Leaving behind no trace of one's deeds, deeply concealing fame and success.
The dust-filled sky hung suspended, coming to a complete, absolute standstill.
This was no metaphor; it was a physical freeze.
Of the over two thousand spectators watching nearby, anyone with a cultivation level below sixty tiers had been holding their breath in intense concentration. When they finally tried to breathe again, they were suddenly struck by a suffocating tightness.
It was as if everything had utterly solidified—except for one man.
Lu Chen.
From this moment onward, this place would be known as: Lu Chen Desert.
Wang Jian was utterly destroyed, instantly disconnected, and vanished into the frozen sands.
The two thousand-plus spectators stood nearly motionless like statues.
Dragging his feeble footsteps, Lu Chen walked toward the map's exit.
The exit was only a hundred meters away, yet it felt as distant as a hundred thousand miles.
Lu Chen felt as though he might not make it out of the desert to return to the lounge; he would have to force a logout.
He quickly and stealthily consumed the Healing Spirit Pill gifted by Wang Jian.
However, a single Healing Spirit Pill took a rather long time to take effect, forcing Lu Chen to pause and rest for a moment, which was quite awkward.
Fortunately, at that very moment, Ulaanbaatar—who had logged out of his pod to purchase Healing Spirit Pills—finally returned.
Entering the map and taking a look, he was dumbfounded.
Within the span of just a few minutes, Lu Chen had somehow started another battle and appeared to have instantly slain a formidable opponent.
The entire arena was dead silent, as if the air itself was frozen. Breathing was intensely difficult, making it impossible to take even a single step.
"Senior Lu, to think you still had the stamina..."
Lu Chen patted him on the shoulder.
In truth, he merely wanted to lean on Ulaanbaatar's shoulder for support to steady his stance and buy time to recover his stamina.
Ulaanbaatar was still standing there, all excited, wanting to watch the replay.
"As expected of Senior Lu! You were clearly holding back earlier, deliberately letting me win to practice. This willingness to lower your status to learn is something that truly makes me—"
Lu Chen hurriedly cut him off, opened his faceplate, and glared at him, making frantic facial expressions.
Ulaanbaatar was stunned for a long moment before it finally clicked. He quickly produced three Healing Spirit Pills.
Lu Chen grabbed all three pills and swallowed them whole in one gulp, devouring them like immortal beans without even chewing.
After calming his mind for a moment, he finally recovered a sliver of spiritual energy, using it to drag some of his stamina back.
Then, with an expression of utter calm, he left the desert map.
He exited the training pod from the battle lounge.
Killing a man every ten steps, leaving no trace for a thousand miles, he brushes off his clothes when the deed is done, hiding his deep merit and fame.
Unfortunately, Lu Chen could no longer keep a low profile.
In reality, if Lu Chen still had his stamina, he could have slowly worn Wang Jian down and won through various conventional methods.
However, Lu Chen was left with only a sliver of health; he had to finish off his enemy with a single strike.
This single strike incorporated the upgraded All-Phenomena Resonance, instantly amplifying the critical force of his spiritual pressure.
Blended together, ordinary people could not possibly discern the source or limit of his power, and some might even suspect he was cheating.
Still, one could not rule out the possibility of genuine powerhouses hiding among the spectators, or of the livestream footage spreading and being witnessed by true experts.
Lu Chen could only hope that these experts were not in cahoots with the Fangfang Corporation, or that they couldn't guess the purpose of his trip was to dismantle Fangfang Corporation—lest the corporation beef up its defenses or flee in advance.
The Desert Map.
Matches did not close immediately upon ending; a period of time was typically left for competitors to review the match or for spectators to leave comments.
After Lu Chen left, the majority of the two thousand-plus spectators finally regained the right to breathe.
They had originally come to watch Lu Chen get beaten up, only for Lu Chen—who had just been battered by Ulaanbaatar to the point of complete helplessness—to instantly obliterate Wang Jian with a single blow!
It certainly looked a lot like a hacker's cheating method...
