A Show of Force
On the Ju Fu Star, powerful figures from all walks of life gathered.
The bounty on Gu Ding and his group wasn't actually high; in fact, the combined bounty for the entire team was less than that of some individual Interstellar Pirate. However, Gu Ding Team had recently gained considerable notoriety in the Fei Me Universe Country, leading many small merchants to recognize them immediately.
Although some powerful figures within the Great Boundary River had heard of Gu Ding's name and the story of his rise to fame, they didn't pay him much attention. They knew that even the strongest guardian of the Fei Me Universe Country was merely Low-rank God, and even Five-Star Low-rank God wasn't considered a formidable existence within the Great Boundary River. The guardian of the Great Boundary River, however, was a general from the Federal Government Headquarters — Five-Star High-rank God.
There are a total of three thousand five-star Universe Country directly connected to the Universe Sea within the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. Therefore, there are also a total of three thousand Great Boundary River between the five-star Universe Country and the Universe Sea. Each of these three thousand Great Boundary River is guarded by a general from the Federal Government Headquarters. This is to prevent Alien Race from flowing back into the Universe Country through the Great Boundary River and destroying the foundation of humanity.
Therefore, the Federal Government's resources are terrifying. If the garrison commander were to actually take action, I doubt any of the Interstellar Pirate in the Great Boundary River would be able to enter the Universe Sea.
Gu Ding and the others have been in a relaxed state for the past few days. They had spent every day cultivating and fighting, and their cultivation levels had reached a bottleneck, so they might as well relax and adjust their mindset.
While Gu Ding Team thought this way, other teams might not, and many were secretly keeping an eye on Gu Ding and his group. After all, Gu Ding and the others weren't very powerful; the highest-ranking among them was Robert. Outsiders couldn't determine Robert's exact level, but it wasn't difficult to deduce that he was Low-rank God. The others weren't even at the Demigod Realm, which was obvious at a glance. This was because demigods all had the aura of divine source leaking out. The reason Gu Ding cultivated divine source without leaking it was because he was still a flesh-and-blood life form. If he were an energy body, the aura of divine source would uncontrollably dissipate from the energy-transformed parts.
Another reason is their immense fame. Even street vendors recognize them, which annoys many long-established Interstellar Pirate, causing them some envy. What bothers them most is that, despite their bounties exceeding those of Gu Ding, why do these people recognize Gu Ding but not them, and why do so many recognize members of other Pirate Crew besides Gu Ding?
These seasoned veterans knew that the current situation on Ju Fu Star wasn't suitable for taking action. The Federal Government issued the ban on action because there were too many powerful individuals, making it easy for any action to have far-reaching consequences. Action was prohibited, but sparring wasn't forbidden. Therefore, they exploited this loophole. They felt that controlling Gu Ding Team wouldn't be difficult.
Gu Ding stopped in front of a stall, his gaze falling on a metal sphere. He noticed it because the sphere resembled Robert's previous state. He immediately reached out, picked it up, and examined it closely.
Sea Emperor's voice quickly followed, "This is just an ordinary metal ball bearing, used on spaceships. If it were Mechanical Race item, Robert would have sensed it long ago. I've also done a quick scan, and there's nothing good on these stalls today. You've already been browsing for two days, and you've already found five or six items that others have overlooked. It'll be a bit difficult to find any more bargains today."
Gu Ding was listening to the Sea Emperor speak, so he held the metal ball in his hand for a little longer.
Just then, a Sharp-Mouthed Youth walked over, pointed at the metal ball in Gu Ding's hand, and asked, "Boss, how much is this? I'll take it."
Gu Ding looked up at him, then put down the metal ball and left the stall.
Seeing Gu Ding leave, a look of annoyance flashed across the young man's face. "Boss, I don't want it anymore." He continued to follow behind Gu Ding.
"Gu Ding, that person didn't buy anything and just followed us. He's probably here to cause trouble." The Sea Emperor reacted immediately.
"I know," Gu Ding already knew without the Sea Emperor's prompting; he'd seen the mocking expression in the man's eyes. Clearly, he was deliberately trying to buy what Guding wanted and cause him trouble. Knowing the man's intentions, Gu Ding grinned slightly and walked towards the Luxury Goods Decoration Shop.
Upon entering the store, he found the most expensive emerald in the display case, Universe Crystal worth two million units—comparable to Gu Ding's bounty. Noticing the man had followed him into the store, Gu Ding said to the clerk, "Could I take a look at that emerald?"
"Yes, sir." The waiter took out the sealed emerald and handed it to Gu Ding.
These luxury items are sealed by powerful beings using special methods, and even High-rank God cannot unlock them.
While pretending to admire the emerald in his hand, Gu Ding waited for the boy from before to come closer. Just as Gu Ding had expected, the boy also came closer, saying, "This emerald is quite nice."
"Wrap it up for me," Gu Ding said directly to the waiter, handing back the emerald in his hand.
