The silver-gray spaceship, which had been traveling through the cosmos for half a month, finally broke through the endless storm clouds and slowly descended onto the surface of Thunderstorm Star.
Not long after, in a luxuriously decorated castle hall, Qi Yuan finally met the "master" who had purchased him.
The person before him was a young man dressed in an elaborate robe. He had a slightly chubby face and looked similar to a human from Earth, aside from the dark red, half-foot-long horn growing from his forehead. His figure and appearance resembled that of an ordinary human.
However, this "master" was not particularly powerful, with cultivation around the planetary level, 8th stage.
It was the four black-armored guards standing behind him that caught Qi Yuan's attention. Each of them exuded a deep, oppressive aura, making Qi Yuan feel an enormous amount of pressure.
Qi Yuan didn't dare to look at the young man for too long. After a quick glance, he immediately lowered his head and bowed in respect.
"Qi Yuan, reporting to my master."
"Oh? Your name is Qi Yuan?"
The young man, sitting on the throne, froze for a moment when he heard the name, and muttered in a peculiar tone, "Damn, this name sounds just like that old guy!"
Qi Yuan, noticing the sudden change in the young man's expression, thought he might have made a mistake and felt uneasy in his heart.
Thankfully, in the next second, the young man's expression returned to normal.
The young master sized Qi Yuan up and gave a somewhat exaggerated smile, nodding his head.
"Haha, I heard you're from a planet's indigenous population? No guidance, no resources, and relying on a broken cultivation method, you've managed to reach the Stellar level. Looks like you have some talent after all."
On the way to this hall, Qi Yuan had already been equipped with an auxiliary light brain on his arm, which helped him easily understand the language of these "outsiders" thanks to its translation function.
Hearing this, he immediately responded respectfully, "Thank you for your praise, Master."
"Mm."
The young man gave a casual grunt in his nose and then pointed to a withered, middle-aged man in a black robe, his face covered with fine scales, standing next to him.
"From now on, you'll be assigned to my personal guard team. Later, follow Old Wu. He'll give you the exclusive battle armor and cultivation techniques for the personal guard."
"Battle armor? Cultivation techniques? And you're offering this too?"
Qi Yuan was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had been worried about not having a complete cultivation method, but now it seemed like help had arrived just when he needed it most!
This young "master" was quite considerate. He had immediately solved Qi Yuan's biggest problem!
"Thank you for your generous gift, Master!" Qi Yuan immediately expressed his gratitude.
"Haha, don't worry. From now on, as long as you're with me, secret techniques and resources will never be lacking!"
The young master gave a proud smile. "I like subordinates with potential. Even slaves, as long as they have talent, I won't skimp on resources to train them!"
"Of course, besides being part of my personal guard, you'll have another important task."
The young master's tone changed. "When you're not cultivating, you need to manage your people and make sure they help me mine Thunder Crystals. As long as the output satisfies me, you'll be well rewarded."
"If any of your people break through to the Stellar level, they can also join the personal guard and receive the same treatment as the others."
"Master, rest assured, we will swear to serve you faithfully!"
Qi Yuan gave an insincere show of loyalty.
"Mm." The young master nodded in satisfaction. "Go ahead, let Old Wu handle the rest."
"Oh, by the way, remember my name. I am Hugo Ortega!"
Outside the hall, after Qi Yuan followed the personal guard captain named "Old Wu," they boarded a small disc-shaped spaceship.
Old Wu was a thin, skeletal figure with greyish-blue skin, resembling a vicious demon from a novel.
However, since they were both slaves, his attitude toward Qi Yuan was quite decent.
"Your people have been assigned to Mining Site 5. I'll take you there to see the situation and make arrangements for your people."
Old Wu activated the spaceship as he spoke. "Normally, the personal guards don't have too many tasks. In the future, you can stay at Mining Site 5 or come back to the castle to cultivate, as long as you can respond to the Master's summons when needed."
"Understood."
Qi Yuan nodded, secretly feeling happy.
Not having to stay under the watchful eyes of the young master at the castle made many things much easier.
