Eve of Departure

"Every man hopes that one day, he'll conquer a stretch of stars."

Gu Ding couldn't remember where he had seen that sentence, much less when. But the moment he saw it, he remembered it. He didn't know what other people dreamed of, but he knew that his own dream was exactly what those words described.

The Age of Great Interstellar Navigation had begun when the civilizations of intelligent life in the Ancient Era reached a certain stage of development. That had likely been trillions of years ago, before even Dragon Soaring Universe had come into existence.

Yet even now, no one had ever traversed the entire Universe Sea. In fact, most people never left the star region where they lived in their entire lives, much less ventured beyond their own Universe Country.

Gu Ding had grown up on Hai Lan Star. The farthest place he had ever been was Mars, and that had only been during a survival simulation exercise at the military academy.

When everyone learned that Gu Ding had spent three million Star Coins to buy a Young Eagle, they were all stunned. For one thing, no one knew he had such a large amount of savings. More importantly, the only time Gu Ding had ever left Hai Lan Star before was aboard a military academy ship. He had never traveled alone.

The Young Eagle could not really be considered a proper interstellar spacecraft. Its prototype was a military short-range combat shuttle, with an interior area of only around eight square meters. It could only make short-distance voyages within a small star region. However, it was also the cheapest interstellar vehicle available, so Gu Ding had no other choice. Of course, the manufacturer was fairly considerate. Since there was little room for improvement in performance, they had focused their efforts on its appearance instead. As a result, every model in this series looked beautiful. In Gu Ding's words, it looked really cool!

After purchasing the Young Eagle and some daily necessities, Gu Ding found the time to submit his withdrawal application. In the section asking for the reason, he did not hide anything and wrote, "I have decided to pursue my dream of becoming an Interstellar Pirate."

When Gu Ding submitted the application, Principal Grant happened to have some free time. Seeing a withdrawal application suddenly pop up on his office screen, he opened it with an indifferent expression. This was a basic military academy, and those who graduated and entered an Advanced Military Academy would have bright futures. Still, over the years, he had seen plenty of students withdraw for various reasons. Moreover, those who actively submitted withdrawal applications were generally outstanding students. They might have other plans for their lives.

The student Grant remembered most clearly was one from over twenty years ago. After submitting a withdrawal application, that student had turned to business. More than twenty years later, the once-green young man had become one of the ten richest people in the Tianhe Star Region. Grant still clearly remembered what that young man had written in the reason section: "After more than two years of study, I discovered that I am not suited to becoming a Federal soldier. I also discovered that I have a certain talent for business, so I wish to withdraw and go into business."

Grant had replied to that young man with a long letter. There was no mention of the inappropriateness of withdrawing; instead, the entire letter had been encouraging. Only at the very end had he left these words:

If you are certain that something is what you truly want, then go after it. Whether the result is what you expected or not, you will gain something from it. The doors of Hai Lan Star Basic Military Academy will always be open to you!

Seeing Gu Ding's reason for withdrawing, Grant shook his head helplessly. Ever since Gu Ding gave a speech at the opening ceremony during his first year, he had vaguely had this premonition—this child would probably withdraw. In the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Grant had even been relieved that his premonition was wrong. Gu Ding had already completed his studies and would receive his graduation certificate in a few months, yet he had to stir up trouble at a time like this.

Gu Ding's withdrawal was something Grant very much did not want to see. Though the boy was only a First Order Gene Body, he had a high chance of getting into an Advanced Military Academy. After entering one, many special constitutions could gradually be developed. Grant had always been an accurate judge of character. He had always believed that Gu Ding was the kind of person who grew sharper the more he was tempered. Such a person would shine someday—perhaps even brightly enough to hurt others' eyes.

Grant had also heard a little about what happened at the Federal Court. He had originally been half-convinced and half-doubtful, but after seeing Gu Ding's withdrawal application, he somewhat believed that the incident involving the beating of the prison warden was real. He realized that this child never considered the possible consequences of anything he did. He only considered the result he wanted.

Staring at the withdrawal application, Grant pondered for a long time. He wrote and deleted the reply email, then deleted and rewrote it. In the end, he let out a long sigh and typed the words from over twenty years ago into the email once more: If you are certain that something is what you truly want, then go after it. Whether the result is what you expected or not, you will gain something from it. The doors of Hai Lan Star Basic Military Academy will always be open to you!

