After Zhao Xing broke through to the Origin Stage, his combat strength had been rapidly increasing. Even during the three months he spent aboard the Boundary Ark, he had made significant progress.
The Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom had set up a highly accurate test target star in this location, and Zhao Xing had no intention of holding back. Without hesitation, he took out his Boundary Dharma Wheel.
"Wow, a Four-Domain Version Boundary Dharma Wheel? Zhao, my brother, you're seriously extravagant." Cen Qionghua exclaimed in amazement.
The Four-Domain Version Boundary Dharma Wheel was priced at eighty million, far more expensive than the Heavenly Travel Staff he was using.
"You've only been in the Origin Stage for a year, and you're already using a Four-Domain Boundary Dharma Wheel?" Leyao blinked in curiosity.
Both she and Cen Qionghua owned mid-tier Boundary Star Dao Weapons, but even among mid-tier weapons, there were different levels of quality.
The Boundary Dharma Wheel was a classic Dao Weapon—expensive, yes, but the real challenge was mastering it.
Only those with sufficient cultivation depth could use it properly, much like how not just anyone could wield a Fangtian Halberd effectively.
"The Boundary Dharma Wheel is both offensive and defensive. If it's a Four-Domain Version, that means Zhao Xing has mastered wind, rain, thunder, and cloud techniques—otherwise, there'd be no reason to buy it." Cen Qionghua observed seriously.
Zhao Xing had only broken through to the Origin Stage a little over a year ago, and Cen Qionghua still didn't have a clear grasp of his combat strength.
He had invited Zhao Xing to form a team partly due to their friendship and partly as a favor.
Outsiders might not understand the intricacies of inheritance rights, but on the surface, Zhao Xing was still recognized as Qing Yuzi's direct disciple.
"You may begin whenever you're ready," said Cangyu, the artifact spirit.
Zhao Xing nodded slightly and moved in an instant.
His Origin Dao Body erupted immediately. A purple moon appeared over his left shoulder, while a purple sun shone over his right.
In that moment, the entire sky and land lit up.
"Holy crap, Dual-Origin Dao Body?" Cen Qionghua's eyes widened.
"What?! Sun and Moon Dual Radiance?" Leyao's beautiful eyes filled with shock.
Over the past year since Zhao Xing's breakthrough, they hadn't sparred much.
The few times they had, he had only displayed his Purple Sun Dao Body and used Solar-Origin-based techniques.
Only now did they realize Zhao Xing actually had a Dual-Origin Dao Body.
"Zhao, my brother, you've been hiding your true strength all along! I've really embarrassed myself." Cen Qionghua groaned internally. "I was acting like I was leading a junior on a mission, but turns out, he's the one with a Dual-Origin Dao Body!"
Cultivating both Purple Sun and Purple Moon was incredibly difficult.
Cultivating a single-origin path was already a challenge, but most geniuses could still manage to master it. Typically, allowing one type of Origin Energy to open up acupuncture points in the body was feasible.
However, dual-origin cultivation dramatically increased the difficulty level. The hardest part was achieving a perfect balance during breakthroughs.
If Lunar or Solar Origin energy became dominant for even a moment, the transformation would complete itself instantly, closing all other opened acupuncture points, ultimately resulting in a Single-Origin Dao Body.
Since cultivating a Single-Origin Dao Body was already tough, a Dual-Origin Dao Body required immense dedication and effort.
Most cultivators attempting dual-origin paths ended up wasting years only to fail at the final step.
However, if one succeeded, the power boost was astronomical.
Ordinary cultivation techniques opened two hundred ten million Star Acupuncture Points.
Purple Divine Mansion's cultivation methods allowed Single-Origin Dao Bodies to open four hundred twenty million Star Acupuncture Points.
A Dual-Origin Dao Body could manipulate a staggering eight hundred forty million Star Acupuncture Points, granting a massive advantage in both enlightenment and spellcasting!
That was precisely what Cen Qionghua witnessed now.
Not only did Zhao Xing have a sun and moon on his shoulders, but around his waist, forty-eight Seasonal Qi Commands revolved.
These were Yin-Yang Dual Versions of the Twenty-Four Seasonal Qi Commands!
The Seasonal Qi Commands were the core Dao manifestation of all Heavenly Bureaucrat Shennongs in the universe. Both Purple Sun and Purple Moon cultivation techniques included their own versions of Seasonal Qi Commands.
