Ye Chong. Wait… Did that person know something? He should know something! Thought Ye Chong as he looked at the ambush… And Ye Bei was there, on the ground, no longer mobile, no longer could word his rage, no longer able to spell out the past of Ye Chong.

The war ended quickly. It happened so quick it did not feel like a war, “Like a street fight maybe.” Laughed Ye Chong, realizing how ridiculous he was being unfocused by some triviality. The only entity I would care… would probably be Mu Shang, that was what I thought. It seemed like I was wrong.

He on his throne, looked at the Sangs repositioning themselves back into their formation, their eyes were bloodshot, their breath was frantic as the wild.

It was a problem, Ye Chong thought.

As long as they could not withdraw their bloodthirstiness as soon as the necessary fight had been conducted, they would be forever aimed by the enemies, they would be that bullseyes in the war field, that spotlight in the public. Nothing on them was low-profiled, which Ye Chong could not tolerate. He just wished to expand his forces in the dark, to a point where he could at least stand alone in this world.

He was small, he was insignificant, as he stood in a boundless new world of unknown. The idea of heading back to the 5 major galaxies in search of Mu Shang had already become a tale, told by a fool.

The Sangs were great assistance, yet they were poor – finance-wise and standard-wise, yes they were impeccable fighters, but their skills were mere brute force exerted crudely. They could not hide their nature, so were the Collisions they piloted, which travelled so uniquely everyone on the road would look at them inevitably. Ye Chong did not even dare to deploy the Collisions to hasten their travel.

The Sangs were great force, but they were one force that could not be deployed on a whim. Once the Collisions were exposed, Ye Chong knew what he had summoned from the defensive He Yue galaxy.

Ye Chong gave a nod to Sang Fan, who understood his intended order immediately, as he ordered everyone to deploy Collision and get into the cabin. To be frank, Collisions – despite being unnecessarily eye-catching – were the perfect tool to make a runaway, due to its anti-detection ability as well as its superior speed.

Piloted the Collisions, they zoomed away from the scene.

BREAKING NEWS!”

“Extra! Extra! The 600 figures of the 3 leading Aristocrats – MURDERED!”

“No one is alive!”

The news came like a deafening blow to the residents, which spread throughout the galaxy as fast as lightning, uncontrollably. The words came from those who came after on their hovercars, who also taped the gory scene promptly. The clip had become the most viewed visual online in the next month.

The hologramic visual recited a tale, of a heartless war and a sadistic leader, convincing every resident in He Yue galaxy, that a new force had arisen from the unknown.

The networking system was then supplied with a visual of Ye Bei against the mysterious Masked Man. Although few seconds it lasted, it had caught enough attention from people. There were comments, a sea of them regarding the expertise of the Masked Man, including one Jie expert namely Cao Wuxu being the most significant one, concisely summarized – “Light yet heavy, feeble yet strong.” The statement had evidently confirmed the myth that those 20 men were Jie experts themselves.

Everyone was in panic, while pessimistic ones were making wild guesses that they would lose the peace maintained in He Yue over a few centuries and they shall never have it back.

Stories were filled at the forum board regarding the identity of 20 Jie experts, how the 600 aristocratic members followed them and deceased. And concerning the murder of 600 committed by them, the actual Jie experts demonstrated strong disagreement, “That is just nonsense!” Jie experts were known to be the greatest of their field, a one-on-five or even one-on-ten would sound doable. But one-on-fifteen? The chances were just low, and now this case had 20 against 600, which literally could be translated as a Jie expert facing around 30 people at once and 30 of these people also happened to be an elite fighter and pilots from the aristocrats. “What are the chances to even survive?”

Some argued that the aristocrats were losing standards, but that was not the case in reality. In fact, as far as everyone was informed, the aristocrats were stern on their recruitment, only those whose strength was fully recognized could join them. Theoretically, the 20 Jie experts should not even win.

…

“Ye Bei! I’m here! I’m… Ahh!!!” Gasped Ye Qin the moment she arrived. Looking at the bloody mess around, she knew she was too late. Her brain jammed, unable to process the scene. The remaining pilots of Ye family who came to the scene – similar to Ye Qin – they were first surprised, then they were angered. No one had once challenge the authority of Ye family over the centuries before.