Yet, upon second thought, just a few days ago in the real world, inside the fighting arena of the *White Dew*’s Cygnus Tavern,
Lu Chen had killed the level-fifty-two Xikolobia with a single strike while under almost identical bombardment from a laser cannon.
Could it be that this twenty-year-old Captain Lu was not only a hacking genius and a swordsmanship genius, but also a spellcasting genius capable of instantly vaporizing enemies whose cultivation far surpassed his own from afar?
Or was it that this man possessed an unfathomable, hidden reservoir of power, playing the pig to eat the tiger?
Within ten minutes, the two thousand-plus spectators slowly walked out of the map, filled with shock and doubt.
The desert map subsequently closed, covered by a layer of spatial coating resembling moonlight.
The battle data was recorded, the desert was formatted, and it awaited a new round of combat.
However, just after the map closed,
Two humanoid residual shadows failed to completely fade away.
Standing tall in the center of the formatted desert, wearing inner combat armor and draped in cloaks, they struggled to maintain their forms.
At the lead was a remarkably tall middle-aged man wearing level-nine-zero blue combat armor.
He was the number-one star on the Adventurers Association's Annual New Star Rankings, holding eight hundred and eighty thousand adventurer points—the captain of the Blue Ghost Adventuring Group, Lan Mengzi.
"Did you figure it out? Was this Captain Lu cheating, or did he conceal his strength?"
Standing beside him was a short, slightly plump young man wearing skin-tight level-eight-zero blue combat attire—his intelligence officer, Nordens.
Holding a spherical black-stone computer, Nordens brought up a light screen that was replaying every single detail of the recent battle.
"No deep logical spiritual rune fluctuations were detected nearby. Given his previous performance in the fighting arena, the probability of him cheating is virtually zero."
"In other words, he concealed his strength? To think even I didn't see through it..."
"No, his spiritual pressure fluctuations truly were only at level forty-six. Considering Captain Lu's past perilous adventures and his excessive obsession with wealth, he has no reason to conceal his strength. In fact, as his power has grown recently, he seems to have been intentionally displaying it."
"You mean he wasn't hiding his power, but rather possessed hidden skills?"
"It's possible, but the power pattern involved exceeds my model's projections. Perhaps it's a combination of multiple hidden skills."
"Exceeding your model's projections? You're saying... he might have mastered a power similar to the Mandated Will."
"It could also be a self-created skill or a special constitution obtained through mutation. That sort of thing is a gift chased by the heavens; there's no accounting for it."
"Pauli Geller has disappointed me so much, actually getting tripped up by some Jiangchuan Three Swordsmen. Primordial Firmament, Lu Chen... Aside from the Black Dragon, I should have paid attention to this kid much earlier."
"Had we known such a hidden genius existed this year, perhaps we shouldn't have passed the Tier Two assessment so early. We should have waited for the *White Dew*, broken through barriers alongside this group of newcomers, and built combat camaraderie in advance so we could enter that world together."
"Indeed. A new era has arrived, and the older generation has long since carved up the cake. Their stance doesn't align with ours; we should turn our gaze toward the younger generation."
...
Lu Chen left the training pod and headed to the bathing pod to soak.
Summoning his portable refrigerator, he popped open a can of iced cola, collapsed into a lazy lounge posture to recover his stamina as quickly as possible,
And opened the wristband light screen to check the livestream room and related news.
Chun Song and Xia Xian’s livestream room had completely exploded.
Tips were flying everywhere!
The bullet comments were so dense that individual words were indistinguishable.
Yet, in the comment section, there were a few skeptical voices, all questioning whether he was using cheats or working from a script.
Chun Song and Xia Xian did their best to explain.
"From Teacher Lu's legendary experiences in the past, everyone should know that Teacher Lu is incapable of cheating. I'm sure you all know Teacher Lu's personality; if he were going to cheat, he'd cheat right to your face."
"And there's no script either. Xikolobia in the fighting arena is already dead. Anyone near the Wei Wu Adventuring Group can connect and interview Senior Wang Jian's perspective."
Regardless, the concurrent viewers in Chun Song and Xia Xian’s livestream room surged from fewer than one hundred thousand while playing *Starry Sky* to over one million while broadcasting Lu Chen's duel with Wang Jian.
