Kuka, My Ass

Tang Chuan lay on the sofa, breathing steadily.

Whether something had happened in his dream or his body had sensed something, his brow furrowed slightly as he turned over.

The faint indentation in the carpet paused.

Only after Tang Chuan's breathing steadied again did it continue creeping toward him.

When it reached the sofa, the transparent thing revealed its illusory form.

A monster.

From a human perspective, it was undeniably a humanoid monster.

It stood around two meters tall, its body covered from head to toe in slabs of bluish-gray muscle resembling scales.

Three pairs of differently sized diamond-shaped flesh wings grew from its back. They were not large and did not seem meant for flight. Circular protrusions were arranged across them in some pattern, flickering with bioluminescence like tungsten bulbs.

It had no human facial features. Its face looked as though it wore a living mask, with two slits at the brow and eye area extending toward the sides of its head, emitting faint, ever-changing fluorescent light as well.

A vertical eye grew on its forehead. Yet it looked like a cinnabar pattern painted on with a red brush, blending seamlessly into its forehead.

Without close inspection, one would only take it for a tattoo-like marking rather than an eye.

The Star Hunter who had thrown this planet into panic had finally revealed his true face.

The person on the sofa was his final prey!

As long as he killed this person, he would pass this trial, be formally crowned, and receive cells of the seventh sequence or above according to his score. He would complete the second stage of his devouring evolution and advance into a mid-level Star Hunter.

However, he did not seem inclined to kill the prey before him so simply.

Before the trial began, his opponent's mocking taunts still rang in his ears.

After hesitating for a moment, he made his choice. He would knock out the prey before him, return to the spaceship, and kill him before his opponent met the final requirement, inflicting despair upon that waste!

He raised his sharp, metallic hand, but before he could strike, the Star Hunter vanished in an instant and entered stealth, his entire body tensing.

"Chiliu~"

"Chiliulu~"

He released his stealth. It was only a false alarm. The Star Hunter saw the strange pet in the corner, something resembling an Octopus Tentacle, and inwardly sighed in relief.

How careless. He had not even noticed there was a pet in the room.

At that moment, Tang Chuan, still frowning, muttered dreamily, "Chiliu, shut up and go play somewhere else..."

Chiliu flopped onto the floor aggrievedly.

The Star Hunter shook his head, not thinking further. He raised his hand and chopped Tang Chuan across the neck!

Bang!

"Awooo!"

Tang Chuan, who had been sleeping soundly, felt a sharp pain. Instinctively clutching his neck, he sprang up from the sofa!

The Star Hunter was stunned when he saw him leap three or four meters high.

Without hesitation, the round bulbs on his flesh wings lit up, and he lunged at Tang Chuan while he was unsteady upon landing!

Tang Chuan only saw a blur before his eyes, but his body reacted instinctively. He twisted aside, narrowly avoiding the Star Hunter's heart-ripping claw.

As their bodies crossed, he finally got a clear look at the alien creature's appearance.

Realizing what was happening, Tang Chuan drove a knee into the Star Hunter and sent him flying. He then raised his leg high and stomped the Star Hunter beneath his foot!

Boom!

The ground cracked as force swept outward.

"Trying to sneak-attack me? You're done for!"

The Star Hunter, dazed from being stomped into the ground, said in shock, "Kuka?!"

"Kuka, my ass! Die!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As he spoke, he raised his foot and stomped wildly on the Star Hunter's face!

Crack...

The Star Hunter's steel-like cheek split apart beneath Tang Chuan's stomps, while the bioluminescence from his three pairs of flesh wings flickered erratically.

He tried to rise and fight back, but Tang Chuan grabbed him and pounded him with a flurry of punches. Then he tore off the largest pair of his flesh wings by force, splashing pale blue blood like milk across the floor.

"Kuka! Impossible... who are you?!" the Star Hunter cried in shock, vomiting blood.

"Why do you care who I am? That hit hurt like hell." Tang Chuan rubbed his neck and tilted his head.

With a wave of his hand, he controlled the Fantasy Weapon, turning it into rings of iron that bound the struggling Star Hunter to the ground.

Tang Chuan summoned Quintessa and said, "That's not how this works. I told you not to warn me if there was no danger, but someone literally came knocking to beat me up, and you still didn't warn me."

After saying that, he picked Chiliu up from the ground and flicked his forehead twice, saying irritably, "And you! You saw someone attacking me, so why didn't you warn me?"

"Chiliu..."

Chiliu was deeply aggrieved. I did warn you!

You were the one who told me to shut up!

Quintessa apologized, "I'm sorry, Master. I acted on my own judgment. A Star Hunter who has only undergone the first stage of evolution poses no threat to you whatsoever. After receiving the authority you granted me, I wanted to use this opportunity to help you adapt to some of the rules of the Main Universe. Please forgive me."

Tang Chuan said helplessly, "You're all troublemakers. Make sure you warn me next time, even if there's no danger!"

Seeing that her master was not blaming her, Quintessa nodded sweetly. "Understood!"

Tang Chuan tossed Chiliu aside before properly examining the Star Hunter. "Your design is pretty cool, but why don't you have any knightly spirit? Sneak attacks? Aren't you guys supposed to care most about a hunter's honor?"

The bound Star Hunter struggled into a sitting position and said solemnly, "You are an opponent worthy of my respect. Let me duel you once more! Kuka!"

Tang Chuan knocked on his head, producing a metallic bonk bonk sound, and said, "Forget begging for mercy—you want me to let you go and fight you again? Do I look like... some idiot Kuka to you?"

Just like with the Heckarian language, once the Star Hunter began speaking, Tang Chuan instantly understood his language.

As for the word "Kuka," it had many meanings in Star Hunter civilization.

It was roughly similar to expressions on Azure Star such as "yeah," "holy shit," or "this guy." Different tones conveyed different meanings, and it could be used in many places in their language.

The Star Hunter had never expected to stumble over his final prey, while his opponent's taunts still echoed in his ears.

As though he had made some sort of decision, he said, "Please let me leave. I... I am willing to pay a great price!"

Before Tang Chuan could respond, Quintessa suddenly said, "Master, something has happened over at Kubana. Send him to a barren planet in the Origin Universe for now. We can decide how to deal with him afterward."

Tang Chuan did not hesitate. He directly connected to the Divine Transformation Device and, under the Star Hunter's shocked gaze, sent him to a barren planet in the Origin Universe. He also tossed the torn flesh wing onto his face and released the Fantasy Weapon shackles.

On the vast barren planet, cosmic particles shone through the incomplete atmosphere onto the Star Hunter.

Leaving him in profound confusion.

Have I... been exiled?