"Wait!" The young man quickly stopped Gu Ding when he saw that Gu Ding was about to buy it.
"What? You've got your eye on this one too?" Gu Ding's expression was slightly annoyed.
"I'm sorry, but I really love this emerald. My friend, please bear with this." The Sharp-Mouthed Youth spoke politely, but his eyes still held a hint of provocation.
"Since that's the case, then I'll let you have it. I'll look at the others." Gu Ding waved his hand generously, but he didn't leave. Instead, he stood aside and looked at the Sharp-Mouthed Youth.
"Why are you staring at me like that?" The Sharp-Mouthed Youth felt a little guilty under the gaze.
"If you're not going to pay, then I'll pay first," Gu Ding said, then waved to the waiter, "Wrap it up."
"Wait, who said I wasn't going to pay? You said you'd give it to me, how can you go back on your word?" The Sharp-Mouthed Youth quickly stopped Gu Ding and turned to the waiter, asking, "How much is this gem?"
"Two million Universe Crystal." The waiter naturally quoted the price truthfully.
"What?! Two million?!" He originally thought that the price of this kind of thing would be at most tens of thousands of Universe Crystal, but he did not expect it to be such an astronomical price.
"If you can't afford it, then stay out of it," Gu Ding sneered from the side. "Waitress, ignore him and wrap this up for me!"
The Sharp-Mouthed Youth, however, had a second thought. Gu Ding certainly wouldn't spend two million Universe Crystal on a useless luxury item; this green jade must have something special about it for Gu Ding to be willing to spend the money. If that were the case, he could buy it first and then study it slowly. "Who says I can't afford it? Waiter, wrap it up for me!"
Seeing Gu Ding's angry expression, he felt even more certain that his decision was correct.
The waiter quickly wrapped up the gemstone, Sharp-Mouthed Youth paid for it triumphantly, then waved the wrapped stone in front of Gu Ding a couple of times.
"Congratulations!" Gu Ding finally grinned.
Seeing Gu Ding's eerie smile, the Sharp-Mouthed Youth sensed something was wrong. He then examined the gem, which had already been unsealed, and the result nearly made him vomit blood. Pointing at Gu Ding, he said, "You tricked me! This gem is just a mere ornament!"
"You brought this on yourself. Nobody forced you to buy the decorations. I didn't do anything," Gu Ding said, spreading his hands.
"You think I won't dare touch you just because the Federal Government issued a ban?" The Sharp-Mouthed Youth finally revealed his ferocious true colors.
"I can give it a try." Gu Ding was not afraid at all. The other party was only a Five-Star Low-rank God, whose Combat Strength was comparable to a seven-star god, but was still much weaker than himself.
"I'll teach you a lesson today, and show you how high the sky can go." The sharp-mouthed man reached out to grab Gu Ding. In his view, Gu Ding was merely Thirteenth-Order Gene Body, whose strongest Combat Strength was comparable to Five-Star Low-rank God, so he must have used some special amplification technique. As long as he acted fast enough that the other party couldn't react, capturing Gu Ding should be a piece of cake.
Gu Ding didn't even flinch, leading many observers to believe he was stunned. Unexpectedly, Gu Ding a hand, and a burst of azure flames erupted, engulfing the sharp-beaked man in moments. The man's grasp crumbled, and covered in flames, he let out a piercing scream.
The intensity of Gu Ding's Devouring Flame and Destruction Flame is unrelated to his cultivation level; it depends solely on the density of his Gu Ding source. The denser the divine source within Gu Ding, the greater the power and the wider the coverage of his flames. Furthermore, the intensity of divine source can be quantified and calculated based on source points. Gu Ding 177,147 source points. Even a genius like Queen, after advancing to a mid-level One-Star Mid-rank God, only reaches 129,600 source points, nearly a third less than Gu Ding. Therefore, Gu Ding's flames are powerful enough to harm most One-Star Mid-rank God, let alone the Five-Star Low-rank God before him.
Seeing the Sharp-Mouthed Youth rolling on the ground, screaming in agony, those who had been secretly watching Gu Ding knew that Gu Ding was no pushover. From beginning to end, Gu Ding had only raised his hand and unleashed a single flame. That azure flame was the Destruction Flame, inflicting extreme pain on those struck, which explained the Sharp-Mouthed Youth's agonizing screams. And in less than half a minute, his divine body had already developed numerous cracks, and he was on the verge of exploding and dying at any moment.
Just then, a teenager suddenly appeared next to the Sharp-Mouthed Youth. "Gu Ding, give our Freedom Alliance some face. Don't cause any bloodshed. Just teach him a lesson."
Seeing the Freedom Alliance intervene, Gu Ding refrained from further action. With a flick of his finger, the flames automatically retreated back into his body. The Sharp-Mouthed Youth, his divine body already teetering on the brink of collapse, didn't care about anything else. He glared hatefully at Gu Ding and fled at top speed. (To be continued...)