Qin Fen pushed open the door and saw several young martial artists rapidly shifting positions, their pool cues wielded like battlefield weapons, their surging fighting intents intertwining until they felt almost tangible.

Was this billiards? Or a brawl? Qin Fen wore an expression of stunned disbelief, suspecting he’d stumbled into the wrong room. The overwhelming battle intent made one feel they had entered a martial arts dojo, not a casual recreational pool hall.

Crack! Xue Tian sank the final black ball with a brilliant shot. Almost simultaneously, the others also struck the last of their respective black balls.

"Old Qin, you're finally awake. Care for a game?" Xue Tian looked at Qin Fen with a slight smile. "Huh? What's going on? You seem different from before. This time, it looks like your aura has changed." Yang Lie nodded slowly, agreeing with Xue Tian’s assessment through his actions.

Although Caesar and the others remained silent, their expressions betrayed a hint of confusion. That Qin Fen could sleep and wake up with a changed aura was truly bizarre.

Qin Fen surveyed the group, realizing they hadn't merely been idling away the time on the spacecraft. Everyone's spirit and energy showed new vitality, especially their fighting intent, which was as abundant as—or perhaps even surpassed—that seen during the New Recruit Tournament. He never imagined billiards could have such an effect.

Qin Fen walked to the cue rack beside the billiard table, casually grabbing a cue. In his mind, he recalled Lü Bu, picturing the invincible heart holding the Fangtian Huaji, ready to challenge all heroes under heaven.

Whoosh... Qin Fen gently rotated his wrist and swung the cue. Though he hadn't played billiards before, mastering an art that required precise control over force and calculation was not overly difficult for a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

After trying a few dozen shots, Qin Fen gradually grasped the mechanics of ball impact and positioning. He gave Xue Tian a faint smile. As everyone struck the cue ball simultaneously, a crisp cracking sound signaled the break. The cues in their hands immediately transformed into great lances, slaying enemies on an ancient battlefield, leaving only streaks of afterimages in the room.

Three hours later, the group emerged, all smiles. Xue Tian, who had been sweeping the pool hall invincible for days, was finally defeated by Qin Fen by a slim margin. Though it wasn't real combat with actual fists and flesh, it at least managed to curb Xue Tian's arrogance from the past few days slightly.

"Hmm..." Xue Tian walked beside Qin Fen, pondering seriously for a long moment before suddenly breaking into a laugh. "Haha, I get it now! So, that's how Old Qin's Dian Bu works. Next time we play billiards, you might be the one losing, Old Qin."

Qin Fen chuckled. The competition at the billiard table wasn't a brawl of fists and feet and couldn't showcase the full extent of either side's power. But at least his maneuvering skills had been superior to Xue Tian’s just then. Billiards hinges on speed; pairing Dian Bu with the game saved a minuscule amount of time—that almost negligible time was the key to his victory.

The remaining twenty-odd hours of space travel passed fortunately without encountering the rumored space pirates. Qin Fen gazed out the window at Saturn’s massive rings. Seen up close, the massive ice chunks and smaller fragments forming the ring system looked indescribably wondrous.

Looking at Saturn nearby, Qin Fen flipped through the manual issued by the spacecraft. Current scientific circles remained locked in debate over how these two planets, Saturn and Jupiter, which should clearly be gaseous, had suddenly materialized into solid forms. The booklet cataloged every conjecture, allowing passengers to choose the explanation they could accept. Irradiation from mysterious cosmic rays caused the gas giants to suddenly solidify. Self-decomposition of the gas, followed by unique stellar collision and friction, led to sudden materialization. Extraterrestrial beings, mysterious and unseen, yet never ceasing to be debated by humanity, used unknown technology to materialize Saturn as a staging preparation for landing on Earth.

Among the speculations listed in the electronic manual, the extraterrestrial hypothesis was the most widely accepted and recognized.

Qin Fen could not negate any of the above conjectures, nor did he know which one to embrace. If forced to choose, he too leaned toward the alien theory, since the world’s true changes weren't limited to just these two planets. No one could offer a more reasonable explanation for the multitude of mutated creatures on Earth. Besides the sudden planetary changes and the miraculous appearance of these creatures, there was also the matter of the Atlantis ruins.