Because of his Dual-Origin Dao Body, Zhao Xing had cultivated both simultaneously, giving him a total of forty-eight commands.
This made Zhao Xing's Dao Field incredibly stable.
Although the test target star was stationary, its luminosity fluctuated, creating interference.
Cen Qionghua watched intently as Zhao Xing stood there, carrying the sun and moon, surrounded by the Seasonal Qi Commands.
The target star's interference almost vanished completely.
By increasing stability, spell power was indirectly amplified—a type of enhancement on its own.
"Mastering high-level cultivation techniques is like gaining an extra Boundary Star Dao Weapon that stabilizes space," Cen Qionghua muttered in admiration.
Then, Zhao Xing began casting his Source Techniques, and his casting speed was astonishingly fast—an inherent boost from his cultivation technique.
Instant casting a single spell was one thing, but instant casting multiple spells was an entirely different level.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Zhao Xing unleashed his spells in a barrage, furiously bombarding the test target star.
He cast Purple Wind, Fetal Breath, Yin Thunder Star, Primordial Magnetic Thunderstorm, Golden Body Erosion, Heavenly Tide, Blood Cloud Domain—a total of eight Heavenly Timing Techniques, seven of which were purely offensive.
His Boundary Dharma Wheel, shaped like four archways, acted as a spell amplifier, relaying and amplifying each technique through its Four-Origin Power System, increasing Zhao Xing's spell potency fivefold.
The target star shimmered, its light seemingly suppressed by Zhao Xing's power.
Moments later, Zhao Xing stopped, retracting his energy before flying back.
Cen Qionghua and Leyao stared expectantly at Cangyu.
The artifact spirit Cangyu looked at Zhao Xing, nodded slightly, and said, "You are exceptional. Your comprehensive combat rating is 41.
"To achieve such combat strength at the early stage of the First Realm is exceedingly rare."
"WHAT?! 41?!" Cen Qionghua was dumbfounded. "Doesn't that mean he can crush me?"
"My thirty-six clones are basically an entire orchestra, and I'm in the late stage of the First Realm—and I still lost to Zhao Xing?" Leyao widened her eyes in disbelief.
Cangyu explained, "Your Boundary Dharma Wheel is primarily defensive, with only a fivefold amplification coefficient. If you had a custom model, its Four-Domain amplification could reach fortyfold without sacrificing stability.
"With your Dual-Origin Dao Body, your Dao Field's ability to counteract interference is exceptionally strong. In the future, you should consider upgrading to a custom-made model," Cangyu advised.
The test had a built-in time counter, measuring the average intensity and casting speed of spells within the allotted time.
The difference between Zhao Xing's highest and lowest values was minimal, proving that each of his attacks maintained exceptional stability.
Naturally, Cangyu, the artifact spirit, could see that Zhao Xing's ability to resist interference while casting was remarkable. Moreover, his current Boundary Dharma Wheel was not yet his limit in terms of control, which was why Cangyu had offered this suggestion.
"Thank you, Lord Artifact Spirit," Zhao Xing cupped his hands in gratitude.
The suggestion was good, but it wasn't practical.
Simply put, he had no money.
A custom-made version with a fortyfold amplification coefficient—how much would that even cost? It was an unimaginable fortune, something he could never afford at this moment.
"Zhao Xing, you really hid yourself too well," Cen Qionghua ran up and punched Zhao Xing hard. "A comprehensive combat rating of 41, and you still let Leyao and me 'carry' you?"
Zhao Xing smiled, "I broke through not long ago, so I never actually measured my full strength."
"You never tested it, but you also never mentioned you had a Dual-Origin Dao Body," Cen Qionghua said with envy.
"You never asked," Zhao Xing chuckled. Who would go all out in casual sparring?
Even now, during this test, Zhao Xing hadn't gone all out.
He hadn't even used his Earth-Fortune-based spells, nor had he revealed the Vajra Bracelet.
Additionally, within his Origin Space, he had three rare plant-type soldiers, not to mention the Mo Yun Vine.
His strength as a Self School cultivator and an Earth-Fortune School practitioner hadn't even been factored in. But there was no need to show everything.
Even though Cangyu had explained the matchmaking mechanism, Zhao Xing still chose to hold back—it was just a habit.