Ha…hah… Ye Qin tried calming down, as she sent the team to search throughout the valley, and of course, she found nothing. She was not worried though, as she had already set up a group of watchers dedicated to the case this time. They would watch all the spaceships, all the mechs departed from Lunaris.

As long as these masked men left Lunaris, her men would know. She was confident in her family.

The next few days lapsed within twinkling of eyes, yet nothing was found. And that was when Ye Qin’s confidence began crumbling. She was not convinced of how a huge group of people could virtually vanish into thin air.

People all over the galaxy had been trying to find out the truth, the hidden mystery. And only the Mi family was the closest to the truth, but they were not that foolish to share their intelligence, especially after their parents had warned them to zip their mouth regarding this. The brothers of Mi family were not scarce in Guilar, but nobody would notice them. They were not pushed to the spotlight unlike the Ye family who suffered most loss. The worry was… they wondered, if it was a fortune or misfortune to have acquainted such a strong ally…

“Regarding the happening, do keep it from the people.”

A request from Guo, which they accepted promptly, they had to. Like seriously these masked men wiped out the army of aristocratic members like a moving slaughterhouse. The Mi family would be hardly a threat if the masked men wanted to exterminate them.

In this incident, there was too a case of both parties being in an awkward situation – Jin Gui tribe and Shi family. And that insanely priced fee of 50 billions and those 2 tough conditions to be fulfilled were easily the funnest chitchat topic after dinner.

The reinforcement of the 3 leading aristocrats was sending signal to the people, that something was brewing. It was a chain effect whereby all forces also performed the similar military movement too.

What about Ye Chong? Well, he had already run away safely and headed back to Yi Ju, with a bunch of resources he purchased during his journey.

Ye Chong was rather satisfied of the loot this time. The Lavagold plates he brought were sold for 80,000,000 points, while the squad was paid 10,000,000 points for escorting Mi Qi and his mates. These were not everything, the best thing was the two fees he earned, a whooping 10,000,000,000 points. You should be counting the number of zeroes now. If someone were to interview Ye Chong regarding his feeling of earning a fortune overnight, he would be shouting, “It feels so good to shop!”

Sang Pu’s expression was priceless when he received a request of entry from Ye Chong, who was leading a whole transporting fleet filled with tons and tons of resources, including communicative devices, detection system necessary for the army of Collisions. Ye Chong also purchased 5000 units of Blaze-III, a close-ranged fighting model of the lower-mid tier, known for its slightly more competitive engine – a rather plain model one could say, as every other aspect was average. It could be useful for the speedy kind of pilot though. It was still a better mech compared to those advanced models he saw back in 5 major galaxies, while also having a reasonable, logical structure and design.

Other than these, Ye Chong also purchased a ship of apparatuses for mech modification, and a new spaceship literally for storing medication – that ship was for the Sangs from Archipelago since they would be needing proper medication any second being in a hideous place like Archipelago. There was also a variety of daily necessities. The Sangs felt they were dreaming when they were raided by the avalanche of purchases, even Sang Pu the laid-back leader could not help but to smile the whole day.

Guess not everyone could take on a massive wallet in one night healthily.

To avoid being suspected, all purchases were made under the name of Mi family. They were known to be merchants and obviously there would naturally be nothing wrong for merchants to make bold purchases – a better candidate than Ye Chong himself.

The joy did not last long for Ye Chong as he realized he still had a lot of problems to resolve.

He took a deep breath and began his SWOT analysis.

The first thing – control of expression. This is the main problem, if I don’t find a way to resolve this, everyone would be looking at the Sangs and no one would even dare to approach them. I might have an experience or two on this, but man… how should I teach them? I did not know how but I just learned it somehow, somewhere, some time ago. “Sang Pu.” Well, I’ll let Sang Pu to do it, let the Sangs settle their own problem.

“Announcement, sir has a new rule – Anyone who could not inhibit their fearing expression would be disallowed to leave the base.”

“What is fearing expression?”

“How do we inhibit them?”

If I know how, we would have solved it alright.

Everyone in He Yue is watching us. I can’t let you guys out just yet. It would be bad if anyone found us out, that would be a direct confrontation to the aristocrats, an intergalactic war would just happen. No, I’m not doing this, not risking it.

“Sang Ling, any idea?”

“I saw this dress thingy in the catalogue attached with our medication. I think it helps.”

The 5000 Sangs were figuring out a way to inhibit their fearing senses.

