Seven Stars!

Within Martial Dao Space, on a Circular Platform ten kilometers in diameter, nearly a hundred alien beasts stood blankly with their eyes closed.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the center of the beast horde.

All the alien beasts opened their eyes at once, revealing blood-red pupils as their breathing gradually grew heavier.

Li Qingshan turned to look at the ten-meter-tall mother ape and the little one at her feet, smiling faintly.

"You mother and son have finally been reunited."

Roar!

The Crimson Horn Fire Ape threw back its head and roared. As if a signal had been sent, every alien beast charged forward.

Li Qingshan's smile vanished as he drew his blade.

Clang!

Gales howled, thunder boomed, and alien beasts roared.

A rain of blood filled the sky like a curtain, while severed limbs flew through the air to clear the stage.

The giant fire ape's muscles bulged all over its body, fury blazing in its eyes as it struggled desperately within the storm that stretched from heaven to earth.

Ten minutes later, the storm gradually subsided, and the giant ape fell onto its back.

Li Qingshan descended from the sky, his expression unchanged.

Within the space, physical exertion could be ignored, making battle far easier than it had been in the Star Realm.

The giant ape's corpse vanished. At the distant edge of the platform, a ten-meter-tall statue slowly emerged.

Beside it stood a little one less than a meter tall.

"Don't worry. Sooner or later, I'll reunite your whole family."

Li Qingshan withdrew his gaze and looked up at the ceiling of the sky.

Gray mist still shrouded it, concealing the stars that filled the heavens.

Ever since the space had upgraded, this starry sky had remained like this without any change.

Before, he could only watch it, with no way to study it.

But now... he could fly!

He stomped hard with his right foot, shooting into the air. His feet stepped on empty space as though it were solid ground, and his body rose continuously.

More than ten minutes passed.

Li Qingshan's feet did not stop moving, but his brows gradually furrowed.

If this had been Ziying Star, he should have reached the atmosphere by now.

Yet the starry sky above remained impossibly distant. He did not even feel that the distance had shortened.

Suddenly, his gaze shifted, and his figure abruptly vanished.

Inside a factory building at the lunar base.

Li Qingshan opened his eyes and drew his blade.

His figure disappeared, blade shadows flashing in rapid succession.

Ferocious beasts poured out from the World Gate one after another. Before they could even roar, they were shredded into fragments.

Kill monster, Martial Dao Space experience +1, available time increased by 1 year

Kill monster, Martial Dao Space experience +3, available time increased by 3 years

Kill monster, Martial Dao Space experience +5, available time increased by 5 years

More than a dozen notifications flashed across the panel in succession before the World Gate fell silent again.

Li Qingshan sheathed his blade and sat cross-legged once more, closing his eyes.

Robots deployed and began clearing the ground.

Not far away, Guan Xiao stared wide-eyed and silently lowered the palm cannon.

She looked at Li Qingshan's calm face as he once again entered a state of cultivation.

As if she had realized something, she too closed her eyes to meditate and temper her spiritual power.

Time passed, and the moon completed one orbit around Ziying Star.

Buzz!

His wrist trembled slightly. Li Qingshan opened his eyes and looked at his Communicator.

The delivery spacecraft from the points marketplace had arrived.

After standing and putting on his spacesuit, Li Qingshan carried his blade out of the factory.

This time, there was no delivery person. A miniature unmanned spacecraft was quietly docked by the ruins.

After Li Qingshan took the two boxes, the spacecraft swiftly rose into the air and departed.

Buzz!

The Communicator vibrated again, and a communication request popped up.

Zhao Hongzhou

Li Qingshan raised his brows and tapped the screen, bringing up a projected display.

In the image, Zhao Hongzhou, Yu Lei, and Hong Qian were squeezed together.

"Brother Shan, why didn't you participate in the Final Battle yesterday? How did Zhou Yunze take first place?"

"Yeah, we checked the Final Battle rankings. Neither you nor Mou Yu were listed. Did something happen?"

"You don't know this, but Teacher Lü from Wuyi even made a huge show of promoting it before the Final Battle. When the rankings came out yesterday, his face turned green with rage!"

Faced with their barrage of concern, Li Qingshan shook his head and laughed.

"Don't worry, it's nothing. The Final Battle rules changed. Mou Yu and I didn't participate, and we were directly admitted to Ziying Academy.

Zhou Yunze's situation is special. Letting him have his moment in the spotlight counts as bringing glory to Old Continent."