Besides, if this team ever needed to disband, it would be easy. If he wanted to form a new one later, he could always reassess his combat rating then.
"Cen, looks like you won't be the team leader after all," Leyao smiled. "Zhao Xing should take the lead."
"Of course, he should," Cen Qionghua laughed. "Leyao, Zhao, I'm planning to cling to your legs for support. Don't abandon me, alright? I can handle talisman arts and all the grunt work—just leave the chores to me!"
"Leyao, how about I start by massaging your shoulders and kneading your legs?"
"Get lost," Leyao scolded with a laugh.
Cen Qionghua was smart, immediately relinquishing leadership and giving control to Zhao Xing.
Truthfully, this test only measured regular combat strength.
Both Cen Qionghua and Leyao undoubtedly had hidden trump cards.
For Zhao Xing, taking them into the team wasn't a burden—after leaving the test space, he immediately set up the team and invited both of them in.
"The team is created. I set it up as a five-person squad, so we still have two more spots. Any suggestions on who to recruit?"
"We're all spellcasters, so we definitely need a martial artist," Leyao suggested. "A mechanist would also be a great choice. When we encounter formations during exploration, having a mechanist would be invaluable."
Whether it was getting trapped by formations or needing to crack them, having a mechanist cultivator was always useful.
However, Cen Qionghua had a different take. "We don't necessarily need a martial artist. I think we could drop that and recruit a Fate Officer instead."
"A Fate Officer?" Leyao chuckled. "Weak Fate Officers are useless, and strong ones are impossible to find. We'd be waiting forever for the right one."
Zhao Xing nodded. Uncommon professions, when they dared to show themselves, were often highly effective.
A Fate Officer, for instance, could predict danger, which made them highly sought-after by elite teams and military squads.
But the problem was finding one. A First Realm Fate Officer who could actually contribute? Extremely rare.
Zhao Xing said, "We can just find a Mechanist Martial Artist—that way, we get both a martial artist and a mechanist."
"Mechanist Martial Artists aren't hard to find. Given our team's average combat rating, we should be able to match with one soon."
"As for the last spot, we can keep an eye out. If we don't find the right person, we can set off with four members."
They weren't in a rush—after all, First Realm cultivators in Yueluo Mausoleum needed to stick together for survival.
Solo adventurers in the First Realm were extremely rare because it was just too dangerous.
If someone fell into a trap and a formation blocked communication, they wouldn't even be able to call for help.
Zhao Xing, Cen Qionghua, and Leyao weren't in a hurry. If they could find a suitable teammate, it would be a huge help for their Yueluo Mausoleum exploration mission.
Meanwhile, as Zhao Xing reached Tiger Head Star Continent to begin his exploration, something was happening elsewhere.
In the Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom, on Lozhi Boundary Star, inside a secret space within the planet's capital, a massive man appeared.
He was Hou Yin, a towering figure as imposing as a mountain.
On the surface, he was merely a Dao Domain Realm expert from the Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom.
In reality, he was a member of the Dongyan Ancient Clan.
Inside the independent space, Hou Yin finally shed his disguise.
Stripping away all constraints, he stepped naked into a hot spring.
His body was like it was carved from shadow stone, his skin deep purple-black, covered in strange silver patterns.
His wild silver hair flowed freely, like burning silver flames in the wind, each strand radiating sharp energy.
His eyes bore the three pupils unique to the Dongyan Clan.
As he soaked in the spiritual spring, he let out a pleased sigh, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth, like a shark's maw.
For the next month, Hou Yin remained in the spring, as if he were dead.
After a full month, he woke up, still naked, and walked towards a pyramid-like altar in the secret space.
The markings on the pyramid began to glow, and a voice echoed inside his mind.
"Yes, I understand."
"I know. But the Lord of Purple Moon Mansion has been investigating, so aside from my initial probe of Qingyu Boundary Star, I've kept a low profile for the past few centuries. I haven't done anything."
Hou Yin seemed to be receiving a reprimand.
His expression was humble as he replied, "Yes, this was my oversight. Back then, it was my people who let Qing Yuzi and his companions escape."
"Their initial assumption was that he had perished in the Barren Domain. Who would have thought that after an entire epoch, some natives would bring his corpse back?"
