Qin Fen held Song Jia close, shaking his head with a gentle smile. "Jiajia, before I met you, I always thought seeing my brother was the biggest obstacle in my way. But now, holding you like this, I suddenly realized that the desire to see my brother has always been the driving force behind my progress."

Song Jia’s stunning eyes flashed, and the words her grandfather, Qilin, once spoke drifted through her mind.

"Worry can turn into an obstacle or a demon. But a true powerhouse can transform it into motivation!"

"Jiajia, meeting you this time has made so much clear," Qin Fen murmured, drawing her closer and gently kissing her eyes. "Since martial arts are a part of my life, and I can influence martial arts without being controlled by them, why should I be constrained by the title of Divine Beast Warrior?"

"You're not going to fight for the Divine Beast Warrior title anymore?" Song Jia looked at Qin Fen in surprise, a look of sheer disbelief on her face.

"No, I will fight for it. Just not with the same urgency as before," Qin Fen shook his head, his gaze sweeping past the window to the distant sky. "If my brother truly is the Azure Dragon, I will naturally see him at the Gathering of Heroes. Besides, there's someone who probably really wants to test themselves against me in a real fight, isn't there?"

"Xue Tian?" A rare note of admiration flickered in Song Jia’s eyes. "My grandfather saw what happened on Saturn a few days ago. Elder Hou had very high praise for Xue Tian's performance back then."

"Mm." Qin Fen nodded. "Every warrior has their own Martial Dao. I used to think I understood Xue Tian's—the Raging Slash. But now, I sense his Dao isn't rooted in emotional martial arts; it’s a Dao of Personality. However, what exactly that Dao is, I still don't know."

"A Dao of Personality? A Dao of Emotion?" Song Jia blinked her watery eyes. As someone from a top-tier Martial Ancestor family, she couldn't immediately grasp what Qin Fen meant.

"There are many types of Martial Dao," Qin Fen stated seriously. "These classifications didn't come from nowhere; as I encounter more and more Martial Daos, I've gradually begun categorizing them based on my own level of understanding."

Song Jia’s eyes shone brighter than they had ever before, filled with a growing mix of adoration and astonishment as she looked at Qin Fen.

Classifying Martial Daos! Forget classifying Daos; even being able to classify Martial Techniques qualified someone as a true Grandmaster! Anyone who dared to classify the Dao itself—besides perhaps a few Divine Beast Warriors—might only be a Martial Venerable, right?

The Dao! That was already operating on an entirely different plane! Song Jia looked at her beloved, and while she had complete faith in him, she hadn't expected that at such a young age, he was already hinting at standing on equal footing with the Divine Beast Warriors.

"The Dao of Emotion, as the name suggests, is about feelings. For instance, Xue Tian is called Raging Slash because his strength surpasses his normal level when he’s enraged. That can be seen as emotion entering the Martial Dao and fusing with it to unleash power. Some people boost their strength through hearty laughter, and others can keep their emotions as still as water."

Seeing Song Jia nod, Qin Fen continued, "Then there’s the Dao of Technique—like the Dao of Fierce Strength, the Dao of Ultimate Softness, the Dao of Flourish, or the Dao of Utmost Simplicity, and so on."

"Beyond these, there are Daos that spring from one's personality," Qin Fen paused for a moment's thought. "Take Solomon's Madness, or Caesar's Emperor persona. He genuinely believes from the depths of his heart that he is the favored son of heaven in this era, which is why he unleashes that world-conquering aura. Xue Tian, it seems, also falls under a Dao of Personality."

"And what about you?" Song Jia frowned charmingly. "Divine Fist Dao—what category is that?"

"I pursue pure violence," Qin Fen scratched his head. "God or Demon, it doesn't matter. It’s because they are sufficiently violent. Humans fear gods and demons rather than respect them; they fear that most primal, pure violence."

Song Jia pouted her gleaming lips. "So you're really not going to Jupiter?"

"I'm not going," Qin Fen shook his head. "I'll stay here on Earth with you for a few days."

Beep, beep... beep, beep-beep...

The communicator in Qin Fen's embrace suddenly rang. Song Jia smiled and reached out to press the receive button, and a holographic projection appeared on the living room wall.

The caller was the central brain of the Saturn Genesis Society. In that low-temperature room, several young men were sitting cross-legged, conserving their energy with their eyes closed: Caesar, Solomon...

Apart from Xue Tian, every young man who had accompanied Qin Fen to the Saturn military zone was present on the screen.

"Qin Fen, is it convenient to view the projection?"

The voice of Brain Number One carried a noticeable urgency that hadn't been there before.

"It's convenient."

As Qin Fen spoke, the projection displayed images of the Pandora Alternate Dimension again—the sky, utterly unsullied, and the vast green vegetation that inspired awe in any viewer, now showed a swarm of ugly black insects floating above it.

