The Descent of Blood-Red

After finishing this, the mysterious light and shadow of the Divine Spirit Avatar returned directly to the ship. As runes flowed across his body, he entered a state of deep meditation.

For an edge-sector planet with such barren energy and a potential projection result of low-level, he was unwilling to spare even the slightest bit of extra attention.

If the Civilization Advancement Assessment were not a designated mission from the Human Race Supreme Council, he would never have set foot in this desolate region.

Therefore, the tedious tasks of monitoring the entire assessment process, collecting data, and conducting preliminary evaluations were casually tossed to the ship's main Intelligent Life and the Civilization Guardian of the Spirit Race.

"Understood, Master. Monitoring data has been synchronized and shared with the Civilization Guardian."

The silver-white Intelligent Light Sphere responded faithfully. Data streams accelerated across its surface as invisible detection beams covered the Blue Star below like a vast, inescapable net.

Aurelia, who had been left on the sidelines, watched this scene quietly. Only after the assessment officially began and she confirmed that the Divine Spirit had returned to his vehicle with no further instructions did she bow deeply to the ship once more.

"Aurelia takes her leave. If Your Excellency has any commands, I will exhaust every effort to fulfill them, even at the cost of my life!"

Having said this, she dared not disturb him further and returned to her ship, enveloped in a stream of light.

As the heavy airlock closed silently behind her, sealing off the pressure emanating from a higher life form, the nerves Aurelia had stretched to their limit suddenly relaxed.

She could no longer hold herself up; her legs went weak, and her body slid down the cold, smooth inner wall of the Star Boat, her back pressing heavily against the cool metal.

Aurelia buried her forehead deep between her knees, curling up in the corner of the corridor. The nobility and elegance she had maintained since she could remember vanished in that instant.

Her slender shoulders trembled uncontrollably. This was not from crying, but an instinctive shudder after her soul had endured immense pressure.

The rise and fall of her family, her only hope, all hung upon this slim chance.

This burden was so heavy it made her feel as if she could barely breathe.

The soft energy glow within the corridor silently enveloped her figure, reflecting a vulnerability never seen before.

But this did not last long.

After only a few breaths, Aurelia lifted her head abruptly!

Though the light of the diamond-shaped crystal on her forehead remained restrained, it became steady and resolute once more.

She took a breath of the ship's air, which carried the unique, woody fragrance of the Spirit Race, as if trying to exhale the remaining fear and weakness from her body.

The cool air surged into her lungs like a shot of adrenaline, causing her rapid heartbeat to gradually calm down.

Aurelia braced her hands against the cold metal wall behind her and used the leverage to stand up steadily.

The folds of her star-mist gown flowed like water with her movement, instantly returning to a smooth and elegant drape.

Except for a faint, almost imperceptible redness at the corners of her eyes, the loss of composure from moments ago seemed as if it had never happened.

She took a step toward the main control room at the heart of the ship, her mind racing at high speed.

Indifferent... but he didn't make things difficult for me, and he even tossed the trivial tasks my way... Perhaps he is one of those neutral factions who only care about cultivation... and such people often value results above all else.

This judgment allowed her tense nerves to relax a fraction, and a faint sense of relief welled up within her.

As long as there was no hostility, there was still a chance!

She dared not covet the favor of a Divine Spirit; she only sought to silently perform her duties without any errors.

If, when the assessment concluded successfully, this Xuchen was in a decent mood, she might... she might be able to muster the greatest courage of her life and, with the humblest posture, beg for a low-level contact mark for the Virtual Network.

Even if this mark were never used—and she would never dare to use it—the mere fact that it could be "accidentally" leaked would be enough to make hostile families wary.

After all, they would have no way of judging her true relationship with Xuchen.

By the time they went through the trouble of verifying it, who knew how much time would be wasted, and whether they could even find out was uncertain. This was the sliver of breathing room in the darkness!

Before long, Aurelia arrived at the main console and gave her orders in a focused voice.

"Xingyu, fully receive the data chain shared by Xuchen's ship intelligence. Perform real-time analysis and notify me the moment there is any development."

"Understood, Master."

A virtual sprite appeared out of thin air, flew a circle around Aurelia, and then merged into the main console.

After finishing her work immediately, Aurelia, who felt a secret sense of relief, walked slowly to the massive viewing window at the bow of the ship. She first offered a respectful salute to the Divine Spirit's vessel outside, then cast her gaze downward.

She stared at the tiny, azure planet below, a complex expression appearing on her delicate face.

For five thousand years, the resilience and will of the Blue Star people had made even her take notice, but unfortunately, they were too obsessed with endless internal strife.

Greed, suspicion, ambition... the wars that had turned a brilliant civilization into scorched earth time and again were shocking to her.

Although she would have no further contact with this Blue Star civilization—which was located in a remote region of the human territory and almost certainly destined for a low-level rating—after this assessment ended, she had, after all, silently guarded them for thousands of years. To say she had no feelings at all would be a lie.

She couldn't help but recall her grandmother's parting instructions.

If you fail to secure the backing of a Divine Spirit, do not return. Stay within the human territory, strive to break through to the Star Domain level, and carry on the family legacy...

A sense of shared misfortune flashed through Aurelia's heart. She gazed at the planet she had guarded for five thousand years and sighed inwardly.

"I hope... we can both grasp a glimmer of light in this desperate darkness..."

At this moment, on Blue Star, in Xia Country, Helu City.

Lin Yi was fully focused, as if immersed in his own "performance." His gaze occasionally swept over the wall clock: 12:09:01... 12:09:02... 12:09:06...

Hum--!!!

An invisible, intangible, yet unimaginably vast and terrifying will swept across the entire Blue Star in an instant, like the roar of the universe at the moment of creation.

There was no sound, yet it felt as if billions of stars were exploding simultaneously deep within the soul!

There was no light or shadow, yet the entire Banquet Hall was plunged into a suffocating "gray-white" in a split second!

At this moment, even time itself seemed to be completely frozen.

All the guests at the banquet—those raising glasses, picking up food, chatting, or walking—had their movements instantly solidified.

The postures of children chasing and playing were locked in place, the figures of waiters carrying trays stood still, and even the trajectory of the rotating chandelier came to a halt.

The entire Blue Star, in this instant, fell into a stillness that made souls tremble.

Only the mind of Lin Yi continued to function.

His Star Vortex level Soul Origin surged violently in a stress response, but he locked it down tightly with his willpower, ensuring his body remained as "stiff" in place as everyone else's.

A tenth of a second later, the pressure dissipated, and the world seemed to reboot.

Color returned, and sound flooded back in.

"Uh... wh-what just happened?"

"I... I think my eyes played tricks on me?"

"My head is spinning..."

After a brief silence, a greater sense of bewilderment and uneasy commotion erupted; the guests looked at each other in suspicion and fear, while children, frightened by the eerie sensation, hid in their parents' arms.

Uncle Zhou Jianjun stood up abruptly, his brows locked in a frown, his eyes sharp as a hawk's as he scanned outside the window.

The intuition of a retired soldier made him catch the scent of an extremely dangerous Aura.

As for Lin Yi, he deliberately delayed for a few seconds before turning his head, locking his target through the street-facing window toward the direction of the newsstand diagonally across the way.