Ise Xin was nominally at the fifth tier of the Sky Ladder, already an elite capable of standing on his own in the Central Star Region. His true level should have been rated two tiers higher. He considered himself solidly at rank six, with a shot at rank five within the team. But any further upgrade in rating could expose his family's Forbidden Bloodline. Besides, for an Information Broker, raising his combat rating might instead cause a certain degree of trouble for his clients, so he was content with the status quo.
He held considerable influence within this "Exploration Team," not only because he supplied intelligence, but also because over the past several decades, he had done plenty of dirty work for the Xi Clan Consortium. He was one of Xi Fu's most reliable Black Gloves. Xi Fu had even promised that if this deal succeeded, the team under Ise Xin's name would enter the Xi Clan Consortium's Wing Sequence and receive a higher share of the profits.
This was also an excellent path for someone from the wilds to clean up their name and come ashore.
Ise Xin valued this opportunity greatly—at the very least, he had to make Xi Fu believe that he did.
Gu Qiao neither knew nor cared about Ise Xin's thoughts. They only needed to find a "new target."
The two made their way to the training area, where several dozen people had already occupied nearly all the Liquid Spheres that supported Virtual Reality. Gu Qiao had saved one for Ise Xin and arranged it directly. "Warm up first. Log in and select the Sky Abyss Furnace template... the patched version, matched to the Post-Empire Era as closely as possible."
"Sure." Ise Xin cooperated readily.
Life during hyperspace travel was unbearably dull.
Cultivation was impossible