210 The Mightiest Celestial Warrior, Algernon 【Two-in-One Subscription Request!】

The name Algernon was not unfamiliar to Lu Chen. In fact, any adventurer who had stepped into the Pangu Corridor within the past century would know it well. He was known as Algernon the Starbreaker, the last legend of the Adventurers’ Association, a genius among geniuses.

In recent years, alongside him, two other legendary names echoed across the stars and spread far and wide: the Slayer of Immortals, the Chosen One codenamed Eclipse, whose true name remained unknown; and the Philosopher, one of the Seven Emperors, Ulysses.

Lu Chen had come across discussions about the fastest climbers on the Celestial Ladder half a month after finishing his adventure on Saion Star and earning 20,000 points. Eclipse, the Chosen One, was said to be the only human who had ever slain an immortal and was hailed as the Chosen Son. It was from him that the organization called the Chosen originated, with fewer than ten members having been inducted over time.

Many unofficial histories claimed that in ancient times, some had indeed ascended to immortality, but for reasons unknown, the immortal realm fell into decline, ushering in the era of the End of the Law. Eclipse earned eternal fame for slaying the last immortal of the galaxy, which placed the Chosen Organization at the very top of the Celestial Ladder since its inception, above even the Seven Emperors—known as the One Saint.

However, as Eclipse vanished from the public eye, the Chosen Organization grew increasingly mysterious, leading many to believe it had become a hollow title, even inferior to the Seven Emperors. A critical piece of evidence was that the captains of the Seven Emperor fleets generally wielded the legendary Chosen power, which was no longer exclusive to the Chosen themselves. Even Algernon, who wasn’t officially one of the Seven Emperors, claimed he could originate the Chosen power.

Of course, this was only his own assertion.

According to the information Lu Chen had previously gathered: the last of the Seven Emperors, the Philosopher Ulysses, sealed the gateway to the Chosen power. Since then, no one in the universe had been able to wield it. Ulysses was also the fastest man in history to climb the Celestial Ladder all the way to the throne.

Long before setting out to sea, Ulysses was already famous throughout the empire, leaving behind countless legends. More than two centuries ago, he had entered the Blizzard Route directly from the imperial border and was quickly invited to join the Adventurers’ Association, jumping straight to the rank of Three Thousand Star Fiend. A century later, he became one of the Seven Emperors.

Algernon, ranked among the Hundred and Eight Heavenly Gangsters, had set out alone from Sea Pirate Port eighty years ago. Ten days later, he accomplished the feat of shattering a star with a single punch, instantly becoming famous as the Starbreaker. He skipped ten thousand new generations and directly advanced to Three Thousand Star Fiend. Within just ten years, he progressed to the Hundred and Eight Heavenly Gangsters, faster even than Ulysses at the same stage, earning the title of the greatest genius in the galaxy in a thousand years.

But talent only signified potential. Having the reputation of a genius meant one had yet to surpass genius-level achievements. This was unavoidable, for the gate to ascend to the Seven Emperors had been forever sealed by Ulysses himself.

Algernon, determined to kick open the door to the throne, lingered outside it for seventy years. He had even defeated one of the Seven Emperors but failed to seize their Chosen power, preventing him from advancing. Because of this, the Adventurers’ Association hailed him as the strongest Heavenly Gangster in history, a miracle of the End of the Law era, and the last legend of the association. As a lone wolf, he had long held sway over the Pangu Corridor.

However, news of Algernon had grown scarce in the past twenty years, rumored to be secretly seeking teammates. Unexpectedly, he had been searching all along to exact revenge on Grey Raven.

After Algernon left, Lu Chen and the other two let out long breaths and sat down, sipping tea to calm their nerves. It still felt unreal. The Shooter ship, which had just easily overwhelmed the Lionin, had been torn apart with a mere finger from afar.

Aili held her teacup in both hands, eyes slightly dazed, murmuring, “I didn’t expect that after only a month and a half at sea, we would encounter such a great figure, and even have him teach the captain martial techniques.”

“We almost got killed because you, captain, mistakenly accepted him as a master,” Golia said, though she now regarded Lu Chen’s eloquence with newfound respect.

“I have to say, you really know how to swagger and provoke. Algernon, an uncrowned emperor and such a towering figure, was effortlessly handled by your silver tongue.”

Lu Chen found it incredible as well.

“This proves one thing: Grey Raven—or rather, Lady Faril, the woman whose name no one knows—is more powerful than Algernon. Only then would Algernon bother to spar with a woman.”

