1V9
Kass rose to the Five-Star Low-rank God a little over a month ago, after which she challenged Bristol was originally ranked fourth among the top 1 regulars. That battle was indeed the most difficult battle of her life, but she still won the final victory and replaced Bristol as a regular member of the top 1.
The rise of Kass also caused significant changes in the top 1 rankings, as she replaced someone, meaning one of the original nine members would inevitably be dethroned. Therefore, those ranked fifth through ninth began a new round of challenges. In addition, several other potential top 1 contenders, like Kass, had also made preparations and joined the challenge during this period of chaos. This left the top 1 rankings in disarray for over ten days.
The final lineup was somewhat unexpected, with three of the original top-ranked members being replaced by newcomers, including Kass. Bristol, who lost to Kass, dropped from number 4 to number 6 after failing to challenge number 5 before finally succeeding in challenging number 6. Numbers 7 and 9 were replaced by two newcomers, while Number 8 took on no fewer than ten challenges, narrowly securing his position. This resulted in the original members number 6, 7, and 9 becoming substitutes.
Kass's current Combat Strength is comparable to a five-star Mid-rank God, possessing the ability to fight across an entire major tier. However, she knows that even so, she is still no match for the top three. On the other hand, knowing that her opponent this time is the Gu Ding Team, she feels a strange unease. She encountered the Gu Ding Team in the Oul Ruins, and she knows how strong they were a few months ago. Subconsciously, she has a persistent thought that the members of the Gu Ding Team should be stronger than her after these past few months. She doesn't know where this feeling comes from.
However, since the mission had already been assigned, Kass still hoped to complete it well. The spaceship slowly landed on Norman Star. She shook her head to clear her mind of these distracting thoughts and followed her team off the spaceship.
"That Reed guy, he has the face of a smug little devil. Just because he climbed up to Marshal Balin's big tree, he really thinks he's something special, acting all high and mighty all day long!"
"Exactly! And that attitude he had when he spoke to us! You know our Top Organization is the strongest institution in the military. He's just a nobody who barely reached demigod status a few days ago. Doesn't he even know his own limitations? I could crush him with one hand!"
Listening to Lato and Boke, who were ranked second and third in the top 1, chattering away, Kass put two earphones into his ears and pressed the music playback button on his Smart Watch.
"Boss, if the Gu Ding Team isn't on this planet, how about we file a joint complaint against Reed when we get back? We can say he deliberately let his good friend go and gave us the wrong interception position." Lato was the boy who had argued with Reed earlier.
"I advise you not to provoke Reed," Biggins, who held the top spot in the top 1 rankings, finally spoke. "While I don't like that guy either, judging from the current situation, the Marshal seems to be grooming him as a strategist. If he does become a strategist, unless one of us can take the Marshal's position, none of us will have more authority than him. So, there's a high probability that he will become our superior. Besides, he's currently the most favored person by the Marshal of Balin's side. Even if he really lets Gu Ding go and we report him, the Marshal will at most give him a verbal reprimand for such a minor matter. To completely bring him down, he would have to commit a serious mistake that causes huge losses to the Federal Government."
"Are we just going to let it go like this?" Boke seemed somewhat unwilling. "That kid said to our faces that Gu Ding's ragtag team was better than us."
"So, we need to find a way to capture all of Gu Ding's ragtag army, and send them all to prison in front of that kid, one by one, to slap him in the face!" Biggins wasn't a reckless man; he knew he couldn't afford to mess with Reed right now, and that if he wanted to vent his anger, he could only target Gu Ding Team.
The nine people walked a short distance from the port and saw the Titan Warship not far away.
"This should be Gu Ding's spaceship, right?" Biggins immediately projected the image for comparison; it was exactly the same. "Gu Ding and the others really are on this planet!"
Meanwhile, at the tavern entrance, Dokter and Sea Emperor had finished examining Miko's eyes.
"It's strange. I can't find anything wrong with his eyes." Dokter frowned and pulled everyone except Miko aside. While his medical skills weren't top-notch, they were still first-rate. Except for a few rare and difficult cases, he could treat most illnesses without using his abilities. But after examining him, he found nothing wrong with Miko's eyes.
"Many other doctors have said the same thing," Mi Xue nodded. "Some even said his blindness was feigned, or caused by a mental illness. But neither of those explanations is plausible; he's always been blind. He was probably no more than three days old when he was dumped in my tavern..."
