Blood Descends

After finishing all of this, the Divine Spirit Avatar's mysterious, luminous figure returned directly to the spacecraft. As runes flowed around him, he entered a deep state of meditation.

For a marginal planet with such scant energy and such low potential according to the projections, he was unwilling to spare even the slightest extra attention.

If the Civilization Advancement Assessment hadn't been an assigned task from the Human Race Supreme Council, he wouldn't have set foot in this desolate region at all.

So he casually passed the tedious tasks of monitoring the assessment, collecting data, and making a preliminary evaluation to the spacecraft's central Intelligent Life and the Spirit Race's Civilization Guardian.

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

The silvery-white Intelligent Light Sphere responded faithfully. Data streams raced across its surface as invisible probing beams spread over Blue Star like a vast net.

Aurelia watched in silence from the sidelines. Only after the assessment officially began, and she had confirmed that the Divine Spirit had returned to his vessel and had no further instructions, did she bow deeply toward the spacecraft once more:

"Aurelia will take her leave, Your Majesty. Should you have any orders, I will do everything in my power, even at the cost of my life!"

With that, she didn't dare disturb him any further and returned to her spacecraft, wrapped in a stream of light.

As the heavy hatch closed silently behind her, sealing off the pressure that came from a higher level of life, Aurelia's taut nerves abruptly relaxed.

She could no longer hold herself up. Her legs gave way, and she slid down the cool, smooth inner wall of the Star Boat, her back landing heavily against the chilly metal.

Aurelia buried her forehead between her knees and curled up in the corner of the corridor. The nobility and grace she had maintained ever since she could remember vanished in an instant.

Her slender shoulders trembled uncontrollably. She wasn't crying; it was an instinctive shudder from the immense pressure bearing down on the depths of her soul.

Her family's rise and fall, their one remaining hope—all of it rested on this slim chance.

The burden was so heavy she could hardly breathe.

The corridor's soft energy glow silently enveloped her, revealing a vulnerability she had never shown before.

But it didn't last long.

Just a few breaths later, Aurelia suddenly lifted her head!

The light of the diamond-shaped crystal on her forehead remained subdued, but had once again grown steady and resolute.

She greedily drew in a breath of air scented with the distinctive fragrance of Spirit Race herbs and trees, as if trying to exhale every last trace of fear and weakness.

The cool air filled her lungs like a shot of adrenaline, gradually calming her racing heart.

Aurelia braced both hands against the cold metal wall behind her and pushed herself steadily to her feet.

The folds of her misty gown rippled like water as she moved, then settled back into their graceful drape.

Apart from a faint flush lingering at the corners of her eyes, so slight it was almost impossible to notice, it was as if her lapse had never happened.

She set off toward the spacecraft's central control room, her mind racing as she walked.

Cold... but he hasn't made things difficult for me, and he's left the trivial matters to me... Perhaps he belongs to a neutral faction that only cares about cultivation... People like that often care more about results.

That judgment eased her taut nerves a little, and a faint sense of relief rose within her.

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

She didn't dare hope for the Divine Spirit's favor. She only wanted to quietly fulfill her duties without making any mistakes.

If the assessment ended smoothly and His Majesty Xuchen was in a good mood, perhaps... perhaps she could summon the greatest courage of her life and humbly beg him to leave her a Virtual Network Contact Mark with the lowest possible permissions.

Even if the mark were never used—and she would never dare to activate it—as long as it "accidentally" got out, that alone would be enough to make the hostile families wary.

After all, they wouldn't be able to tell what her relationship with His Majesty Xuchen was.

It would take them who knew how long to make inquiries, and they might not even find out. That would be her brief chance to catch her breath in the darkness!

Before long, Aurelia reached the main console and gave a quiet command.

"Xingyu, fully receive and analyze in real time the data stream shared by His Majesty Xuchen's spacecraft intelligence. Notify me immediately if anything happens."

"Of course, Master."

A tiny virtual sprite appeared out of nowhere, circled Aurelia once, then darted into the main console.

Only after completing the immediate task and privately breathing a sigh of relief did Aurelia slowly walk to the enormous observation window at the bow. She first turned her gaze to the Divine Spirit's spacecraft outside in a respectful salute, then looked down below.

She gazed at the tiny blue planet beneath her, a complicated expression crossing her delicate face.

For five thousand years, the resilience and determination of Blue Star's people had impressed her. Sadly, they were even more consumed by endless internal strife.

Greed, suspicion, ambition... The wars that had repeatedly reduced a brilliant civilization to scorched earth had been horrifying to witness.

After this assessment, she would no longer have any dealings with the Blue Star Civilization, situated in a remote part of Human Race territory and almost certain to receive a low-level evaluation. But she had silently protected Blue Star Civilization for thousands of years; it would be a lie to say she felt nothing for it.

She couldn't help recalling her grandmother's parting words.

If you can't get under the protection of a Divine Spirit, don't come back. Stay in Human Race territory, strive to reach the Star Domain level, and carry on the family line...

A flicker of shared sorrow passed through Aurelia's heart. She gazed at the planet she had protected for five thousand years and silently sighed.

I hope... we can both seize that glimmer of light in the darkness of despair...

Meanwhile, on Blue Star, in Helu City, Xia Country.

Lin Yi was completely focused, seemingly immersed in his own "performance." Every now and then, his gaze flicked toward the wall clock: 12:09:01... 12:09:02... 12:09:06...

Bzzzz—!!!

An intangible yet vast and terrifying will, beyond description, swept across all of Blue Star in an instant, like the roar of the universe at its birth.

There was no sound, yet it felt as if billions of stars had exploded simultaneously in the depths of every soul!

There was no light, yet in that instant the entire Banquet Hall seemed to sink into a suffocating "gray-white"!

In that moment, even time seemed to freeze completely.

Every guest raising a glass, reaching for food, chatting, or walking around the banquet hall froze in place.

The children were frozen mid-chase, the servers stood still with their trays, and even the revolving chandeliers' paths came to a halt.

For that instant, all of Blue Star fell into a stillness that made souls tremble.

Only Lin Yi's thoughts were still moving.

His Star Vortex level Soul Origin surged violently on instinct, but he held it firmly in check with sheer willpower. As a result, his body was just as "frozen" in place as everyone else's.

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

Color returned, and sound flooded back in.

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

"I... I think I blinked or something?"

"My head's spinning..."

After a brief silence came even greater confusion and unrest. The guests looked at one another, full of uncertainty, while the children, frightened by the bizarre sensation, hid in the adults' arms.

Zhou Jianjun shot to his feet, brows knitted and eyes sharp as an eagle's, instantly scanning outside the window.

A veteran's instincts told him he had just sensed something extremely dangerous.

Lin Yi, meanwhile, deliberately waited a few seconds before turning his head as well. Through the window facing the street, he fixed his gaze on the direction of the newsstand diagonally across from them.