The Divine Rapid Assault Fleet departed from the Second Nitrum Star, leaving in a blaze of glory amidst the garrison commander's frantic shouting.

Through the viewport, Gu Xichen tapped his forehead against the glass, watching the Third Colony Star shrink in his sight. "A fire-attribute spirit-vein grotto-heaven, and an ancient exotic artifact, the Fire Dragon Lizard, the Blazing Orchid. What other treasures are hidden here?"

Gazing at the Third Colony Star, he almost visualized a scene: a creature successfully transforming into a Fire Flood Dragon, soaring into the vastness of space amidst ten thousand feet of blazing light, pursuing the 'Great Dao' etched into its very bloodline since the dawn of time. A desolate, primordial aura subtly radiated from within Gu Xichen. The Taiji symbol in his spiritual sea quickened its rotation slightly, and an intangible wave emanated from the vortex. The speed at which the five-colored currents flowed through Gu Xichen’s five viscera increased marginally, and the rate at which his soul essence absorbed the flow of the five elements accelerated slightly.

A layer of overlapping, thin gauze seemed to lift before his eyes, revealing the world to be marginally brighter. A sudden lightness bloomed in his heart, an ineffable joy rising from the core of his being. The Primordial Dao Embryo pulsed joyfully, unleashing wave after wave of powerful, biting cold energy that nourished every cell in his body.

Wrapped in a sheath of chilling flame, thin as silken thread—the Lunar Profound Blaze—Gu Xichen stood before the viewport, entering deep meditation.

Peng Hua, who had been squatting by the commander's seat smoking, was startled to find Gu Xichen vanish from his spiritual perception, as if he had merged entirely with the surrounding cosmos. With a look of shock, Peng Hua glanced back at where Gu Xichen stood, then summoned the flagship's logistics supervisor. He ordered thirty cubic meters of the highest quality backup crystal blocks to be transported and stacked beside Gu Xichen.

The energy stored within the crystal blocks transformed into hundreds of streams of light that poured into Gu Xichen's body, continuously absorbed and refined by the Primordial Dao Embryo before surging out of his skin as the Lunar Profound Blaze.

When the fleet completed its twenty days of superluminal light-speed curvature cruise and returned to the Solar System, a layer of dim, icy flame nearly an inch thick coated Gu Xichen’s skin. He had completely drained every backup Zakla crystal block in the flagship's storerooms, consuming even the majority of Peng Hua's personal reserves.

The fleet burst out from near Mars' orbit, accelerating towards Earth at near-sublight velocity. A small fleet of Lymans was patrolling nearby; as the flagship plunged into the spatial energy tide of this sector, the small Lyman fleet was violently tossed hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. A torrent of frantic Lymani curses, accompanied by powerful radio waves, swept across nearly half the Solar System.

As the light of the Sun streamed through the viewport and illuminated Gu Xichen's face, he immediately snapped out of his profound, mysterious meditative state. The Lunar Profound Blaze on his skin retracted inward, condensing in his Dantian into a fist-sized sphere of fire that spun slowly. Gu Xichen opened his eyes, and two beams of icy light, several feet long, shot out, startling Peng Hua, who had been peering nearby, causing him to stumble back several paces.

"We've arrived?" Gu Xichen glanced at the premium Fire Spirit Jade and the carved flower pots stacked in the corner of the command module, letting out a cold laugh.

"We've arrived!" Peng Hua looked greedily at the yielded Blazing Orchids, already fantasizing whether the Corpse Emperor had secured a black Christo crystal sphere for him.

"Excellent. Connect me to Eurys; I have something to say to her!" Gu Xichen sneered, suppressing the chilling light in his eyes. He walked toward the main console, his steps flowing like running water. Before Peng Hua could clearly see his movement, Gu Xichen was already at the console. Ripples, like water disturbed by a stone, lingered in the air, slowly dissipating only after a long moment.

Peng Hua startled. In just twenty days of cultivation, Gu Xichen's gains were astounding; he couldn't even perceive what had transpired within him.

In truth, even Gu Xichen himself couldn't fully articulate what he had cultivated or gained during those twenty days. An existence at the level of the Lunar Profound Blaze, regardless of any accident, was beyond the comprehension of current cultivators, let alone Gu Xichen, who hadn't truly crossed the threshold of being a cultivator yet.

The battleship connected to Eurys's communicator, and a panicked Eurys appeared on the holographic screen.

Seeing Gu Xichen, Eurys shrieked in surprise, "How are you still—"

Gu Xichen stood with his hands clasped behind his back and spoke indifferently: "Esteemed Miss Eurys, as a businesswoman, I profoundly despise those who lack commercial credibility and sow traps within the clauses of a contract. Out of trust in you, I led my loyal and brave subordinates to the Third Colony Star; out of trust in you, I entered the cavern containing the Blazing Orchid alone; out of trust in you, I allowed you to become the medical officer at the Esper Training School."

He sighed, shaking his head. "However, you betrayed my trust! From this moment on, we are enemies! I will deploy every asset at my disposal to strike against your family and against you personally! The scope of the attack includes your fiancé, Lieutenant General Tartarus. I am quite eager to know what the distinguished Lieutenant General Tartarus, holder of the title of the Federation's youngest powerful general, will think when he learns certain secrets."

