Third Division?

Leaping down from the mech, Li Qingshan met Ren Han's vacant eyes and could not help asking in confusion,

"Commander Ren, what's wrong with you?"

"I..."

Ren Han hesitated, then drew a deep breath. A thousand words condensed into one question.

"You've already completed the ninth level?"

"Of course."

Li Qingshan nodded. After thinking for a moment, he added,

"I told you before, I'd be a little faster."

"A little?!"

Ren Han's face quickly flushed red, and he did not even know where to begin complaining.

The eighth level had taken sixteen months, yet the ninth had been "practiced" to completion in only three months?

A little?

That was a billion little!

And the cultivation technique had repeatedly emphasized that the ninth level's difficulty soared, requiring one to keep calm and spend years cultivating bitterly!

Was that reasonable?

Still, seeing Li Qingshan's completely matter-of-fact expression, Ren Han could only swallow all his complaints.

His gaze fell upon Xi Na, who had put away her mech and was flying over. He could not help asking suspiciously,

"She actually let you ride her?"

"Cough, cough!"

Li Qingshan hurriedly cut him off and corrected him seriously,

"I was hitching a ride!"

Originally, he had planned to fly himself, but Xi Na had invited him again and again. It was truly hard to refuse such warm hospitality.

"Ren, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll tear your mouth apart!"

Xi Na spat angrily, but the instant her gaze landed on Li Qingshan, her smile blossomed like a flower.

"So? My skills weren't just hot air, were they?"

"Your modification skills."

Li Qingshan shuddered under her stare and shook his head helplessly.

"Commander Xina, just say what you want!"

She had not only volunteered to go all the way to Fortress 13 to guide him, but had even offered to let him "hitch a ride" on her mech. How could she possibly have no ulterior motive?

"Straightforward!"

Xi Na's eyes lit up as she quickly said,

"You still have fifty million merit points on your account. According to military regulations, you can exchange them for Azure Dragon Coins when leaving the fortress, at a ratio of one to one hundred. That's a full five billion..."

"Xi Na!"

Ren Han's eyes widened as he interrupted,

"I was wondering why you'd suddenly changed your tune. So this was what you were waiting for!"

"Don't make it sound so ugly!"

Xi Na gave an embarrassed smile, looking slightly shy as she said,

"I don't want all of it... No, that's not right, I'm not asking for it!"

"The Logistics Department is pressing me hard. I just want to borrow a few hundred million to get through this emergency."

"A few hundred million?" Ren Han's eyes widened even further.

"The Star Shard's starting bid happens to be five billion..."

"Wait!"

Li Qingshan interrupted, looking at the five billion Azure Dragon Coins that had already been exchanged on his wrist screen with a strange expression.

"Commander Ren, is the starting bid for a Star Shard really five billion?"

"That's right. Most common Star Shards cost around that much!"

Ren Han nodded and reminded him,

"Xi Na gets chased for debts by the Logistics Department every day. If you lend it to her, it might not be like throwing meat buns at a dog, but don't expect to get it back anytime soon."

"Ren, you're going too far!"

Xi Na's face flushed red, embarrassed and anxious.

"Commander Xina, do you need money badly?"

The question suddenly rang out. Xi Na's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.

"No loan."

The light in her eyes abruptly died, and her smile froze on her face.

Just then,

Clatter, clatter!

It sounded like coins raining down.

Funds received +5,000,000,000

"Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands... five billion!"

Xi Na instantly jumped up and asked excitedly,

"You lent me all five billion?"

Li Qingshan gently shook his head and said seriously,

"It isn't a loan. It's a transaction."

"Huh?!!!"

Xi Na's face reddened at a visible speed. She twisted awkwardly and said,

"It's not impossible..."

"It's a transaction concerning a Starship!!!"

Li Qingshan's face darkened as he quickly said,

"I'll give you five billion. No matter how much you profit, modify a Starship for me that is reliable enough and fast enough!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his body turned into a streak of light and shot toward the Ninth Grade Thunder Pool, billions of miles away.

Xi Na's face went from red to white, and her toes curled tightly in embarrassment.

However, when her gaze swept over the long string of numbers on the screen, she instantly glowed with health and vitality.

"Hahaha, I said long ago that skill is priceless!"