Aili analyzed further: “If Resonance of All Phenomena is not true Chosen power, then she might be something like a vice-captain of one of the Emperor’s fleets. After all, outsiders cannot cultivate Chosen power, yet the captain learned it with ease… This guess is quite plausible. If Resonance of All Phenomena is indeed Chosen power, then she is a member of the Chosen. As for the captain… he might be a natural-born Chosen Son.”

Lu Chen sipped his tea and smiled silently. What Chosen Son? As a transmigrator, he was a child of the multiverse, a representative of the Heavenly Dao!

Golia looked at Lu Chen thoughtfully. “I choose to believe the second scenario. Don’t be fooled by my poor luck making money—I’ve always had great luck.”

Lu Chen almost spat out his tea. “You’re the real luckless one!”

Aili laughed and suggested, “Captain, you should take a look at the technique in the jade slip. Maybe we can determine which guess is correct by whether you can learn Algernon’s method.”

“Alright, let me see.”

Lu Chen didn’t want to keep anything hidden. He opened the jade slip and projected the technique onto the ship’s large screen. It was just a set of notes. Compared to Grey Raven’s entire notebook, his notes were barely longer than a high school essay, less than two thousand words, with numerous corrections and dreadful handwriting. If written out, it would only fill two or three pages—likely why he stored it in a jade slip.

Lu Chen strained to read the short text, finding it more exhausting than perusing Grey Raven’s entire volume. Most of his effort went into deciphering the handwriting.

The technique belonged to the realm of physical arts. Algernon hadn’t even named it, only calling it a potential critical strike method.

Its effect was the exact opposite of Grey Raven’s Resonance of All Phenomena. It used a reverse spiral pattern to gather the entire body’s force into a single point, precisely into a punch or a finger strike. The force then dispersed into a surface, but instantly reconverged through a reverse spiral to another focal point—the core target of that punch or finger strike.

That core could be the beast core of a spirit beast, a human weak spot, or an internal crack within an object. Once the force concentrated there, the attack would cause a critical collapse across the entire structure.

Lu Chen thought to himself: isn’t this just the ‘One Slash 999’ technique he had long dreamed of?

Aili exclaimed, “That’s what I saw earlier… Algernon used this move to shatter the Shooter ship!”

Lu Chen quickly summarized the conditions required to master Algernon’s critical strike power.

First, smooth energy flow to gather all strength into one point—this was the foundation of physical arts but demanded exceptional innate talent for perfection.

Second, precise spiritual perception—you must instantly identify the weakest spot of the target.

Third, the reverse spiral ripple—this bordered on mysticism and might be proof that this technique contained Chosen power.

These three conditions seemed tailor-made for him. For example, smooth energy flow was a natural trait of his balanced Five Elements, making him adept at fluid control and mixed spiritual energy manipulation. For precise spiritual perception, he could directly identify objects, not to mention he could deploy Resonance spiritual energy to enhance his perception. As for the reverse ripple—wasn’t that just reversed resonance?

Lu Chen felt confident.

Yet, he pretended to frown and proposed to Golia and Aili, “Our cultivation levels are close now, almost the same starting line. Why not train together and see who masters it first? The one who truly puts it into practice has the real talent.”

Golia asked, “What’s the bet? I won’t bet money—I’m terrible at gambling.”

Lu Chen shook his head. “Money is too mundane. How about this: ten days. Whoever fails to learn the technique gives the other two a two-hour massage.”

Golia was taken aback. “You’re really something. Either way, you come out ahead!”

Lu Chen glanced at Golia’s voluptuous, athletic figure and sneered, “What do you mean ‘either way you win’? That’s blatant sexism!”

Aili covered her mouth and laughed. “Let’s just do back massages. Two hours of massage is exhausting.”

Golia pondered. If she won, Lu Chen’s Resonance-style massage would have her hooked. If she lost… well, she could get revenge by giving him a power-up!

“Fine, massage it is. A little critical hit, as long as I have hands and magic, I’m good.”

So Aili and Golia immediately threw themselves into training. Lu Chen, however, was in no rush. He needed to chart a new course for the Lionin.

Ancient insect scales were high-grade items, not easily sold on ordinary planets. The atavistic Dragon Core he intended to refine into a cultivation pill—most small-planet alchemists had no experience with such materials. As for the level fifty light sword hilt, his current armor couldn’t handle it; he needed a more powerful overclocked laser driver.

All these issues could only be perfectly resolved on the White Dew.