"Huh? You're already at Ziying Academy?"

"Can you show us what Ziying Academy looks like?"

All three pairs of eyes brimmed with curiosity. Li Qingshan smiled faintly.

"I'm not at the academy. Just look up, and you'll be able to see me."

"Look up?"

Li Qingshan's smile deepened. He moved a few steps and changed his angle.

Ziying Star, floating amid the stars, appeared behind him.

"Holy shit!!!"

"Alright, I need to cultivate now. We'll talk again when I have time."

The image closed. Feeling thoroughly refreshed, Li Qingshan returned to the factory.

Just as he sat down, another message popped up on his Communicator.

Ziying Academy Enrollment Notice

The contents were not complicated. It simply introduced some basic information and reminded students to report for enrollment immediately.

All students had been granted access to the intranet and could log in to look up relevant information.

Li Qingshan moved his finger and opened the academy intranet.

The first thing that caught his eye was the academy's origins.

Ziying Academy had been founded five thousand years ago, appearing at almost the same time as New Continent. Its purpose had been to suppress the newly emerged first-rank World Gate.

That was right. When the World Gate at the center of New Continent had first appeared, it had only been first-rank.

Five thousand years of changing times could not be explained in just a few words, and the information on the page was likewise very general.

Li Qingshan skimmed through it and looked at the academy introduction.

Ziying Academy admitted only one thousand students per cohort.

Undergraduates graduated after ten years, while graduate students had to pass their mentor's assessment before graduating.

The academy was divided into the Martial Dao Third Academy, as well as a mech class.

After entering the academy, aside from normal Martial Dao cultivation, there were also Martial Dao theory classes, alien beast physiology classes, Star Realm geography classes, starry sky exploration classes, and more.

The academy had a task board, with difficulties ranging from high to low. Students could accept tasks according to their own circumstances.

"Martial Dao Third Academy, Dean Ye?"

Li Qingshan thought for a moment. He first chose to join the Martial Dao Third Academy, then tapped into the task interface.

The various tasks were marked with stars to indicate difficulty. One- and two-star tasks were mostly conducted on planetary surfaces, with low difficulty and short durations.

He even saw a two-star task to garrison the moon. It showed that the task had already been accepted and was currently underway.

Clearly, Guan Xiao had not lied before.

Three- and four-star tasks came in two types. One was aimed at martial artists and required entering the Star Realm to carry them out.

The other seemed designed for the mech class, including an option to garrison the Old Continent Patrol Bureau.

Beyond that, there were also advanced tasks above five stars specifically designed for the mech class.

Exterminate star-grade pirates!

"The galaxy really is boundless!"

Li Qingshan took a quick look, then opened the academy forum.

Posts refreshed quickly on the forum, most of them discussing the battle within the lunar Star Realm and the tragic deaths of Han Hui and the other two.

Li Qingshan had been casually scanning them, but when he saw six words appearing with alarming frequency, his face immediately darkened.

His finger tapped the × in the upper-right corner, and he closed his eyes to resume cultivation.

In the boundless galaxy, a thousand light-years from Ziying Star.

A giant planet floated in the void, silently orbiting between two stars.

Red Rainbow Main Star!

The planet's surface was a dazzling spectacle.

Technology and primordial wilderness intertwined.

Flying cars came and went, skyscrapers pierced the clouds, and dreamlike cities were completely enveloped in light and shadow.

There were also mountains and lakes of clear waters and lush scenery, filled with an ancient, primordial atmosphere.

The headquarters of Spirit Ape Martial Hall stood atop the peak of a cliff ten thousand meters high.

At this moment, several figures wore solemn expressions within an antique hall.

"Tianlei has confirmed the news. Li Qingshan truly is a True Dragon Chosen."

"What a pity. If only we could bring him into our ranks..."

"Forget it! Black Serpent has already tried. We can't offer better terms!"

"That's right. Besides, this time we allied with Purple Crane. Let's proceed according to the original plan and contact Martial Dao Great Star!"

"Among the Martial Dao Seven Stars, there are over twenty martial halls in total. Which one do we choose?"

"Since we're selling information, naturally we sell it to the biggest one!"

"You mean... Polar Star Martial Hall? But they aren't lacking prodigies, and their Young Hall Master was chosen thirty years ago. If Li Qingshan goes there..."

"We're only selling information. As long as Polar Star can pay the price, the rest has nothing to do with us!"