With a proud laugh, she hurried back toward the fortress.

Ren Han stood there dumbfounded for a long while, unable to come back to his senses...

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flames, storms, electromagnetism, gravity...

All kinds of high-energy plasma intertwined, forming a surging sea that constantly raised savage waves.

The Star Giant sat atop the sea, while wave after wave was forcibly pulled up and swallowed into its body like a whale devouring water.

"True Tribulation... Body Tempering!"

Solar storms, intense magnetic pulses, high-energy radiation, remnants of accretion disks...

Streams of high-energy plasma followed their respective paths, crashing against the giant's entire body.

Under the washing of real-world energy, the dharma manifestation's structure gradually began to change.

Plasma lattices reorganized, nanotube arrays grew, topological phase transitions occurred, vortex pinning effects...

Hair, skin, flesh, bones...

As time passed, the Star Giant gradually became corporeal, bit by bit.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

Realm: Dharma Manifestation 0/3

→

Realm: Dharma Manifestation 1/3

"Dharma Manifestation, corporealization!"

Li Qingshan slowly opened his eyes. Looking at the billowing waves still surging toward him, he suddenly clenched his fist.

Boom!

The waves exploded, and countless high-energy currents scattered in all directions.

"So this is corporealization?"

Li Qingshan raised his brows. Feeling the pure sense of power transmitted by his dharma manifestation, he could not determine how much his combat strength had increased.

After all, only two seventh-rank opponents had truly "exchanged blows" with him.

The Grand Elder and that weakling God Phase.

"Judging by strength alone, it should be no weaker than the Grand Elder's terrifying tentacle that could shatter a star with one strike. But the true outcome will only be known after a fight."

"As for that weakling God Phase..."

Li Qingshan shook his head and gathered his thoughts.

Since he was a weakling, there was no need to mention him again.

His body became a streak of light, instantly rushing out of the Thunder Pool's range and flying toward the three figures billions of miles away.

"Director Li!"

Kong Yang snapped his folding fan shut, his expression solemn.

"You adapted pretty quickly."

Li Qingshan shook his head with a laugh and flipped his hand, taking out his wristwatch and putting it on.

Buzz, buzz!

A message suddenly popped up on the screen.

"Employment notice?"

Li Qingshan glanced over it and raised his brows.

Unlike the previous invitation, this notice was more formal and briefly described the Reconnaissance Office's current situation.

The Reconnaissance Office had four divisions, each with one hundred and eight sections, monitoring the movements of Evil God Cultists throughout the Horn Sector.

Director Gu Feng oversaw the entire operation, while the four deputy directors each managed one division and monitored a region.

As the newly appointed deputy director, he would oversee the Third Division.

His gaze swept over the names of the section chiefs under his command.

As expected, Bao Hetong and Ni Mocuan were among them.

"The director has been thoughtful."

Li Qingshan smiled faintly and casually dialed Bao Hetong's number.

Beep~~

After a sound, the holographic screen appeared.

However, Bao Hetong was not the only one in the image. There was also a rather seductive-looking woman.

Li Qingshan frowned slightly, recognizing her identity at a glance.

Deputy Director Ye Lei, who was in charge of the Second Division.

Ye Lei did not recognize Li Qingshan, nor did she pay any attention to the screen that had appeared. She simply stared at Bao Hetong and angrily snapped,

"Bao Hetong, are you a dog? Do you have to keep biting down on the Coiling Dragon Auction House?"

Bao Hetong frowned deeply, his face full of disgust.

"Deputy Director Ye, the Coiling Dragon Auction House is on the Third Division's turf. Isn't what you're doing inappropriate?"

Ye Lei laughed in extreme anger.

"I'm a deputy director. Can't I manage you?"

"Deputy Director Ye, is it?"

A voice suddenly sounded, finally drawing Ye Lei's attention. She turned toward the screen, her face full of impatience.

"Who are you? How dare you interfere in the internal affairs of the Demon Subjugation Division?"

"Who I am isn't important."

Li Qingshan smiled faintly, leaned forward, and stared straight into the camera.

"Now, you have two choices."

"Either get out of my sight and out of the Third Division's office!"

"Or bear the consequences yourself!"

"You have three seconds!"