After witnessing the current strength of the martial arts world, and then looking at the power of the Masters, one could tell that ancient Atlantis surpassed contemporary human society in both technology and martial prowess. How did such a formidable Atlantis decline into ruins? Did the Atlanteans emigrate? Or were they annihilated by some unknown force? If an unknown force wiped them out, where is that force now? If the Atlanteans undertook interstellar migration, why did they do so? Where are they now? Did they never consider coming back to check?

One question spawned a chain of inquiries. Qin Fen gently shook his head. The Masters never discussed anything outside martial arts with him. He needed to ask them sometime why the Jixian Dian existed and where all the people of Atlantis went. The spaceship then entered the atmosphere, the immense hull groaning as it scraped against the air, causing the entire structure to vibrate slightly. Qin Fen watched the air burning in streaks outside the window—these flashes were brief but possessed an indescribable brilliance.

"Distinguished passengers, welcome to Saturn, a city only recently opened for development. We are landing in one of Saturn’s most prosperous cities, Wushuang City. This area was developed and invested in by the Tianmen Group, one of Saturn’s two largest conglomerates. Tianmen Group is an emerging entity with substantial capital and a strong reputation here on Saturn..."

The female flight attendant spoke earnestly, detailing precautions for Saturn. For instance, in the wilderness areas of high mountains and great rivers, it was best not to venture out as an adventurer. The mutated creatures here were even more numerous than on Earth. Some martial artists with considerable strength, even wearing weapons, had entered mountain ranges far larger than the Himalayas seeking adventure, only to never return.

A few middle-aged men seated near Qin Fen wore expressions of disdain, their knuckles cracking audibly as they clenched their fists, their entire bodies radiating a palpable eagerness to try their luck.

The flight attendant glanced at them but said no more. On every spacecraft heading to Saturn, there were always such individuals; the only difference was their number. Following the emergence of mutated creatures, major research institutions sought to discover elements beneficial to human development within these beings, naturally giving rise to a class of survivalists. They either worked alone or formed mercenary-like organizations, operating across different planets to capture various mutated creatures and sell them to research groups in exchange for funding.

The ship settled smoothly on the ground. As passengers filed out, Qin Fen spotted the mercenaries hauling large metal crates near the baggage claim area, excitedly heading toward the hall exit.

The female flight attendant stood not far from Qin Fen, lightly shaking her head as she watched the heavily armed mercenaries. Those whose personal martial strength wasn't high enough to compete with Saturn's might might find surviving purely on weaponry to be a difficult task. Even if they managed to secure a valuable mutated creature, whether they could keep it was another matter. On Saturn, they weren't the only ones competing for mutated beasts; often, several factions would clash fiercely over a single specimen, and even Tianmen would secretly dispatch teams for plunder. For those long accustomed to life on Saturn, this was hardly news.

Qin Fen slowly observed the legendary planet. He hadn't even been able to afford a plane ticket before, yet today he had undertaken an interplanetary journey. Life truly was miraculous.

In the vast hall, a massive projection screen displayed an advertisement for the Flying Women's Band, interspersed with clips of blazing rock music and the cute expressions of two girls promoting the group. On the wall nearby hung huge posters of the Flying Heart Women's Band, flanked by multi-angle surveillance monitors. It was unavoidable; the Flying Heart Women's Band was too popular now. If their massive posters weren't monitored, they would be violently 'stolen' moments after being installed.

Yang Lie activated his cell phone and quickly brought up the map to pinpoint their location. The Federation Military Command was not established in Wushuang City. In fact, very few people knew the true location of the Federation Military Command. Due to the presence of Tianmen and Difu, high-ranking Federation military personnel sent to Saturn were easily targeted. Thus, the building labeled 'Saturn Military Command' in Wushuang City rarely housed the actual leadership. The true commanders of the Federation Military were situated in more hidden locations, issuing directives outward.

"Not in Wushuang City," Yang Lie stated after pinpointing the true location of the Military Command. "It's in Qiankun City, situated between the two great powers, Tianmen and Difu."

As time passed, the major powers on Saturn, locked in mutual confrontation, gradually formed a distinct dividing line—a narrow, straight boundary upon which several cities were built. Qiankun City, Haiwang City, Reincarnation City, and Jiewang City were the four most famous urban centers along this central line. Their status was akin to Shanghai, Taipei, and Tokyo in the central continent—each was a hub of highly developed commerce. This central line held more than just these four cities, but they were the most renowned. They functioned both as buffers between the two factions and as commercial centers connecting them. From the electronic map, the power distribution between Tianmen and Difu resembled the national borders that existed before the Federation was established.