“Hey, Guo!” Shouted Sang Fan.

“We can’t know if we still look fearing. Come and be our judge.”

“You too, Hai Lian, don’t just stand there and touch those new units.”

The victims… well would be Guo and the “representation” of the convention. They had to judge if the Sangs could demonstrate less threatening aura.

“No, you got to stop glaring at people for no reason,” stated Guo.

“Yeah, try smiling. Yes, bring up your corners. I’ll do it for you, ughhh. Lend me your mouth for a sec. Relax your muscle, I’ll push the corners up,” said Hai Lian, who soon realized he made the greatest mistake in his life, “Nevermind, try mayb-”

“HEY Hai Lian! You’re done yet? Come and judge for us now?” shouted Sang Pu.

That practically summarized what happened that day, the folks were dragged from one group of Sangs to another. Only Francis Jr. seemed rather eager in this, “I don’t see why Hai Lian is ranting, Guo. If we do this, we could avoi doing those hell training.” Now that made sense.

The second issue – Collisions. Yes, the Collisions I made were impulsive, but too visually impulsive… I guess no one would forget the appearance of Collisions the moment they saw them. That is why I bought the Blaze-III model, as a camouflage sometimes.

The thing is… how would someone from the jungle know how to pilot via an intelligible glowing user interface from outer space? How should I teach them. Okay, let me try.

“Sangs, gather up. Now let me brief you on using this new mech.”

“First, as usual, take out your keystone and deploy the mech.”

“Good, next, to move you give a few taps on the control panel, these few buttons to control direction.”

“Sir!”

“Yes?”

“How do we turn on the control pay nail?”

“Why do we have to pay nails when we pilot the mech?”

The next hour Ye Chong dried his mouth, explaining on how to pilot a futuristic mech, but no one seemed to have understood him.

Okay, I surrender. “We would try something else, I have visuals for all of you.” Ye Chong prepared copies of visuals for the Sangs. “Tutorial 1 – Launching: To launch a mech, first…” The visuals were playing on each projector.

“Sang Pu.” Called Ye Chong again, “Lead them on this as well, okay?” And ignoring that bitter expression of Sang Pu, a new rule had been added, “Anyone who had yet mastered control of Blaze-III would be forbidden to leave the base,” announced Sang Pu.

That should be it.

One last thing, which had been haunting Ye Chong ever since they left Lunaris, remained in his thoughts for all eternity.

“Don’t YOU too, want to know who your PARENTS- ughh…” Those final words from Ye Bei.

Who are my parents exactly? Why would they dump me at Trash Planet in the past?

Ye Chong had been showing negligence towards the issue, since survival was more important than some non-sensical issue of sentiments. This mystery only flashed in his mind occasionally, as it would be too far-fetched to even begin the search, having no clue, not even the slightest hint on where to start.

And when he thought he would not be thinking of this issue for the rest of his life, it showed up fatefully on its own.

The Ye family, the aristocrat which shared the same surname as his, and those words of Ye Bei, helped him to realize that he could be more closely related to the Ye family than he thought.

Could my parents be the members of Ye family? An aristocratic member? That sounds royal, and plausible as well. A nameless child born on a one-night relationship, what was it again? Shang told me once… “One-night stand”? And due to avoidance on the infidelity and responsibility, they threw me away.

Wait… Hahaha… I’m getting too Shang. I actually remembered one plot of those lame movies Shang introduced me.

He walked slowly to the window, looking at the barren world of Yi Ju. Out of sudden, he missed Mu Shang… He missed his Papa, he missed Grandpa Qian and those days of kneading dough, he missed everything, from the simple days he used to have, which already felt like a luxury.

“I should go on…” Whispered Ye Chong, “Let’s just search on.” His mind was firm, his eyes were steady.

“But to search on, there’s few more things I need to do.”

n the main chamber of the Ye family, an elderly was gazing at the visual. His tussled hair was as white as his beard, looking ordinary especially with those wrinkles on his forehead and those murky eyes pondering. No one would have figured that this was the current master of the whole Ye family if it was not for the chamber he was in.

A visual of Ye Chong was projected, apparently from his participation in the competition at Blue Ocean academy back then. His speed and sharp mind, those clear eyes of intelligence, all captured in this visual. It was the only visual with his clear appearance available on the virtual networking world, but somehow the Ye family found it from another galaxy. And it was also this visual that helped Instructor Hak to track Ye Chong that year.