This went to show that whether Lu Chen was getting beaten up or dishing out the beatdowns, when combining his hardcore fans and anti-fans alike, he was a certified traffic powerhouse.
Flipping through the Adventurers Association's news section, there was no relevant news yet.
Which was normal; achievements made by adventurers in the virtual world did not yield adventurer points, and the news rarely reported such matters.
However, the Adventurer Forum was filled with numerous related posts, occupying nearly half the pages of the Morning Glow Route section, bustling with activity.
There were all sorts of analyses...
Yet Lu Chen could also tell that hardcore fans like Ulaanbaatar were growing in number.
Some were even beginning to speculate on the destination of the Primordial Firmament.
Many adventuring groups wanted to team up with the Primordial Firmament to participate in the secondary assessment of the Ice and Snow Great Wall.
Lu Chen closed the light screen.
He didn't know whether becoming too famous was a blessing or a curse.
Still, it felt pretty great.
Aerie was still studying and reading, while Gloria was playing video games.
They remained completely oblivious to all of this.
Lu Chen decided to take a brief nap.
Considering the storm-gathering nameless airspace ahead, it might pose some danger to the *Chun Song and Xia Xian* livestream ship.
He forcibly opened a cross-screen connection to the livestream room to notify Chun Song and Xia Xian directly.
"The upcoming route is very dangerous. You must stay close to the *Leoning*, keep within ten kilometers, and whatever path I fly, you fly. When I turn the helm, you must turn the helm at the exact same spot."
Chun Song and Xia Xian excitedly covered their eyes, peeking through their fingers.
"Look everyone, Teacher Lu is livestreaming his bath!"
"Even though we can only see his shoulders, we can still deduce Teacher Lu's physique."
Unfortunately, the concurrent viewers in the livestream room were mostly men, and the bullet comments lacked the expected enthusiastic response.
Only Chun Song and Xia Xian were left self-amused and excited.
Seeing the lack of enthusiastic responses, Chun Song and Xia Xian instantly straightened their faces and said with utmost seriousness:
"But we're a level-sixty modified military ship, you know!"
"Wherever a level-fifty *Fei Angdi* can fly, we can easily get through too, right?"
Lu Chen nodded.
"Fair enough. Just settle your tips before you die, starting right now."
Chun Song and Xia Xian finally realized the gravity of the situation.
"Alright, our captain already knows and will follow the *Leoning*'s trajectory one hundred percent."
Lu Chen promptly closed the cross-screen connection and closed the livestream window as well.
The massage headrest built into the bathtub was extremely comfortable.
Lu Chen fell asleep just like that, leaning against the edge of the tub.
The *Leoning* and the *Chun Song and Xia Xian* livestream ship quietly sailed through the rugged storm zone, heading in a straight line toward the Yuri Pass.
Whenever danger occasionally arose, Lu Chen would temporarily wake up and use his wristband in the bathing pod to control the spaceship for emergency evasive maneuvers.
The *Chun Song and Xia Xian* would execute emergency evasive maneuvers right alongside him.
They narrowly escaped being captured by a black hole's hidden gravitational drag zone or being caught in the wake of a sudden high-energy particle jet stream.
Chun Song and Xia Xian turned pale with fright.
"As—As expected of Teacher Lu, bold and skilled, ranked first in the Sea Hero Port flight test, his reputation is well-deserved..."
"Songsong, why do I suddenly feel like livestreaming while following Teacher Lu might not be a good idea?"
"It's fine, no matter how dangerous it gets, Teacher Lu will bear the brunt of it up front."
"Teacher Lu hasn't been injured since he first took to the sea, right?"
"No, absolutely not!"
"We're still safe!"
...
Four thousand four hundred and twenty-one light-years southeast of the *Leoning*'s position in Kun.
In a certain nameless airspace, inside a certain dark-red nameless nebula.
A scorching, gigantic gas giant was tidally locked at close range by its host star.
The permanent daylight side of the planet reached temperatures as high as one thousand degrees Celsius, blazing like a boiling cauldron of oil.
