Encirclement!

The Resource Trading Center stood in Green Flame Star's core district, a colossal building over a thousand meters tall. Its entire structure was made of energy crystals, glittering beneath the starlight.

Qian Yu stepped through the trading center's doors.

In an instant, he sensed at least a hundred gazes falling upon him simultaneously.

Qian Yu's expression remained unchanged as he walked straight toward the trading counter.

"Hello, what business would you like to handle?"

The receptionist behind the counter was a young human woman with a sweet smile and a gentle voice.

But Qian Yu noticed that her pupils contracted slightly the instant he approached.

She recognized him.

Qian Yu merely said indifferently, "I want to sell a batch of supplies."

"Certainly. Please follow me."

The receptionist rose and led Qian Yu toward a private lounge nearby.

Inside the lounge, a mechanical intelligence receptionist began scanning the supplies Qian Yu had brought out.

"Please wait. Appraisal in progress."

Qian Yu nodded, leaned back on the sofa, and closed his eyes to rest.

He did not need to look to know what was happening outside.

Those watching him had probably already begun moving. Some would have quietly slipped away to spread the word, while others would be gathering companions and preparing to make a move.

Some might have even set up an ambush outside the planet, waiting for him to leave.

But he did not care. Fighting was forbidden on Green Flame Star. No matter how crazy they were, they would not dare act here.

Half an hour later.

"Appraisal complete."

The mechanical intelligence spoke.

"Total: 32.3 billion Ganwu Coins. Do you confirm the transaction?"

Qian Yu opened his eyes.

32.3 billion Ganwu Coins. The figure was somewhat higher than he had expected.

"Confirmed."

The transaction was completed, and the funds were transferred directly into Qian Yu's Cosmic Star River Bank account.

Qian Yu stood up and listed another string of items.

"Five hundred cubic meters of Cosmic Energy Crystals, three hundred portions of Star Core Essence, two hundred Fire Source Crystals, ten top-tier energy storage devices, one set of C-Class Battle Armor, one C-Class Battle Blade..."

These were all cultivation resources he had planned to purchase long ago.

The mechanical intelligence processed the request swiftly. "Total: 30.2 billion Ganwu Coins. Stock is sufficient. Would you like to withdraw them immediately?"

"Withdraw them."

Another half hour passed, and Qian Yu's spatial ring held another batch of cultivation resources.

Three years of savings, spent in a single day.

Yet Qian Yu did not feel the slightest regret.

Money was meant to be spent. Only by turning it into strength could he earn even more money.

He rose and flexed his wrist.

"Let's go."

The moment he stepped out of the trading center, Qian Yu stopped.

Starlight poured down over him, casting a long shadow across the ground.

The streets remained crowded, prosperous, and bustling.

But in Qian Yu's perception, a faint killing intent permeated the air around him.

The gazes concealed within the crowd grew ever more heated, while the figures hiding in the shadows were already eager to make their move.

"Heh."

He walked forward, neither hurried nor slow, heading toward the spaceport.

He soon arrived at the spaceport.

Green Flame Star's spaceport covered an enormous area, with thousands of berths packed tightly together as ships of all sizes rose and landed.

Qian Yu walked up to his spacecraft and waved a hand.

A flash of light passed, and the entire spacecraft was stored within his spatial ring.

Quite a few people nearby saw this, their expressions varying.

Why had he put away his spacecraft? What was he planning? Without a spacecraft, he could not enter the Dark Universe. Wouldn't walking into their net mean certain death?

Qian Yu ignored everyone's stares.

He raised his head and looked toward the sky once more.

The next second.

Boom!!!

The ground beneath his feet suddenly exploded, countless fragments of stone scattering in every direction.

His body shot skyward like a bolt of black lightning!

His speed was astonishingly fast!

So fast that the onlookers did not even have time to cry out before the figure vanished into the horizon!

"He broke out of the planet? He's insane!!"

"Once he leaves the planet's range, we can attack him! Kill!!"

Boom!!!

A visible shockwave burst behind him, a sonic boom produced by breaking the sound barrier.

Then came a second, a third... Within mere seconds, he had surpassed dozens of times the speed of sound, charging into space like a reverse meteor with a long blazing trail behind him!

On the ground, countless people stared upward at the scene in stunned disbelief.

"Th-that was... someone flying straight out?!"

"Without a spacecraft?! He just charged out with his physical body?!"

"Madman! He's completely mad!"

Green Flame Star's defense system abruptly activated at that moment. According to planetary law, any unauthorized departure from the port using one's physical body would be considered an invasion!

Dozens of close-defense cannons rotated at once, their muzzles aiming at the soaring figure.

But before those cannons could lock on, the figure had already pierced through the atmosphere and entered space.

The close-defense system's intelligence program hesitated for one second. The target had left the planet's range. Should it pursue?

During that single second of hesitation, the figure had already disappeared into the depths of the boundless starry sky.

In the starry space outside Green Flame Star.

Qian Yu stopped and hovered silently in the vacuum.

Behind him, Green Flame Star hung quietly in the universe like an enormous green gemstone.

Before him stretched the vast, endless starry sky, dotted with stars, profound and mysterious.

But at this moment, dozens of warships were closing in from all directions.

These warships varied in size and model.

They emerged from surrounding asteroid belts, from the planet's shadow, and from prearranged ambush points. Like sharks scenting blood, they encircled Qian Yu completely.

Qian Yu swept the area with his spiritual sense.

"Twenty-three ships... Heh, they really think highly of me."

He floated in the vacuum, his black clothes fluttering beneath the starlight. There was no wind in the vacuum, but the invisible force field formed by the energy emanating from his body made them billow.

After surrounding him, the warships did not attack immediately.

A communication request came through.

"Qian Yu!"

On the communication screen, a burly man with a face full of flesh grinned broadly.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time! The Five Trillion Bounty is mine today!"

Qian Yu glanced at him without saying a word.

That gaze was too calm, so calm that it made the bald man feel a little uneasy.

But he quickly suppressed that unease. He had twenty-three warships here and hundreds of main cannons. Why should he fear a single Cosmic Level warrior?

"Open fire!"

At his command.

Twenty-three warships and over a hundred main cannons fired at once!

Blazing energy beams tore through space, weaving into a net of death that descended upon Qian Yu!

Then!

"Freeze."

Qian Yu spoke softly.

Sound could not travel through the vacuum, but an invisible ripple spread out in an instant!

Space-Time Control—full activation!

Boom!!!

Centered on Qian Yu, the space within several hundred kilometers instantly froze!

Those hundred-plus energy beams stopped dead in the starry sky.

Their tips still burned with dazzling light, but their rear ends had lost their continuing supply. They stood neatly frozen against the dark backdrop of space, like a strange painting.

Some beams were already less than ten meters from Qian Yu, yet they could not advance another inch.

The warships were likewise frozen in place.