This mysterious young man kept changing his name. Was it Mu, or was it Ye Chong? I have no idea which his actual name was, although I feel strongly that it would be Ye Chong, since the surname gave more significance to us.

“Ye Chong… are you really the descendant of our Ye family?” the elderly asked. The questions fogged his thoughts. He looked through the information, of the effect and properties of the silver liquid, as well as its negative effects… and how Ye Chong just so happened to survive. He knew it well, that only one with the purest bloodline of the Ye family could overcome the controlling effect of silver liquid naturally without any form of medication.

Ye Chong was the only one user who managed to do that amongst the Black Covers. Then very likely he would be a descendant of the family, especially when his physique also depicted the exact characteristics of Ye. The elderly had been ordering men to capture this young man, as everything would reveal itself once he got this man. Nevertheless, Ye Chong was hard to get hold of, due to his extreme caution and growing strength. The order of capturing him alive was not giving much help as well. The efficiency was depressing.

The elderly would not want to risk killing him. The underlings could be killed as many as circumstances led, but Ye Chong could not be deceased as long as he held the very possibility of being the descendant of the family. It would be a shocking news if every other core member was informed of this missing descendant, even though he could not remember any instance which involved an unnamed child.

The sole reason that the three aristocrats managed to be in a leading position, was absolutely their bloodline, which all three families possessed unique characteristics not the ordinary folks would be able to compete. Because of their extraordinary bloodline, their forebears expanded their forces slowly, forming the foundation for aristocrats today. “But there was a curse, sadly,” muttered the old man. “Somehow there just is. Not only Ye family had unique bloodline, many families out there, at a galaxy far, far away were different in their own way, but they somehow disappeared at some point of history. There was a family… a tragic one I heard, the Sang tribe was it? Once in their glory centuries ago, and now nobody has ever heard of them…”

The bloodline was once the sole factor to glory, but it was now history, as technology was developed over the centuries. The 3 main aristocrats were competing against each other in aspects of intellects, skills and a balanced unity. These were not something doable by all descendants innately. If Ye family were to include all of the branches of their kinship, it would hit a figure about 3,000,000. The core family however, was hardly 2,000. It had been an ongoing issue on methods to preserve the purest bloodline for the next generation.

The trump card of all three aristocrats would no doubt be their strongest pilots, whom also happened to be their best descendants. Practically speaking, taught students and descendants would share a significant difference in terms of their physique that would determine their capability being a pilot. And obviously the direct descendants of Ye family would be way stronger than a taught outsider.

That was why the elderly found Ye Chong suspicious, because that young man was clearly having the blood of Ye family, the purest one too, but he could not find any record on any of their daughters leaving the house in the past 15 to 50 years.

The puzzlement was, only both the purest blood of Ye family could give birth to a descendant with also the purest blood. He looked through the birth record of their family as well, and yes, the Ye family was rather strict on birth control, moreover, he was the leader of the family the whole time, no way he would have missed out anybody.

Well, only one possibility remained then… there must be one of our families who left the family and had intercourse with a female out there, thus the birth of a descendant of our bloodline… … hopefully… That would mean a breakthrough of the stiffening status of their bloodline preservation to the old man, since they had been told to mate within the family to ensure bloodline purity.

It would be a major discovery if it has been proven with this person! It is all for our Ye family. I will get this boy! Thought the old man, his murky eyes lustered. He was not worried about the Jie experts following Ye Chong, any Jie expert would be smashed with the mighty firepower of mechs. His worry, was on the other 2 aristocrats though, who seemed to have noticed Ye Chong’s existence.

Meanwhile, Ye Chong, being completely unaware of becoming Ye family’s main target, was getting drowned by the packed schedule of his.

Ye Chong was greatly inspired by the ancient mech model. And he had just completed the blueprint of the improved version of Collision. The tweaks he made allowed better control and efficiency while having lesser likelihood of breakdown.

Collision-II project would be on hold for the moment nevertheless, as the production must not be done by barehands. It would require a refined craft with the aids of those new apparatuses he purchased.

But no one else in the base knew how to operate these apparatuses than himself. And he got to make 5000 of them from scratch? Fortunately he had the necessary experience on operating these that he was able to code a tutorial to be launched at the Sangs. Well… if they still had no idea what they were doing, the galaxy had this very place called “school”, but only after they knew how to control their ambience.