On the way to Thunderstorm Star, he had been anxious about where he would be taken, wondering if he would be tossed into a dangerous battlefield as cannon fodder for some power struggle.
Given the current situation, it seemed he didn't have to worry about safety for now.
As they spoke, the spaceship shot up into the sky.
The moment they left the castle's range, purple lightning crackled outside the window, and violent winds far stronger than level twelve whipped up large amounts of debris, slamming them against the ship's hull.
"This is the environment on Thunderstorm Star. You'll get used to it," Old Wu said with a laugh, handing Qi Yuan a silver ring.
"This is a small space ring. You can activate it with your mental energy. According to the rules, the personal guards are entitled to receive a C2-level alloy battle suit, a second-tier force weapon, and some cultivation materials. All of these are in this ring. As for the exclusive cultivation techniques for the personal guard, I've already sent them to your auxiliary light brain. You can check them out when you get back."
"Space ring? Thank you, Master. Thank you, Old Wu!"
Qi Yuan joyfully accepted the space ring.
He hadn't expected the master of Thunderstorm Star to be so generous to his subordinates, preparing not only cultivation techniques but also battle armor, weapons, and resources.
Suddenly, as if an idea had occurred to him, he eagerly asked Old Wu:
"Old Wu, can the cultivation techniques granted by the master only be used by me, or can they be taught to my people?"
"No."
Old Wu directly refused. "The cultivation techniques given to personal guards by the master are exchanged with vast resources and can be cultivated up to the peak of the Cosmic level. They also come with accompanying battle secret techniques. They cannot be passed on easily."
"Okay, I understand."
Qi Yuan replied with some disappointment.
He had hoped that through the system's functions, he could return a more advanced cultivation technique, but now it seemed that wasn't possible.
As for secretly passing it on... that was out of the question.
His people were controlled by bio-chips, and in their minds, their loyalty to their master was absolute.
Even if Qi Yuan was the "Ancestor of Lei Yuan," if he ever went against the master's interests, he would be immediately exposed and discarded.
"It seems staying here is not a long-term solution. Otherwise, my development will be restricted at every turn."
Qi Yuan felt a bit restless. "No, once things are settled, I must use the system's return function to quickly increase my strength and then find an opportunity to escape."
"You don't need to be upset," Old Wu said, seeing Qi Yuan lost in thought. He thought Qi Yuan was worried about his people's fate and smiled reassuringly.
"Don't worry. While the exclusive techniques for the personal guard can't be passed on, I have plenty of planet-level cultivation techniques here. I'll send you a few sets later."
"Ah?"
Qi Yuan quickly snapped out of his thoughts, pretending to show gratitude.
"In that case, thank you very much, Old Wu!"
The spaceship they were on traveled at incredible speed, covering thousands of kilometers in an instant.
Soon, the spaceship landed at the bottom of a deep canyon that was tens of kilometers long but only about a hundred meters wide.
The natural terrain shielded the area from lightning and violent winds.
On both sides of the canyon's walls, Qi Yuan could see numerous black caves of various sizes leading into the stone.
"Mining Site 5 is a newly opened Thunder Crystal mine. For now, only your people have been assigned here."
"The master's requirement is that at least 3 million tons of Thunder Crystals must be mined here each year."
"Be aware, the Thunder Crystal veins contain extremely strong electrical energy. Even ordinary planetary-level beings can't handle prolonged exposure. Your people may be able to bear more, but they still need to take care of themselves."
"It's best if they enter in batches, taking breaks at intervals to avoid overworking and eventually delaying the master's tasks."
"I've sent the other details to your auxiliary light brain. You can always contact me if needed."
Old Wu quickly showed Qi Yuan around some of the main mining tunnels and gave a few more instructions before leaving in the spaceship.
Only then did Qi Yuan finally relax a little.
"Whoo~ That first test is finally over. Fortunately, I wasn't thrown into some life-or-death situation right away!"
Looking at the spaceship that had disappeared into the canyon, Qi Yuan's eyes gradually began to shine with a strange light.
"Now that the immediate danger is over, it's time to test the system's return function!"