These insects weren't large; each was about the size of a grown man's fist. They seemed to "cling" to the sky.

Qin Fen found it unsettling; the insects were clearly in flight, yet they looked as if they were motionlessly adhered to a vast blue canvas.

The projection spun 360 degrees to focus on the underside of the insects—the part that "clung" to the sky.

It was a grotesque mouth! A circular opening the size of a coin, lined with a ring of needle-sharp teeth. This maw wasn't chewing; it was rotating, turning like a drill bit.

The entire scene was incredibly bizarre, yet inexplicable; no one could understand what they were actually doing.

"Strange, isn't it?" Brain Number One’s speech was faster than usual. "I didn't understand what these new creatures were at first. But after analysis, we discovered that the data in the small pocket of space they occupy has started to change... even if it's a minute change, it is definitely happening."

A sense of foreboding washed over Qin Fen. "You mean..."

"Exactly! They are space-devouring insects!" Brain Number One's cold voice sent a chill down Qin Fen’s spine. "These insects, newly spawned by the Demon Beast King, should possess a special ability to tear space. Just as we use high technology to open spatial pathways, they have evolved a different method to achieve a similar spatial breach."

Opening space! Qin Fen instantly understood why the Brain had sought him out. If these beasts possessed the ability to open space, it would spell utter disaster for human society.

A legion of fearless, high-combat-power beasts capable of launching surprise attacks at any time in any corner of human civilization—what else could that be but catastrophe?

Individually, within the Federation's domains, no demon beast could challenge a Divine Beast Warrior or even a Constellation General. But the sheer number of beasts slightly below the rank of Constellation General far exceeded the number of the Federation’s Constellation Generals. If they could tear space, they only needed to target areas where there were no Constellation Generals or Divine Beast Warriors to launch an assault.

This guerilla warfare tactic would drastically shrink humanity's living space, and such massive coordinated sneak attacks might even spur the demon beasts to develop many new evolutionary traits.

"We are accelerating research into anti-space technology," Brain Number One continued rapidly. "Simply put, when they attempt to tear space, we cause localized spatial distortions to eliminate those small space-tearing insects. But..."

"It will take time, right?" Qin Fen stared at the insects in the projection. "It's too late to stop this batch? Is that right?"

"Yes. They only need about ten more days," Brain Number One paused slightly. "This time, the Demon Beast King is standing guard; direct assault will be difficult."

"Bait?" Qin Fen realized these alternate-space demons, which had consumed humans before, possessed intelligence comparable to humans. Knowing they couldn't keep this secret, they were brazenly proceeding, with their strongest guarding the operation. If humans sent forces to disrupt them, they would inevitably clash with the Demon Beast King. Then...

Nuclear warheads, though powerful, seemed only capable of devastating the human world, leaving the demons' Pandora dimension entirely unharmed.

Qin Fen looked at the Demon Beast King, its belly distended as if heavily pregnant with the silent monster Brain Number One referred to as the "Emperor Monster." He couldn't help but admire the strange creature for engineering a situation where humanity was compelled to act, whether it wanted to or not.

Space was a mysterious field. Although humans could open space and even seal certain spatial rifts, they still couldn't predict where the spaces torn open by these bizarre insects would lead.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap... tap, tap...

The thousands of demon insects suddenly began to split! Their numbers quadrupled instantly!

"What is this..." Even Brain Number One was stunned into silence.

After a full ten minutes, Brain Number One's voice resumed, filled with frustration. "Based on recent calculations, these demon beasts can self-replicate, and their reproduction rate is incredibly fast!"

As Brain Number One finished speaking, three-quarters of the insect swarm flew off in three different directions, vanishing from sight in an instant.

Spreading everywhere? Qin Fen was somewhat confused. Wouldn't it be better if these beasts remained concentrated?

"It's very strange. These split beasts seem unable to remain together for long," Brain Number One’s words were laced with confusion. "Recent calculations showed that if they stay grouped for more than ten minutes, they explode collectively!"

What kind of behavior was that? Qin Fen could only attribute this outcome to the demon beasts of the Pandora dimension—that this batch, produced now, was somehow incomplete or flawed.

More than the immediate problem, Qin Fen worried about the silent thing inside the Demon Beast King's belly, the one Brain Number One called the 'Emperor Monster.'

Brain Number One had mentioned that this thing was about to birth what they considered the most perfect demon beast, one that wouldn't even be affected by the Federation humans' spatial powers.

If so, what constituted 'perfect'? It likely possessed all the abilities of the various demon beasts. If that were true, wouldn't it also have the ability to tear space? If so, it would be infinitely more dangerous than these space-devouring insects.

"I must eliminate it before it is born!" Qin Fen looked down at Song Jia in his arms. "I..."

"Go. Be careful," Song Jia placed Qin Fen's hand on her own swelling belly. "Remember, your wife and child are waiting for you to return."

(The common cold is just passing... to be continued)