Since the true commanders of the Military Command were in Qiankun City, Qin Fen and the others didn't even leave the arrival hall. They simply purchased several tickets and boarded another flight to the next city.

Flying over Saturn again, Qin Fen observed the planet from high altitude—a sphere significantly larger than Earth, yet lacking the vast oceans of his home. This was apparent even from their approach through space; the giant Saturn was not blue.

Saturn was a massive sphere composed of blue patches interspersed with green ones. This planet, not yet excessively developed by humanity, still harbored extensive vegetation. This natural environment persisted partly because Divine Beast martial artists had not yet emerged, and partly because the forests and mountains were densely populated with mutated creatures. As long as they didn't attack the cities, the Federation preferred not to overly provoke the planet's large mutated population.

A bird's cry drew his attention. Qin Fen saw a large bird flying not far outside the plane's window. A massive bird flying at an altitude of thirty thousand feet? Its golden feathers spread wide, each wing spanning nearly ten feet, and its body looked incredibly robust—reminiscent of the Golden-Winged Great Peng from mythology.

The Golden Great Peng? Qin Fen was slightly surprised. Based on data files, this mutated creature was itself a rare species. At full speed, it could even outpace commercial airliners, making it a fierce aerial predator. When its wing feathers were flared and fired, their power was comparable to bullets, capable of easily riddling a human body with holes.

"That thing should fetch quite a price, shouldn't it?" Qin Fen mused with a slight smile. If he had lived a quiet, uneventful life in the military until retirement, perhaps he, too, would have come to Saturn to work as a legitimate mercenary, risking his life to capture a Golden Great Peng.

Qin Fen watched the Golden Great Peng outside the window. The Peng, its eyes filled with predatory aggression, warily observed Qin Fen through the cabin glass.

The aircraft flew for nearly a hundred kilometers without incident. The Peng remained passive. Everyone in the cockpit was sweating, wondering what was wrong. Why wasn't it attacking immediately, as it should? Qin Fen glanced at the Peng outside and gently waved his hand. "Go on."

Those simple words couldn't truly reach beyond the cabin, yet the Peng seemed to hear them. It let out a strange cry in the air, then executed a massive arc and flew away without looking back.

"What in the world? Why did the Golden Great Peng leave?" The pilots in the cockpit were dumbfounded, unable to explain the divine event they had just witnessed.

Caesar looked at Qin Fen in the row ahead and sighed softly. The Golden Great Peng possessed an inherent untamable spirit. Even when Caesar unleashed his Emperor's martial path and radiated kingly dominance, he could only provoke a fierce counterattack. He never expected Qin Fen, without releasing any aura whatsoever, could merely look at the Peng and make it retreat.

Caesar stretched again, a hint of resignation in his smile. His martial progress was already nearly unprecedented, perhaps surpassed only by the rumored, ancient Azure Dragon. Yet, Qin Fen continued to move ahead of him, and what was even harder to accept was that this man was actively distancing himself from those of them who were creating miracles. "I will stand at the peak and wait for you."

The proud demeanor Qin Fen displayed during the New Recruit Tournament suddenly flashed through Caesar's mind. He realized the Qin Fen before him overlapped with the Qin Fen from that day. Though his current self was so calm and peaceful, he still gave off the sensation of standing at the summit, awaiting challengers. "The peak..." Caesar’s resigned smile was instantly replaced by fighting spirit. "You want to stand at the peak? Very well! I will charge to the peak and challenge you again."

After five hours of flight, the massive passenger jet landed again at Qiankun City’s airport.

As soon as he stepped off the plane, Qin Fen was hit by a wave of intense heat. This relatively southern city was much hotter than Wushuang City in the north.

Outside the airport, Yang Lie directly rented a medium-sized commercial mag-lev vehicle for their transport. He connected the vehicle's computer to his phone's electronic map and engaged the automatic navigation system, setting the destination for the true center of the Federation Military Command, the Feixin Business Corporation.

Wushuang City possessed an environment akin to an Earth subtropical zone; specifically, it reminded Qin Fen of Hainan Province, filled with coconut-like fruit trees everywhere. It must be a case of 'southern oranges becoming northern citrons.' The coconut trees here were somewhat different from Earth's. The fruit, originally larger than a fist, now looked no bigger than a walnut and grew in clusters, lending a distinctly alien charm to the landscape.