Eurys screamed, crying out, "Oh, stop, damn it, for the sake of that damned God! What does this have to do with me? It was my father who forced me to—"

Gu Xichen held up three fingers, coldly stating, "According to Federal Commercial Law, for contract fraud, we can mitigate your liability through subsequent compensation."

Eurys nodded dejectedly, gritting her teeth as she spoke, "Add... it seems, now you hold the upper ha—" A chilling aura wrapped around Eurys's heart. Gu Xichen was safe and sound. What about the Crimson Feather Witch King? The Crimson Feather Witch King who struck a secret deal with her father? The one whose strength was almost equal to that of the legendary deities?

Gu Xichen was alive, so... was the Crimson Feather Witch King dead? Heavens, how could that be?

Eurys's body trembled. She could not fathom the terrifying consequences if Gu Xichen, capable of defeating the Crimson Feather Witch King, were truly to unleash an attack upon her family and herself. She knew at least one thing: Gu Xichen's master was a towering figure within the Asian Dao Alliance. That old monster holding the title of 'Emperor' could effortlessly crush a powerful family within the Federation!

She absolutely could not afford to offend the current Gu Xichen!

She must soothe his wrath, whatever the cost! This was Eurys's realization!

Gu Xichen laid out his terms: the first was that Eurys and her family would bear the full cost of compensation for the Special Operations soldiers killed in action. Every fallen soldier would receive one hundred times the standard compensation stipulated by the Federation. The battle-damaged Wind God Rapid Assault Ships were to be replaced by Eurys's family, and the new Wind God Assault Ships must be manufactured using the Federation's newest alloys.

Eurys agreed to the first condition without hesitation. A mere amount of Federal currency and a few rapid assault ships meant nothing to the vast family backing her.

The second condition required Eurys to assist the Hardwood Corporation in acquiring the Federation Academy of Sciences' most advanced technologies, such as spatial radar, subspace scanners, ultra-long-range quantum communicators, bio-mimetic optical fire control systems, and so on. These technologies had to be cutting-edge, and Hardwood Corporation's team of experts would verify whatever Eurys provided.

Eurys also agreed to this. She knew that these technologies were slated for use in the Federation Military's next generation of shipbuilding plans. However, the technology she could obtain through her connections would be at least one generation ahead of what was officially deployed—which was precisely Gu Xichen's intent, and Eurys understood his foresight.

The third condition demanded that Eurys share all her research achievements concerning espers—in essence, sharing them with Hardwood Defense Corporation, and thus with Gu Xichen. If possible, Gu Xichen wanted Eurys to prioritize researching why some people were suited for cultivation while others were not, and how those unsuited for cultivation could still develop extraordinary power!

Eurys was initially reluctant about this final term, but under Gu Xichen's threat, she had no choice but to agree.

Her family could not afford to offend the Nine Nether Dao, and she certainly did not want Gu Xichen revealing her greatest secret to Tartarus.

Having successfully coerced Eurys into accepting his three conditions, Gu Xichen abruptly terminated the communication, as a new call request immediately popped up.

A pale-faced Siren appeared on the screen, looking at Gu Xichen with an expression of profound grievance—like an old eunuch who had been confined among ten thousand castrati for eighteen years. Even his voice carried the weary melancholy of a setting sun.

The corner of his mouth twisted. Siren, usually effeminate and beautiful, spoke like a withered corpse: "Esteemed Chief, esteemed boss, Mr. Gu Xichen, to whom I swore my loyalty, do you... treat me fairly?"

Gu Xichen managed an awkward laugh, trying to deflect the topic, but Siren shrieked, "You let that madwoman, that lunatic, join the training school! What are you trying to—"

What was he trying to do? Gu Xichen could only offer a weak chuckle. He certainly couldn't admit he intended to pair Siren and Eurys! Such thoughts, deeply unacceptable to conventional morality, he dared not voice, for fear that Siren, Eurys, and Aredia might join forces to strangle him. If Aredia hadn't already killed Siren by then, they truly would have conspired to end Gu Xichen!

"Well, actually, ah ha. Aredia? How has this past month or so been for you? Hahaha, I happen to have some Blazing Orchid Essence here. It's perfect for boosting your strength. We are about to gain another powerhouse whose Martial Domain has expanded to its limits! Oh, oh, this is truly worth celebrating, isn't it?"

Just as Gu Xichen stood trapped in acute embarrassment, Aredia poked half her face out from behind Siren.

Siren, whose face had been ashen and mournful as a female ghost, instantly broke into a smile as radiant and elegant as an orchid in spring. He gently nodded, sweetly looped his arm around Aredia's waist, and gave Gu Xichen a charming, flirtatious smile. Siren said gently, "Welcome back to Earth, Chief. Oh, Blazing Orchid Essence? That is excellent stuff. Prepare a few more pills for Aredia and me! Ah, I can hardly wait to see just how much latent potential I possess."

Gu Xichen nodded with a smile, about to close the connection with Siren, when the bearded Captain used the Hardwood Corporation’s most urgent communication code to forcefully override the connection.

"Evil Dragon, hurry back! Those two bastards, Banruo and Mohe, somehow managed to fuse two purple Christo crystal spheres and now they can't hold on!"

Purple Christo crystal spheres? The Banruo and Mohe brothers? Reminder: Intermission Break

May 1st, Tenth Burst Where are the monthly tickets? (To be continued)