Under the extreme heat, heavy metals were pushed out of the planet's interior and through the atmosphere by the rolling heat waves.
Fierce winds blew these heavy metals toward the permanent night side.
In this relatively cold atmosphere, heavy metal elements such as iron, magnesium, and chromium condensed into metal clouds under the action of sparse spiritual energy, emitting dazzling colors in the dark.
Huge metal dust storms raged from one hemisphere of the planet to the other.
In the end, they transformed into a torrential downpour of liquid ore.
Amidst the torrential metal rain, thousands of iron-eating beasts, resembling swimming fish, bathed in the sweet dew and devoured the metal.
These heavy metals containing a trace of spiritual energy also served as one of the raw materials for Imperial Dark Gold.
Several newly arrived gigantic mining ships, shaped like astral gluttons, churned through the clouds within the atmosphere to extract metals.
The four sides of the mining ships were uniformly stamped with the banner of the Crownless Nation.
Prior to this, the Crownless Nation had detected vague regular signals and abnormal spatial vibrations, leading them to this location.
To their surprise, it turned out to be a rare metal-cloud mining star!
Consequently, the headquarters of the Crownless Nation immediately dispatched a mining fleet to the site.
Nearby, a research vessel was investigating the signals and spatial anomalies, while several hunting ships chased after iron-eating beasts amidst the metallic rainstorms.
Suddenly, a patrol ship on the outer perimeter issued an emergency warning:
"Imperial forces!"
The patrol ship immediately called for reinforcements from the fleet in the neighboring stellar region.
One had to understand that in the Pangu Corridor, making a discovery first did not equate to possessing sovereignty over a planet—or rather, the word "sovereignty" did not even exist here; only power mattered.
If your fists were big enough, you could seize things.
And the Empire generally only seized mines.
More than a dozen hunting ships immediately formed a battle array to meet the enemy.
A level-sixty *Seal*-class destroyer, leading four level-fifty *Sea Wolf*-class combat ships, alongside two escort vessels and a supply ship, majestically sailed into this nebula.
This was a standard Imperial stellar fleet hailing from a neighboring stellar region, belonging to the 109th Abu Fleet stationed at the Imperial Cube Fortress, Achilles.
The two sides rapidly engaged in fierce combat on the metal-cloud planet.
This place was relatively close to a certain interstellar post of the Crownless Nation—closer, at least, than the Imperial fortress.
Soon, reinforcements from the Crownless Nation arrived at the scene, spearheaded by three level-sixty modified ships and a massive fleet composed of over a dozen destroyers.
Meanwhile, the Imperial forces were also calling for a second standard fleet cruising nearby.
Before long, more and more reinforcement spacecraft arrived, turning the planet's surface into a sea of fire.
Nearby interstellar scavengers, smelling blood like dogs, rapidly arrived at the dark-red nebula to observe the battle from up close, anticipating a scenario where both sides would perish together.
...
Half a day later.
Dazed and groggy, Lu Chen heard Aerie's excited cry:
"Captain, we found the mining news!"
Startled awake, Lu Chen opened his wristband light screen and clicked on the link sent by Aerie.
It wasn't news.
Instead, it was a post on the Adventurer Forum.
It had been posted less than ten minutes ago.
By the time Lu Chen clicked on it, the post had already been deleted.
He hurried to restore the snapshot, finally retrieving the original text of the post.
——Imperial fleet launches a surprise attack on a mining star just discovered and occupied by the Crownless Nation, intense battle erupts!
The body of the post did not give coordinates.
However, Lu Chen tracked down the poster's terminal location.
The spot was in the nameless airspace about three hours' journey away at four hundred and forty-two light-years southeast of the *Leoning*.
The airspace bore a name consisting merely of a string of letters and numbers, reflecting its utter desolation.
The post had been issued from a scavenger ship.
Posted, then deleted in a matter of seconds.
Another nameless airspace.
"Mhm... highly credible!"
In truth, this was no coincidence.
The Pangu Corridor contained numerous mining stars, most of which were controlled by the Empire and the Crownless Nation.
If one casually plotted a long route on a map, encountering a mining star within one light-year along the way was a high-probability event.