"Yes, rest assured," Hou Yin murmured in a low voice. "That item possesses an extremely powerful forgetting spell. Back then, Qing Yuzi and his two companions were only at the Second Stage. Even if they obtained it, they wouldn't have known what it was, nor would they remember it."
"The likelihood is minimal. If Lord of Purple Moon Mansion had acquired it, things wouldn't be as calm as they are now."
"It is highly likely that the item is still with those two native disciples or that it ended up in their hometown."
"Understood. Please give me more time. I will get to the bottom of this."
Hou Yin quickly rose from his kneeling position before the pyramid, and the glow from its inscriptions rapidly faded.
With a wave of his hand, Hou Yin commanded the pyramid to sink into the ground, then proceeded to dress himself.
"Purple Bone... Zhao Xing..." He muttered these two names, recalling all the intelligence he had gathered over the past few centuries.
"The native called Purple Bone... doesn't seem too bright."
"But this Zhao Xing, on the other hand, is extremely cautious," Hou Yin thought to himself. "Even when cultivating on Qingyu Realm Star, he rarely appeared in public spaces, making him difficult to monitor."
"He doesn't even use Boundless Flow's mechanized Dao soldiers. Whenever he leaves Qingyu Realm Star, his Star Mirror remains inactive, and he frequently changes it."
The last time Hou Yin's men confirmed Zhao Xing using his Star Mirror was over two hundred years ago, and that was still on Qingyu Realm Star.
Yet, another report claimed that Zhao Xing had already boarded Qingyu-49 and departed for the Illusory Divine Star System. Clearly, he was using a Star Mirror once and discarding it, demonstrating a high level of counter-surveillance awareness.
"A cautious individual... Looks like I need to send more people to Illusory Divine Star System to track him down," Hou Yin thought. "Having remained at the Origin Realm for over three centuries, he's undoubtedly a rare genius. A First Realm cultivator like him... sending someone at the Second Realm might still lead to failure."
"Let's send a few Third Realm experts to capture him."
Among Hou Yin's forces, there were not many Grand Divine Ability experts at the Third Realm, but he had plenty of Lesser Divine Ability experts.
"The Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom has twenty exploration bases. I'll dispatch twenty Lesser Divine Ability experts, each to one base, and bring along Second Realm cultivators for tracking."
"The Second Realm cultivators will only track and confirm his location—the Third Realm experts will handle the capture."
Hou Yin meticulously planned every detail, ensuring that every exploration base had a team assigned. With this, the likelihood of finding Zhao Xing would be significantly higher.
In the Illusory Divine Star System, on Tiger Head Star Continent, inside the twentieth star fortress, which served as a daily residence for the team...
"Dammit, there sure are a lot of idiots out there," Cen Qionghua cursed as he entered the room.
Zhao Xing, who had just finished his cultivation session, opened his eyes and smiled. "What happened? Ran into another fraud?"
"Yeah," Cen Qionghua sighed helplessly. "Can you believe it? Some guy pierces his ear, calls himself a Mechanist Martial Artist, and expects us to take him seriously."
"If that's the case, can I just grab a guqin and register as a musician?"
"I told him to leave, and he actually called me delusional, as if I was wasting his time."
"I swear, I almost punched him."
They had been waiting for a match for nearly three months, and plenty of so-called Mechanist Martial Artists had approached them. But not a single one met their standards.
The matchmaking system ensured that the applicants had decent combat power, but their actual qualifications as Mechanist Martial Artists were another story entirely.
Most of them were either mechanists who had learned a bit of martial arts or martial artists who had fused a single mechanized artifact into their body—neither of which truly fit the role.
And why were so many people pretending to be Mechanist Martial Artists?
Simple—it was profitable.
Registering as a Mechanist Martial Artist meant being eligible for the Ancient Kingdom's rare occupation subsidies, as well as tax reductions.
So, many martial artists and mechanists tried every trick in the book to obtain rare occupation certification.
Each faction had different requirements, but since Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom's government officially recognized these professions, the result was an explosion of so-called 'rare' professions.
Among them, Mechanist Martial Artists suffered the worst from this over-inflation.
"If Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom doesn't crack down on these fraudulent professions, they're doomed," Cen Qionghua grumbled angrily.
"Yeah, doomed for sure," Zhao Xing echoed lazily.
"We'll wait a little longer. If we really can't find a suitable Mechanist Martial Artist, we'll just pick two with decent combat ability and make do."
