Playing It Safe

Within the Eternal Kingdom, in a colossal city of steel, streams of light crisscrossed everywhere, while cold metallic gleams flashed beneath the sunlight.

Amid the skyscrapers and skyways stood an ancient-looking courtyard.

At that moment, several middle-aged men stood in the courtyard's main hall, their faces dark as they watched molten metal fall from the sky. Pain showed on their faces.

"A warship crafted by Elder Ming was destroyed, and my daughter is dead..." A pale middle-aged man clutched his chest and muttered in a trembling voice.

His only daughter had gone out to train, only to be killed. She had been killed right above their heads, yet that person had never shown himself from beginning to end.

How he hated this!

"I said back then that this old man should accompany them, but you insisted on stopping me, saying they needed to venture out on their own. Well, look what happened now!" A white-haired elder pointed at the middle-aged man and berated him furiously.

However, someone calm said, "Someone who could kill them in one strike and destroy a Saint-grade Battleship in another is no ordinary figure. Just how did they offend that person?"

"Someone who can destroy a Saint-grade Battleship in one strike must be a powerful Saint, perhaps even a Saint King."

The people in the hall discussed among themselves. Their Luo Family had finally produced such a gifted daughter of heaven, only for her to die in the Starry Sky. What a bitter irony.

"What do we do now?" someone asked, looking at the Luo Family Patriarch.

The Luo Family Patriarch was a middle-aged man who appeared easygoing, gentle, and refined. He wore his neatly trimmed hair short and was dressed in a fitted mechanical combat suit, his eyes closed in thought.

"I want revenge for my daughter." Vice-Patriarch Luo spoke with a vicious expression, tears still streaking his face. His daughter had been the little girl.

He truly could not understand how anyone could bring themselves to kill such an adorable daughter.

Anyone with even a shred of humanity would not kill a beautiful girl, much less one who looked like a little girl barely in her teens.

"What will you use for revenge? Your Severing Dao cultivation?" At that moment, the Luo Family Patriarch opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Vice-Patriarch Luo felt utterly stifled. His beloved daughter was dead, yet there was nothing he could do.

"When the warship was destroyed, it sent back a set of data," the Luo Family Patriarch said calmly.

He took out a silver cube, a unique item of theirs that could contact people even a star domain away. The silver cube was as thin as a paper wing, like a sheet of paper resting on his palm.

With a light touch, blue screens sprang out from the silver cube, densely covered in text.

The hall immediately fell silent as everyone watched the Luo Family Patriarch operate it.

After about a minute, the Luo Family Patriarch revealed a look of astonishment. "How is that possible? How could a Half-Saint shatter a Saint-grade Battleship in a single strike?"

At that moment, one of the screens projected from the silver cube displayed a portrait. It showed a white-haired young man with peerless looks, who appeared approachable rather than fierce.

Name: ???

Strength: Half-Saint.

Physique: ???

Estimated combat power: Easily handled.

On the other side of the portrait was a video. In the video—

The white-haired young man stood in the dark universe and casually waved his hand, creating a white barrier before him that blocked the blue warship's Saint-grade attack.

Then they saw the white-haired young man suddenly appear before the blue warship and punch it. The warship trembled violently before finally cracking apart.

The Saint-grade laws were casually shattered by him.

In the end, the white-haired man did not kill the three women. Instead, he had them lead him to the Eternal Star Domain.

After they arrived, the image suddenly shook. A white streak tore through countless meteorites with unstoppable force, and the three women's heads fell at once.

The footage ended there.

No one in the hall dared to speak. They barely even dared to breathe.

"So strong," Elder Ming could not help murmuring. Even with his cultivation as a Saint, he could feel the power of that slash.

Seeing this, Vice-Patriarch Luo's pupils contracted. His head spun, and he collapsed to the ground, pointing at Xu Changqing's portrait with his mouth open, yet unable to utter a word.

After recovering from his shock, the Luo Family Patriarch calmly analyzed the situation. "We cannot take revenge."

"With the strength of this white-haired man, he may well be the disciple of some great figure. Though he comes from another Starry Sky, a Half-Saint capable of destroying Saint-grade laws in one strike is certainly no simple person. Perhaps his protector is secretly following behind him."

"Our family has only four or five Saints. According to Ancient History, great emperors in their youth could accomplish the feat of a Half-Saint slaying a Saint, and could even enter the legendary Divine Prohibition."

"Even if we find him, we may not be able to kill him."

"He must possess many life-saving items. If we fail to kill him, we will be in serious trouble. Our entire family might even be wiped out."

The Luo Family Patriarch knew his own limits. He would not throw away his life just because they had lost face. He was not that kind of person, nor would he let momentary fury cloud his judgment.

"So we are just going to let this go?" Vice-Patriarch Luo could not help asking. He hated it—hated that he was not powerful enough, hated that he had been too confident.

He had thought that with a Saint-grade Battleship, they could travel safely through the Starry Sky.

"What else can we do? Your daughter provoked him. If you want revenge, go yourself. Do not drag the entire Luo Family into it," the Luo Family Patriarch said helplessly.

"He should possess a special physique. We can spread the news that an outsider with a special physique has arrived in the Eternal Kingdom and let those powerful families avenge us," someone suggested softly.

"Fool!" the Luo Family Patriarch roared, his face flushing red with anger.

At present, only their family knew that Xu Changqing had arrived in the Eternal Star Domain. Who else knew?

"Once the news is released, that person will definitely suspect the Luo Family. Then, before everyone can react, he may begin slaughtering people outright. The Luo Family cannot bear such losses."

"Would someone capable of crossing the Starry Sky alone as a Half-Saint and shattering a Saint-grade Battleship in one strike be an ordinary figure?"

"Use your pig brains and think! Why would he dare kill members of our family right above our heads?!"

The Luo Family Patriarch shouted furiously. His once refined face had become incomparably grim. He truly felt exhausted by this family.

The Luo Family members were all depressed and fell silent. There was nothing they could do; the patriarch was the strongest among them.

Someone had come to their territory and caused trouble, yet they had to pretend they knew nothing.

They simply could not endure it.

"No one is to spread today's news. Also, lock up Vice-Patriarch Luo and release him only after that young man leaves."

"Remember, greed is permissible, but anything you cannot swallow must be spat out. Otherwise, you will pay a tremendous price."

"How many young powerhouses heading for the Ancient Road have those families captured over the years? How many Divine Bodies have they captured? Have some of those families not still been wiped out?"

"Think about it yourselves."

After giving his orders, the Luo Family Patriarch left.

If Xu Changqing had been here, he would have had to give the Luo Family Patriarch a thumbs-up. As expected of the head of a family, he had considered everything so thoroughly.

He had not considered any benefits at all; he had thought through every possible disadvantage.

After glancing at the powerful figures present, the Luo Family Patriarch sighed and left. He knew that his words might not have much effect.

Greed makes people pay a price. I should quickly take some children to settle down in another star domain.

He was not cowardly. He was merely playing it safe.

He knew exactly what the people of this star domain were like. After observing them for centuries, he had long known that powerful families secretly captured Divine Bodies crossing the Starry Sky, imprisoned them, and drained their blood.

But he also knew that several years ago, someone had tried to capture a person with a special physique. They had failed and instead been exterminated.

Although there had only been one such case, he did not want his family to become the second family to be exterminated.