Not encountering a mining star would be the strange thing.
Lu Chen immediately emerged from the bath, dressed, and returned to the cockpit.
Aerie asked curiously:
"Huh, the post won't open anymore... Captain, this matter might not be reliable. Perhaps it's a trap!"
Lu Chen shook his head with a smile.
"A trap always requires bait... Besides, the footage and locations of the naval battle are real. Let's go mine some ore!"
Immediately afterward, Lu Chen notified Chun Song and Xia Xian.
Chun Song and Xia Xian perked up with excitement, standing up and clapping.
Beneath their excitement lurked a hint of fear...
" Wow, Teacher Lu is going on an adventure!"
"Quick, send a group station message to the dormant viewers!"
Lu Chen hurriedly stopped them.
"Don't rush, we still have a few hours of travel time; send it when we arrive at the destination."
"Alright, alright, alright!"
The *Leoning* promptly altered its course.
...
Two and a half hours later.
After navigating a perilous voyage even more bizarre and treacherous than the previous one, Lu Chen finally arrived at the target airspace.
A moving nebula filled with dark reddish-purple storm clouds.
This nebula had not even existed on the maps from a year ago, lacking even a geographical code.
Either it had drifted over, or it had newly formed.
In any case, in the Pangu Corridor, any bizarre occurrence was possible.
Lu Chen's treasure-hunting map also began reacting.
A glaringly bright flashing red dot appeared within the nebula!
"Well well, ordinary ore couldn't possibly trigger this kind of reaction. Could there be unexpected gains?"
Lu Chen grew abruptly excited.
The *Leoning* and the *Chun Song and Xia Xian* sailed into the dark red nebula, quickly approaching the location marked in the original post.
On the *Leoning*'s radar, dense clusters of spacecraft-like targets had already appeared.
Aerie exclaimed in shock:
"The post was actually real..."
Judging from the radar identification codes, this was a mixed fleet consisting of two standard level-sixty Imperial fleets and a mining fleet belonging to the Crownless Nation.
Judging from the wreckage of the spaceships, both sides must have each received a wave of reinforcements.
In addition, dozens of scavenger ships were watching the show on the outer periphery.
These scavenger ships were all level-fifty vessels operating in groups; ordinary people wouldn't dare provoke them.
Lu Chen immediately notified Chun Song and Xia Xian.
"You two stay stationed behind the scavenger ships and do not get any closer to the mining star, or don't blame me if you die."
Having just survived a harrowing two-and-a-half-hour voyage, Chun Song and Xia Xian were completely numb and no longer dared to approach the fiercely contested mining star.
"I think we can stay even further away and provide full commentary and streaming via radar and deployed drones."
"That works."
By this time, the concurrent viewers in the livestream room had rebounded from the tens of thousands along the way back to the scale of one hundred thousand.
Lu Chen then piloted the *Leoning* to the intermediate zone between the dozen scavenger ships.
Up close, this turned out to be a metal-cloud mining star.
It was his first time seeing such a planet; he hadn't even seen one in books before.
Although the intense battle was nearing its conclusion, both sides remained deadlocked.
At this point in the battle, the forces deployed by both sides likely far exceeded the value of this mining star...
Judging from the combat situation, it was a pyrrhic victory for the Empire.
Word had it that the Crownless Nation usually sold most of its mined resources to the Empire anyway.
Still, the Empire's dissatisfaction with high prices led them to launch a preemptive seizure during the early stages of the Crownless Nation's discovery of the mine, which was considered reasonable.
Whoever won would be deemed the original discoverer!
Just then, a video connection from a nearby scavenger ship popped up on the *Leoning*'s main screen.
"This is the 7th Scavenger Team of the Interstellar Scavengers Alliance. Unregistered scavenger ships must leave the surrounding airspace immediately!"
The Interstellar Scavengers Alliance... what a distant name!
Lu Chen recalled that when he first entered the Pangu Continent and found Madam Faril's black cat, he had encountered extortion from temporary workers of the Scavengers Alliance, whom he subsequently counter-attacked and stripped clean.