Gu Ding was slightly surprised upon receiving the principal's reply. He had thought Grant would lecture him and strongly demand that he stay. This reaction was unexpected, but it was also what he wanted.

Gu Ding then sent Reed and Pa Ma the news that he had withdrawn.

Although he was not very familiar with Pa Ma, she had appeared at the Federal Court to support him. That alone was enough for Gu Ding to regard her as a friend. Though she had arrived a little late, the thought behind it was enough.

"Hey, seriously? You really have the heart to abandon poor, lonely me?" Reed called Gu Ding immediately.

"Cut the crap. I invited you to join my Pirate Crew yesterday, and you were the one who refused," Gu Ding retorted. "Besides, before that, I asked you countless times whether you wanted to explore the Universe Sea with me. You refused every time."

"Of course. My dream is to become the Imperial Grand Marshal of the Federal Government!" Reed's dream was completely opposite to Gu Ding's. "If you get yourself into trouble someday, I'll personally lock you up in Federal Prison."

"If you've got the ability, then give it a try!" Gu Ding laughed.

The two chatted about this and that for a while before ending the call. Not long after, his communicator rang again. It was Pa Ma.

"The one tying up the line just now was Reed, right?" Pa Ma guessed correctly.

"Yeah, I chatted nonsense with him for a bit." Gu Ding nodded.

"Have you really decided to leave without even getting your graduation certificate?" Pa Ma still felt that Gu Ding's decision was rather hasty.

"The New Trade Route is open. I don't want to wait." Gu Ding gave two brief reasons.

Those two reasons seemed quite convincing, and Pa Ma stopped pressing the matter.

"What about the matter I brought up yesterday? Have you thought it over?" Pa Ma asked instead. After leaving the Federal Court, she had proposed that Gu Ding join the Medicine God Alliance.

"Why do you insist on me joining the Medicine God Alliance?" Gu Ding was someone who disliked being restrained, which was why he longed for the free life of an Interstellar Pirate.

"I sent my teacher the video of you refining that thing the other day. He thinks very highly of you and said you're an alchemist genius rarely seen even once in tens of thousands of years. If you don't join the Medicine God Alliance, your talent will slowly be wasted away. Neither my teacher nor I want to see that happen. As I said yesterday, the Medicine God Alliance is actually an organization without restrictions. Its main purpose is simply to give everyone a place to exchange insights and experiences in refining, helping one another improve. The Medicine God Alliance doesn't only have people from the Federal Government; quite a few famous Interstellar Pirates are members as well..." Pa Ma did not want Gu Ding to waste his talent.

"That thing you mentioned yesterday about getting discounts on potion ingredients after joining the Medicine God Alliance—you weren't just fooling me, were you?" Gu Ding suddenly asked.

"Of course it's true. The higher an alchemist's rank, the greater the discount they receive. As for alchemist rank assessments, you can take virtual assessments online. Passing one will earn you the corresponding rank. It's very convenient," Pa Ma hurriedly added.

"Then all right. I'll join." Gu Ding finally agreed.

"I'll send you the link. You only need to scan your fingerprint and iris on the login page, and your identity will be automatically bound," Pa Ma said as she sent over a link.

Gu Ding followed the instructions and completed the process, becoming a member of the Medicine God Alliance as well.

Only after confirming that Gu Ding had truly joined did Pa Ma let out a sigh of relief. Then she asked about his schedule. "When are you planning to leave?"

"I'll leave tomorrow morning as soon as the Interstellar Port opens."

"So soon?!" Pa Ma had not expected Gu Ding's schedule to be this rushed.

"If the preparations, like buying the ship, had been completed earlier, I would have left today." Gu Ding did not want to delay at all.

"I originally wanted to throw you a farewell party or something, but there won't be time now." Pa Ma smiled.

"I understand everyone's feelings. Formalities aren't important." The corners of Gu Ding's lips lifted slightly. "When you have time, come to the Rose Tavern more often and support the business. Auntie Rose will definitely be happy."

"I'll go when I have time. I wish you smooth sailing on your journey ahead."

"Thank you. I hope you become a great alchemy grandmaster soon." After exchanging blessings, the two ended the call.

"Sea Emperor, have you found a route? Where should our first destination be?" Gu Ding asked Sea Emperor as he walked toward the Rose Tavern. This would be his final workday at the Rose Tavern.

"For the first destination, I chose Fengyuan Star!" Sea Emperor's reply came quickly.