Everyone wanted a double advantage, which was why real Mechanist Martial Artists were so hard to find.
And those who actually had the skill wouldn't just join some random team. The independent ones with real talent were entirely luck-based to recruit.
Just as they were discussing, Leyao returned to their residence. The moment she entered, her eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Zhao Xing, Qionghua! I found a real Mechanist Martial Artist!"
"Oh? No way," Cen Qionghua raised a skeptical brow. The matching rights were exclusive to the team leader, and Leyao wasn't the leader—so how did she find one?
"Hah! You two just sit here waiting—you think you're gonna find a good one that way?" Leyao smirked. "Even using the name of Purple Divine Mansion, you'd be waiting forever. You have to be proactive."
"Alright, 'Miss Proactive,' how exactly did you do it?" Zhao Xing asked, intrigued.
"For the past three months, I've been checking out the talent market." Leyao said smugly. "And then I found someone—"
"Wait a second," Cen Qionghua interrupted. "There's only a commodity exchange on Tiger Head Star Continent. Where the hell is a talent market?"
"The prison." Leyao answered matter-of-factly.
Cen Qionghua: "..."
Zhao Xing: "..."
They both froze, processing what she had just said.
Then, it dawned on them—Leyao's so-called 'talent market' was none other than Tiger Head Star Continent's temporary detention center.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, both men were left speechless.
Leyao, however, remained completely unfazed. "I like reading biographies of great people. And you know what they all have in common?"
"They've all been to prison at least once."
Zhao Xing and Cen Qionghua couldn't help but laugh.
Leyao's way of thinking was truly unique, to say the least.
While other cultivators spent their free time wandering through merchant guilds, Leyao actually enjoyed visiting prisons. Living long enough really did lead to developing some strange hobbies.
"You know, when you put it that way, it actually does make sense," Zhao Xing nodded.
The founder of Treasure Mountain Technique was currently locked up in prison, so calling a jail a talent market wasn't entirely wrong.
Cen Qionghua became interested. "So, you found a good Mechanist Martial Artist? Tell us about him."
Leyao said, "This guy is a lone wanderer from a great dynasty."
"I looked into him. He was once at the Second Stage, but after an expedition, the thirteen mechanized Dao soldiers in his body were reduced to just two, and even his Fortune-infused Mechanist Bones were stripped away."
"After that, he fell from the Void Realm all the way down to the Nascent Realm, sustaining severe injuries. Because of his medical expenses, he accumulated debt that he couldn't repay and was thrown into prison."
"He's been locked up for one hundred and fifty-eight years. Since no one has come to claim him and he has no money, his cell doesn't even have spirit energy supply. I almost thought he was dead, but then he suddenly sat up, nearly scaring me half to death."
You sure don't look scared at all—Zhao Xing thought to himself. Leyao's excited expression was anything but frightened.
He finally understood why Leyao had gone there. She had treated a prison visit like a haunted house adventure.
Or maybe it was a musician's habit to look for creative inspiration in the strangest places?
"How much debt does he owe?" Cen Qionghua asked the critical question. "Bailing him out won't be easy, will it?"
"He was in the Void Realm, and treatments at that level are extremely expensive. When he was injured, the Tianmen Military Medical Corps saved his life. Back then, the cost of his treatment was around thirty billion Yuanhai coins."
"But later, they found out that this guy had no relatives, no one to claim him, and he wasn't even a citizen of Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom. So, they extracted part of his Mechanist Bones to cover some of the debt."
"Even after that, the amount still wasn't enough. But the Tianmen Military Medical Corps had no choice but to take the loss, having saved a broke nobody."
"Since this was public debt, he's now just waiting for a decision, meaning he has to stay in prison until someone claims him."
"How much debt is left now?" Zhao Xing asked.
"Around five billion," Leyao said. "But honestly, that's not as bad as it sounds. If we really wanted to buy him out, we wouldn't need to pay the full amount."
She flicked her fingers, and a series of complex numerical calculations appeared in the air. "I did the math. We can bail him out for just fifty million at the lowest price."
"The main issue is that he doesn't have a guarantor, so the paperwork is complicated. But we're members of Purple Divine Mansion, which makes things much easier."
"I'm sure the Tianmen Military Medical Corps would be glad to let him go because it would solve their problem. Otherwise, they'd be stuck with a loss on their records."