Taking a closer look, the lineup this time seemed to belong to the genuine Interstellar Scavengers Alliance.
The captain speaking was a stern-looking middle-aged man wearing the alliance's uniform.
Feeling a complete contrast to the mystical, old-fashioned recorded video advertisements from before, Lu Chen asked with curiosity:
"May I ask how one registers a vessel?"
The other party responded:
"The Scavengers Alliance has signed contracts with the Empire, the Federation, and major space pirate groups specifically to clean up battlefield remnants while remaining immune to attacks. To register and join the Scavengers Alliance, please go to the alliance's official website to submit an application, fill in detailed information, and upon passing review, you will be invited to participate in an assessment. Only after passing can you join the alliance."
It appeared that the Interstellar Scavengers Alliance turned a blind eye to external affairs and focused solely on collecting trash.
They didn't even recognize him, a big celebrity.
Too lazy to bicker with the beggar gang, Lu Chen simply asked out of curiosity:
"Is there an initiation fee?"
The other party replied:
"No, but after joining the alliance, you must accept unified operational arrangements, and all scavenged goods will be uniformly acquired and processed by the alliance."
Lu Chen nodded.
It sounded much more formalized and legitimate.
A beggar gang was still a faction; you couldn't just buy your way in with random money.
"Alright, thanks. I was just asking; I won't be joining your beggar gang. I'll be leaving the surrounding airspace right now. My scavenging style is to head straight onto the battlefield."
"You—"
With a polite parting remark, Lu Chen piloted the ship straight into the metal-cloud planet.
Currently, the main battlefield of the Imperial fleet and the Crownless fleet was located in the metallic storm rains on the dark side of the planet.
Without invoking stealth, the *Leoning* sailed right in with a swagger.
Trailing behind the spaceship was a small unmanned flying boat used to livestream Lu Chen's adventure.
In the cold atmosphere, various metal elements condensed into metal clouds under the action of sparse spiritual energy, emitting dazzling colors in the night.
Further down was the torrential metal rain, where thousands of iron-eating beasts resembling swimming fish bathed in the sweet dew and devoured the metal.
"This place is way too pretty!"
Lu Chen exclaimed.
His definition of "pretty" was similar to that of the Hua Nong Brothers.
It was a rather high-level metaphor.
The battle nearby stopped.
At first, both sides assumed these were reinforcements for the other faction.
Upon closer inspection, they realized it was a *Fei Angdi* adventure ship.
Checking the radar identification code, they suddenly realized that this was the stellar adventuring group that had been making waves along the Morning Glow Route recently—
Primordial Firmament!
Both sides issued expulsion warnings to the *Leoning*.
Lu Chen didn't care in the least and instead responded to both sides:
"Don't get tense, I'm just a passing-by rookie adventuring group, answering to the name Primordial Firmament.
I came here by the way to gather some raw ore to take back for pill refining.
My ship is very small and can't hold much ore anyway; you guys can just pretend I don't exist."
An Imperial *Sea Wolf*-class combat ship closest to the *Leoning* rapidly closed in, pointing its cannons at the *Leoning*.
An audio transmission came through:
"The war will be over soon; if you want raw ore, you can just buy it with money later. You adventurers have plenty of cash!"
Lu Chen found it hard to believe that this statement came out of the mouth of an Imperial soldier!
Cashing in on the side right here!
It seemed the legend of the Imperial military's strict discipline was also hogwash.
Lu Chen immediately dropped his politeness.
"Sovereignty hasn't even been decided yet, and I can't even get a slice of the pie? Is this universe run by your family?"
The other party's tone likewise turned icy.
"We have already warned you."
At that moment, two level-sixty Imperial *Seal*-class destroyers were also closing in.
Unfazed, Lu Chen reached out and pressed his palm into the indented imprint on the console, switching to manual control.
Without another word, he fired a laser cannon straight into the enormous cannon muzzle of the opposing *Sea Wolf*-class combat ship.
A bullseye on the first shot!
The *Sea Wolf* combat ship was instantly pierced through, plunging into a sea of fire in the blink of an eye.