Collision-II aside, I am doing an overhaul on my Han Jia. Yes, you heard it, the modification this time is pretty much going to be a remake, since every part would require to be redone. The materials, were certainly those skeletons I obtained from Archipelago.

Every piece of skeleton is different from one another, so I have to pick carefully while altering the blueprint from time to time, it feels like piecing the puzzle together. The process is smoother this time, thanks to the stay at Sang Family village in the past, I think my sense has improved.

The blueprint is looking good! Well, maybe it is a very unique model. Look at the originality…

Ye Chong was excited and the excitement had pushed him to his limits, he was very engaged during the process, that he enjoyed every second of it, as he was making his own mech, which every piece came from his own hands, finally.

“Okay, one two three, smile.”

“Yes, keep it natural.”

The Sangs were desperately trying to inhibit their fearing ambience so no one would disturb Ye Chong.

“Madame, have you seen the Papatte lately?”

“I haven’t, Mrs. Morrison, they have been inside their base all day and all night.”

“Right? Madame Peach, I was shocked awake by their clinking sometimes at night. I thought I was hearing things, even my husband was complaining.”

“They haven’t been taking any request either. Such strange group.”

The housewives exchanged their thoughts outside with their baskets of vegetables.

…

“I am done!” The mech was completed, but Ye Chong was too lazy to come up with a new name, so the mech remained as “Han Jia”.

Looking at his new toy, Ye Chong was pumped, his eyes were lustrous!

The new Han Jia was much smaller than most mechs out there, with a height of about 7 meters. Its wings however, were very broad and mighty-looking, which gave an impression of a butterfly. Those wings were made out of gelatin of the bones of one animal on Archipelago, while being also able to glow in blinking gold magnificently. They were perfect defense against energy-based weaponry, while being highly flexible, able to cover up the entire main body of the mech, maintaining stability in air.

The frame of the wings were in the shape of fan, which were made out of the backbones of Steelbats, with the pointy end being the tip of Edgehog – an animal exclusively found in Archipelago, which had a whole body of spikes, the toughest spike was known as the “tip” being at the tip of its nose.

The wings could be withdrawn, while the skeletal frame could disengage and become 12 offensive tentacles – a radical design if you would say. The attack of the tentacles would be with peculiar flexibility while having high demand on the skills of the pilot. Similar to the winds, the tentacles could also be kept in the back of the mech.

Of course, Ye Chong would not forget his trustworthy dagger. With that installed, the joints were adorned with spikes, which certainly would be the eye-catcher if he were back in 5 major galaxies, but apparently such design was very common in He Yue, so with excitement, he incorporated it.

And there was a new cartridge launcher for new Han Jia, which was specially designed to store compression explosives, and possibly Beauty’s Secretion, “Now only if I have that…” Sadly Ye Chong was unable to find something more corrosive than Liquid of Shang.

The engine of the old Han Jia, which the Teardrop was stored in, was removed. Yes, he eyed that Teardrop, the precious energy infinity.

The combination of a variety of skeletons gave bright colors while being not as eye-catching as he imagined. There was something charming about this combination. The butterfly wings were exuding elegance, the tiny body of the mech felt like a gorgeous lady, while the spikes seemed to be reminding the foes that this girl was a tough one. Somehow Han Jia had changed its gender overnight.

It was uncalled for Ye Chong to have produced such a mech. Regarding the feminine, “unmanly” design, Ye Chong did not seem to really care. He only wanted power and performance. “Though I must admit that, this mech is too beautiful that everyone would look at it. Not because of the color, it’s just too beautiful,” frowned Ye Chong.

Well Ye Chong forgot about this issue the moment he boarded the new Han Jia. It felt like a breeze that Ye Chong would scream in overflowing joy. The body was smaller so it was more dexterous, and much faster too. And it sailed stilly in the air.

The tentacles were the lovely addition, for they were unpredictable, especially with that inhuman speed of his hands. But it would take a few times of practice to get used to the control.

My Han Jia had been transformed into a beauty.

My beautiful new Han Jia, would be surely one of the top 10 beauties among all mechs. And right when people mistook its beauty as fragility, they would soon be convinced that it was not beauty the only thing it could offer…