Zhao Xing nodded. That Mechanist Martial Artist was essentially an unrecoverable debt to the Tianmen Military Medical Corps.
The military had saved him, not a private individual, meaning they couldn't just force him to work off his debt—the military didn't have business operations like that.
So in the end, their only option was to find someone willing to take over his debt and sell him off like a piece of merchandise.
Clearing an unrecoverable debt at a 90% discount was something the Tianmen Military Medical Corps would likely accept.
But even fifty million wasn't a small sum. Restoring his combat power would cost even more.
Just as Zhao Xing was considering this, Cen Qionghua asked, "What's his name? Did he ever mention which great dynasty he came from?"
"He calls himself Tian Qingzi, from Pangze Dynasty. I've never heard of it. Have you?" Leyao asked.
"What did you say his name was?" Zhao Xing suddenly froze.
"Tian Qingzi, from Pangze Dynasty. Zhao, have you heard of him?" Leyao repeated.
Zhao Xing was in a daze.
This was insane. He had actually just heard the name of the ruler who later revived the Pangze Ancient Kingdom!
"If I remember correctly, this Tian Qingzi later reached the Dao Domain Realm!"
"As a Mechanist, he developed numerous powerful mechanized formations and war puppets. Even though he was only in the Dao Domain Realm, his combat power was recognized as equivalent to the Reincarnation Realm. The only thing he lacked was the ability to revive himself."
"The Pangze Dynasty, once an unknown and forgotten name, rose to prominence under his leadership and became an Ancient Kingdom!"
"And now you're telling me he was wandering through Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom, ended up this miserable, and got locked up over a mere five billion?"
Zhao Xing found this utterly unbelievable.
Was Leyao actually right? Did all great figures end up serving prison time at some point?
"She actually lucked into picking up a future Dao Domain Realm expert, and the future ruler of an Ancient Kingdom? Leyao's Fortune is off the charts," Zhao Xing thought to himself.
But he still wasn't entirely sure. After all, just because someone had the same name, it didn't mean they were the same person.
"I've never heard of him, but if you think he's worth it, we should at least take a look," Zhao Xing said.
"Alright." Without hesitation, the three of them headed straight for the Tianmen Military Medical Corps on the other side of the continent.
Inside one of the prison cells, they found Tian Qingzi, barely clinging to life.
When Zhao Xing saw the half-dead figure lying in the cold, dark cell, he struggled to associate him with the future ruler of Pangze Ancient Kingdom.
Because they had only been supplying the bare minimum to keep him alive, Tian Qingzi looked like nothing more than a pile of scrap metal, and even his life force was nearly nonexistent.
After carefully examining him for a moment, Zhao Xing finally confirmed—it really was the Tian Qingzi he had heard of!
"Leyao, you're not paying for this all by yourself. I'll cover twenty million," Zhao Xing immediately said. "The rest, you and Cen Qionghua can split."
He only had a little over twenty million, but spending it to rescue Tian Qingzi was definitely worth it!
Even without mentioning his background, Tian Qingzi's combat strength was guaranteed. After all, he had fallen from the Second Stage, and as a Mechanist Martial Artist, even if he regained just a fraction of his former power, he would still be more reliable than most.
"I have no objections," Cen Qionghua nodded. "I'll also contribute twenty million."
"Alright, I'll handle the negotiations," Leyao said.
With that, the three reached an agreement. They spent about a month processing the necessary paperwork, paid the fifty million, and successfully bought out Tian Qingzi's debt from the Tianmen Military Medical Corps.
Tian Qingzi was finally freed from that lightless prison cell.
Once he was out, Leyao personally invested another twenty million over the next month, purchasing mechanized Dao soldiers and Mechanist Bones for Tian Qingzi. With these resources, his strength was restored to mid First Stage in a short time.
His mental state also improved significantly, and he no longer carried that hazy, aimless look.
When he reappeared, he was a completely different person from the ragged figure they had found in the cell.
"Thank you," Tian Qingzi's voice was hoarse and deep. He didn't seem to be much of a talker, and even after leaving prison, he barely communicated with Zhao Xing or Cen Qionghua.
He did talk to Leyao a little more, but even then, he was terse and to the point.