Chun Song and Xia Xian were frightened out of their wits.
The livestream room fell into dead silence.
Even the bullet comments stopped...
Not only did Chun Song and Xia Xian fail to anticipate this, but neither did the Imperial fleet nor the Crownless fleet.
Even with the initiative to attack, how could a level-fifty *Fei Angdi* adventure ship pierce the defense of a peer *Sea Wolf* combat ship and destroy it in a single blow?
The bigger problem was—
Two level-sixty Imperial destroyers were closing in, and you still dared to proactively fire on a *Sea Wolf* combat ship?
The two furious Imperial majors were just about to retaliate against the *Leoning*.
Their respective intelligence officers swiftly submitted detailed information regarding the Primordial Firmament Adventuring Group.
Three key points stood out:
A month and a half ago, Primordial Firmament Captain Lu Chen allegedly single-handedly paralyzed the Adventurer Association's news server, leaving Imperial fortress engineers completely helpless.
A month ago, Primordial Firmament participated in the Star Beast War in the Zu'an Nebula and secured a Blue-Winged Dragon pill, facing off against a level-sixty centipede ship and a *Su Yan*-class armor remotely controlled by Colonel Isabella of the Silver Roses.
Half a month ago, Primordial Firmament launched a solo ship raid on the heavily defended Sangu Valley stellar system in Federation space.
The two furious Imperial majors soon lapsed into silence.
"Have these people been concealing their strength all along?"
"Could they be agents of the Crownless Nation?"
Coincidentally, seeing this situation, the surviving fleet of the Crownless Nation immediately contacted Lu Chen.
"Captain Lu, given that you are a distinguished recipient of the Idealist Medal, you should be well aware of the Empire's shameless conduct.
We were the ones who discovered this mining star first and had already begun mining, yet the Imperial fleet disregarded all dignity to come and snatch the mine.
If you can assist us in repelling the Imperial fleet and reclaiming the mining star this time, we can apply to our headquarters for a bonus of up to one hundred thousand spiritual stones for you."
Gloria, who had been playing video games in the conference room, brightened up at the mention of the bonus.
She glanced at the big screen.
One hundred thousand spiritual stones... trying to fool a ghost!
This reminded her of a certain exclusive interview with the Crownless Nation where they had only paid a salary of one thousand spiritual stones.
This Crownless Nation was truly too stingy; they might as well be renamed the Crownless-of-Gold Nation.
Thinking thus, she continued playing her game.
For Lu Chen, the meager sum of money was part of the reason.
The larger reason was that he refused to pick a side.
Even though he held a rather favorable view of the Crownless Nation.
Once he chose a side with the Crownless Nation, the nature of the Primordial Firmament Adventuring Group would change.
He hadn't even aligned with the Adventurer Association earlier, having rejected Nanyuanzi's request.
With that thought, Lu Chen immediately responded:
"Sorry, I really am just here to scavenge some raw ore. As an adventurer holding the Imperial Hero Medal, the New Federation Freedom Medal, and the Crownless Nation Idealist Medal, I will not side with anyone. If the Crownless Nation requires a passing adventurer to back them up just to hold onto a mining star, you'd all might as well disband sooner rather than later."
The Crownless fleet had nothing to say.
This remark was also intercepted by the intelligence officers of the Imperial fleet.
The two majors were filled with endless regret.
No one had imagined that the Primordial Firmament was genuinely only here to scavenge raw ore.
They had lost a precious combat ship simply due to a rash warning.
Now, seeing that the *Leoning* had no intention of supporting the Crownless fleet for money, they found it difficult to work up any anger.
They could only express their respect to the *Leoning*.
"We will suspend hostilities for you for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes later, regardless of whether your ship has left or not, we will resume fighting. If your ship is caught in the crossfire, it will be heaven's will."
True to Imperial majors, even when backing down, they had to maintain their airs.
Lu Chen responded with a smile:
"I have no objection to twenty minutes, but whoever catches me in the crossfire will have their entire fleet annihilated by me—treating both sides equally. Don't go crying about favoritism once you're wiped out."
Imperial Fleet:
"..."
Crownless Fleet:
"..."