He might even buy a new level fifty ship! With more than thirty thousand spirit stones in cash, over forty thousand in the association bank, plus selling his current armor, ship, and the ancient insect scales, he could gather nearly a hundred thousand spirit stones—enough to purchase a Fei’andi Xia-class long-range ship.

Perhaps after this battle, he would rise to fame and could even proactively become Fei’andi’s brand ambassador.

Despite facing powerful opponents and seemingly dancing on his own grave, he had miraculously obtained the Dragon Core.

Still, he was too weak. He had to grow stronger quickly, become the dominant force in the Morning Glow Route, earn more money, and strengthen himself faster.

He was eager to stand on a true stage.

He decided to head to the nearest Uncrowned Kingdom Interstellar Station and catch the fastest space bus to:

The White Dew!

Meanwhile, a light hour behind the Lionin, in the starry sky, a sleek black ship with a raised tail stalked silently.

It was the Scorpion Tail!

At this distance, it was far beyond the Lionin’s radar locking range. Yet the Scorpion Tail had tracked it undetected all the way.

Inside the captain’s cabin, a wooden table held a dim firefly lamp. Scorpio, dressed in black silk pajamas, held a cup of black coffee as dark as scorpion venom, staring at a photo of Lu Chen.

“Did he know Algernon, or was it a mere coincidence? Or perhaps Algernon was watching this youth as well?”

She had discovered something puzzling. The Lionin had detected Algernon’s trail but not the Scorpion Tail following behind. Conversely, the Scorpion Tail easily tracked the Lionin without detection but failed to find Algernon.

“The weakest pawn in the battle of the Zu’an Nebula, who by a twist of fate became the player reaping all gains—was he hiding strength and secrets, or was it destiny?”

After a brief sigh, Scorpio set down her coffee and activated a special half-insect, half-mechanical telephone bug, connecting to Guernica. A magnetic male voice, tinged with displeasure, came through.

“Talies almost died. Don’t tell me you weren’t there!”

Scorpio replied calmly, “It wasn’t Talies’ caution that saved him. It was Algernon, the strongest Heavenly Gangster in history, a legend of the End of the Law era. If he truly wanted to kill, neither Talies nor I could have escaped.”

“The Shooter ship was shattered to pieces. Are we really going to do nothing?”

“You mean to contact Akimov through the Federation Council? Don’t forget, Algernon defeated a Seven Emperor twenty years ago. Although the opponent was wounded, Algernon’s true strength remains a mystery.”

“Well, it hasn’t escalated to that level yet.”

“Talies still has a backup star beast ship, and he successfully captured the Black Phoenix. But until we brainwash her, we cannot fully trust that woman.”

“What about the Pisces? She hasn’t contacted me since entering the Zu’an Nebula.”

“She went to rescue a relative and seems to have fallen into a trap. But it might be a ruse—we could leverage this to uncover more clues about the Black Dragon.”

“Have you found any leads on what I asked you to investigate?”

“The laboratory where Arden Ferma’s father once served is the Empire’s first experimental facility studying atavistic star beasts. It’s connected to Wolf Fang Company’s slave trade and star beast herders. Many, including myself, escaped from Wolf Fang’s slave ships and wandered for years before joining our group three years ago. As research deepened, prominent scientists joined this lab. One named Vincent, an imperial professor, is now a wanted traitor with a bounty of ten million spirit stones. All signs point to him being the mastermind behind the star beast rebellion and the Giant Beast Park, with deep ties to the Black Dragon.”

“I hate scientists.”

“The relative Pisces went to rescue is a descendant of squid and octopus people, believed to possess the bloodline of a sword saint. They were also captured by Vincent. Their true target might be the Jade Pisces, who escaped the slave ship like I did.”

“If you can locate the Jade Pisces, we can find the traitor’s lair.”

“Similarly, the Black Phoenix might also be tracked by Vincent, so do not bring her to the First Fleet for now.”

“Talies will rebuild the Third Fleet with the Black Phoenix.”

“The Silver Serpent Rose, a mechanical special forces unit from the imperial headquarters, participated in this incident. They likely handle all emergencies related to the Black Dragon and will probably become our enemies. One rising female knight in the empire fought in a level fifty mech avatar during the Meiyu Star hunt for the Azure Wing Dragon. Her two teammates are our old friend, Shantipeter from the Blizzard Route centipede family, and our new friend—the Lionin.”

“I want details about the Lionin. How did they get the Dragon Core?”

“The young captain named Lu Chen controlled an ancient planetary formation from the Saion Star era.”

“What!”

(End of chapter)