"Alright, Tian Qingzi, I've already arranged a temporary identity for you. By accepting Zhao Xing's invitation, you're officially one of us now." Leyao smiled.
"Alright," Tian Qingzi nodded.
Zhao Xing immediately sent a formal invitation for him to join their team. Over the past few days, Leyao had been handling all the formalities for Tian Qingzi, including arranging his temporary Ancient Kingdom citizenship and getting his combat rating evaluated.
When Zhao Xing saw the results, he was shocked—Tian Qingzi's combat rating was an astonishing 61!
"The minimum combat strength of a Second Stage cultivator is 100, and this guy's already at 61 just after a little recovery?" Zhao Xing was delighted. "He really is the one I've heard about."
Activating his detection ability, Zhao Xing took a closer look at Tian Qingzi's details. He was only around five thousand years old, which meant he was just two thousand years older than Cen Qionghua.
"How exactly did you get injured?" Cen Qionghua asked curiously. "Even your bones were taken apart."
"I was at Flying Fish Star Continent in Moonfall Mausoleum, where I encountered a prince from the Yingyao Dynasty. He was at Minor Divine Ability Realm," Tian Qingzi said in a single sentence.
That was all it took for Zhao Xing and the others to understand. In the public star-sea exploration zones, killing others for their treasures was commonplace.
For Tian Qingzi to have survived an encounter with a Minor Divine Ability Realm prince, he was extremely lucky.
"I originally had a few companions from Pangze Dynasty, but…" Tian Qingzi's voice grew heavy. "Now, I'm the only one left."
Zhao Xing couldn't help but think back to his own experiences in the Great Xia Dynasty.
For a smaller dynasty, surviving in the early stages was incredibly difficult. In the beginning, they relied on their nation's strongest cultivators to venture out and carve a path, but if they made a single mistake, the entire expedition could be wiped out.
"Living in this cosmic battlefield is like walking on thin ice. I just hope this journey goes smoothly," Zhao Xing thought to himself. He had to become stronger as soon as possible—otherwise, when the time came to relocate, neither his family, his friends, nor the future of the Great Zhou Dynasty would have any guarantees.
With Tian Qingzi joining them, the group waited for another month, but they didn't find any other suitable teammates. Finally, they decided to stop waiting.
The four of them departed from the 20th Sky Fortress on Tiger Head Star Continent, boarding a small Voidcraft.
Using the Ring Route and special Void River channels, they were launched into space.
Countless other small Voidcrafts, just like theirs, shot through the Void Turbulence like falling stars, each heading toward different regions of Moonfall Mausoleum.
This spectacular sight was an exclusive method used by Ancient Kingdoms to explore unknown territories.
The dedicated "Void River channels" allowed them to bypass the outermost layers of Moonfall Mausoleum's protective star arrays, saving an immense amount of time.
However, how many of these starry meteors would return safely was an unknown fate. Some might come back with treasures, while others would become part of the Mausoleum's countless lost souls.
Exactly forty-five days after Zhao Xing's group was launched from Tiger Head Star Continent, an entirely different arrival took place.
"Boom—!"
On Tiger Gate Star Continent's Voidcraft Plaza, a pyramid-shaped medium-sized Voidcraft landed with a deep, resounding impact.
A tall, handsome young man with violet hair, clad in dark battle armor, stepped out of the pyramid, leading over a hundred Second Stage cultivators.
"Lord Mo'er." A cultivator among them stepped forward. He was the only Minor Divine Ability Realm expert in the group.
"Our investigation confirms that the target did indeed arrive at Tiger Head Star Continent, one of the twenty exploration bases under Ancient Yuanhai Kingdom's jurisdiction."
"Is the target still here?" Mo'er asked indifferently.
"He's no longer present," the subordinate replied. "Three months ago, he completed his combat evaluation and obtained team leader privileges. If he were still here, he'd show up in the ranking system, but right now, his status is marked as 'currently on a mission'."
"However, we couldn't access his exact exploration location due to Yuanhai Kingdom and Purple Divine Mansion's dual-layered privacy protection," the subordinate reported.
Mo'er narrowed his eyes. "A First Stage cultivator doesn't have many places he can go. The target hasn't accumulated any merits, so some zones are completely off-limits to him."
"Send the order—everyone must complete their basic exploration missions immediately to gain access to all available zones and begin the search."
"I want results within fifty years!"