Damn it, was this really just a level-fifty adventure ship?
Both sides harbored anger they dared not voice. By this point in the battle, no one wanted to turn this hot potato into their own enemy.
Considering adventurers were roaming about, this planet might hold other valuable treasures.
Consequently, the two fleets continued calling for reinforcements, hailing backup.
At the same time, they cleared a path for the *Leoning*.
Chun Song and Xia Xian’s livestream room was in a frenzy.
A level-fifty adventure ship had actually cowed two higher-tier fleets!
Chun Song and Xia Xian tried their best to explain this incredible scene using pale words.
"Teacher Lu is so famous; both sides are giving him face!"
"He even destroyed an Imperial warship, yet the Imperial fleet didn't take action against the *Leoning*... When did the Imperial military become so gentle?"
The concurrent viewer count in the livestream room had broken through three hundred thousand!
Most viewers weren't mindless; they were calmly analyzing the situation.
The mainstream view was the balance-of-power theory.
The *Leoning* was currently a weight capable of breaking the balance, and neither side dared to offend them lightly.
"If only the two female anchors could enter the *Leoning*'s cockpit!"
Chun Song and Xia Xian regretfully responded:
"We'd love to too!"
"But alas, we're too ugly, and Captain Lu won't let us in."
"Haha, just kidding, Captain Lu is someone who values privacy greatly!"
The *Leoning* slowly penetrated deeper into the interior of the metal-cloud mining star.
Along the way, Lu Chen deployed the Ghost Rider and casually captured a level-thirty iron-eating beast onto the ship.
Purely out of curiosity.
It wasn't large, resembling a wild boar, with tough skin covered in dense black scales. Aerie put it to sleep with a single spell and casually tossed it into the rear hold.
The *Leoning* quickly approached the core of the metal-cloud planet.
There was a raging ocean here, with a seabed formed of rock.
The livestream ship's unmanned flying boat followed behind the *Leoning*.
Merely operating it remotely caused Chun Song and Xia Xian in the livestream room to feel a sense of dread.
Online viewership had already surpassed half a million!
Yet the bullet comments were sparse.
Everyone was holding their breath in intense concentration.
The *Leoning* hovered above the turbulent, dark sea surface.
Lu Chen surmised that the seabed must contain a rich variety of spiritual and metal ores.
"Next, Gloria will pilot the spaceship, Aerie will pilot the Ghost Rider, and I'll go out in the combat armor. According to the raw ore list the madam wrote for me, I'll cross-reference the online pictures and mine some raw ore back."
Gloria reluctantly removed her virtual glasses.
She came to the cockpit to drink.
Aerie took the raw ore list, piloted the Ghost Rider alone out of the spaceship, and dived into the seabed.
As for Lu Chen, he donned the dazzling Glow Combat Armor, leaped out of the cabin, performed three and a half twists in mid-air, and stylishly plunged into the water.
Aerie's mining task was executed exceptionally well.
"Captain, I found two kinds of raw ore from the list."
"Good, just fill the inner cargo hold of the armor—half for each kind."
Lu Chen glanced at the treasure-hunting map.
Although the mineral deposits here were abundant, varied, and extremely easy to mine, none of them registered as target red points.
Thus, the flashing highlight on the treasure-hunting map had to be some other treasure!
Thinking this, Lu Chen followed the map's guidance and swam swiftly in the direction of the highlight.
The closer he got to the target, the more intense the spatial anomaly he felt.
Recommended a new book by Twelve Heavenly Kings: *Global Awakening: I Am a Civilization Breeder*. Synopsis:
This is the best of times, when everyone has a chance to awaken extraordinary powers.
This is the worst of times, when power breeds ambition, inflates desires, and plunges the world into chaos.
Zhang Xian transmigrated carrying the World Seed, awakening the Breeder superpower.
Breeder: Can communicate with almost all anomalous life forms, impart one's knowledge to pets, and receive feedback from pets to strengthen one's own power.
A despised, low-tier superpower.
Zhang Xian: But what if I treat the world as a container and cultivate civilizations as pets? What do you all think?
(End of Chapter)