"I haven't been able to find anything wrong with his eyes either," Sea Emperor whispered in Gu Ding's ear. "I suspect it's not a physical illness at all, but rather a genetic issue. When you have time, please draw some blood for me so I can do a genetic analysis."
The Thorn Bird Tavern was located on the street next to the port. The entire Gu Ding Team stood not far from the entrance; anyone with a discerning eye could easily spot them. Therefore, the top 1 group could see Gu Ding and his team just a few steps after spotting the Titan Warship.
The first person to spot Gu Ding Team was Kass. She listened to music and looked around; her first impression of the planet when she disembarked was quite positive. Because she was looking around, she saw Gu Ding standing a few hundred meters away in front of a tavern.
After removing the earplugs from his ears, Kass telepathically Way of Sound the other members of Top 1, "Two o'clock!"
Hearing Kass suddenly shout like that, everyone looked over with some suspicion, only to see Gu Ding Team swaggering in less than 500 meters away from their group.
"Surround them and cut off all their escape routes!" Biggins immediately gave the order.
In a flash, the nine people appeared next to Gu Ding Team, forming a circle around them.
Gu Ding looked up at everyone with some surprise, and after seeing the Kass, he knew who it was.
The reason why Sea Emperor didn't give a heads-up beforehand was because he felt it was unnecessary; the top 1 group and the members of Gu Ding Team were not on the same level at all.
Mi Xue was naturally unwilling to have trouble caused at her doorstep. She frowned and said, "Who are you people? How dare you make a move on Norman Star?!"
"This is a top-level Federal Government operation. Anyone not affiliated with the Gu Ding Team, please leave immediately and do not obstruct our capture of the Gu Ding Team. Otherwise, you will be arrested for Obstructing Official Business Crime!" Biggins pulled out his badge.
The others at the tavern entrance immediately dispersed. Mi Xue glanced at Gu Ding and prepared to pull Miko away.
Unexpectedly, Miko firmly shook her head, "I'm not leaving, I'm a member of the Gu Ding Pirate Crew!"
"It's alright, we'll protect him." Gu Ding nodded to Mi Xue.
Mi Xue reluctantly stepped aside. She had originally planned to take Miko into the tavern to hide, but now that Miko was here, she wasn't entirely at ease. Standing aside, she could intervene if Miko were in danger.
Gu Ding glanced at Biggins, who had taken out his badge, before turning to look at Kass. "It's only been a few months, and you've already become a regular member of the top team. You've improved a lot."
Gu Ding's attempt to strike up a conversation in this setting made Kass slightly embarrassed, and she didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Biggins was furious that the other party had completely ignored him. He waved his hand and shouted, "Attack! Kill or die!"
Just as the nine people lunged out, they saw nine Silver Radiance flash across the void, forcing all nine of them back.
Everyone looked on in surprise at this scene.
Dokter stepped forward and stood beside Gu Ding. Those nine Silver Radiance were his throwing knives. He said confidently, "Captain, leave this one to me!"
"Hmm." Gu Ding nodded, without saying anything more.
Many onlookers were stunned. In the Universe Sea, even a three-year-old knew what the Top Organization was—it was the strongest organization established solely by the military. The most basic requirement to enter the Federal Government's Top Organization was to be a prodigy, a P1, whose actual Combat Strength exceeded their cultivation level by three minor ranks. As the name suggests, it was a concentration camp for Low-rank God prodigies in the Cosmic Universe Sea. And as everyone had just heard, the nine Top1 members before them were the nine regular members of Top1, the nine strongest among them. This also meant that these nine were practically the nine strongest individuals in the Universe Sea at the Low-rank God cultivation level.
But with such a formidable enemy standing before them, only one member of the Gu Ding Team stepped forward, saying that he would take on the battle. His meaning was clear: he wanted to take on nine opponents at once!
Many people thought they were hearing things and had misheard. There were quite a few Low-rank God present, and even some Mid-rank God, who could clearly see that Dokter's cultivation level was only demigod. A demigod challenging the regular members of the top 1 team, and doing it one against nine at that—had this world gone mad?!
Biggins and his group were also stunned. It was obvious that the Gu Ding Team was looking down on them. Sending only one person to fight, while boasting that they could take on nine people at once, was simply intolerable.
"Kill them all!" The initial surprise of the top 1 group quickly turned into rage after they realized what was happening.