Reinforcements

"Now that was satisfying! Hahaha!"

Thor looked refreshed. Seeing the defeated opponent under Hong's control, he stretched comfortably.

"Big brother, now that I've gotten started on the higher-level laws, how about we see who's faster from now on?"

"Let's do it. Like I'd be afraid of you!" Hong had been expecting the challenge and grinned.

"But this isn't over yet. That man just now was Lu Xiu. I learned from his soul that there's a Domain Lord Level 1 named Sha Pu on the way, along with ten Universe Levels!"

"Domain Lord Level 1!" Thor's eyes lit up. "That's just another dish on the table! When will they get here?"

"About half a month, though they might arrive sooner. But let's be clear: I'll handle this one. You should focus on consolidating your strength."

"Uh..."

Thor looked speechlessly at Hong. Only when he felt his big brother's gaze growing more and more dangerous did he dejectedly rub his smooth head.

"I know, I know. Why is there only one coming? I'd just gotten warmed up, and now I'm out of opponents again!"

The two women came over after dealing with their opponents. Hong nodded and said:

"I noticed just now that I'd made them understand not to upload any footage. We still have plenty of time, so we can take care of a lot of things."

Hong left the matter of the natives to Yao Rao and had Jiang Fang contact the company to start tracking the movements of Krachi and the others.

"After this, they'll either launch a fierce counterattack through the Fire Phoenix Organization, or focus on testing us. We need to prepare for the worst.

"Yao Rao, explain things to the locals. Ideally, arrange for some of the more talented ones to get away. In the end, they can only rely on themselves!"

"Understood..." Yao Rao had just agreed when she suddenly stuck out her tongue and bashfully added, "Got it, big brother!"

A few days later, above the palace, Hong and Thor sat cross-legged on Purple Cloud, watching the transport ship disappear. Thor couldn't help but sigh.

"Seeing them reminds me of us back then. We were full of nervous excitement, too. Good thing we had Third Brother and Fourth Brother!"

"When you're poor, you look after yourself; when you're prosperous, you help the world. Haven't we done the same? We've already planted the seeds of hope. Now it's up to them to make their own luck!"

In the Dark Universe, a triangular D9 Spaceship sped forward at full throttle. Sha Pu stood alone in the main hall, recalling his conversation with his boss.

Several days had passed, yet no news had come from Purple Mist Planet. Judging from the footage before Lu Xiu's station, there were two possibilities.

The first was that someone else had been lying in wait, launching a sudden attack from behind and leaving Lu Xiu no time to react.

A powerful expert was unlikely. Anyone capable of killing Lu Xiu instantly wouldn't care about these things, nor would they sneak around. Someone only a little stronger wouldn't even be unable to send a message.

That was a common shortcoming of small factions: they weren't even qualified to learn about many things, so how could they have considered the possibility of a Soul Attack?

The second possibility was that Lu Xiu had underestimated his opponent, who wasn't an ordinary Universe Level. That had led him to make the wrong judgment from the start.

This was the task Krachi had given him: to find out what the other side was capable of. If this was what had happened, it was even more worrying, because the Fire Phoenix Organization might have become a training ground for the heirs of a major power.

"Yikes. If it's the second possibility, I'll have to think about running!"

His boss might be generous, but no amount of money was worth his life. He still had hundreds of thousands of years to live; it wasn't worth throwing them away for someone else!

"Master, deceleration will begin in one minute. Arrival at Purple Mist Planet in five minutes!"

The voice of the intelligent assistant jolted Sha Pu from his thoughts. Considering what might have happened, he hurriedly gave an order.

"Scan Purple Mist Planet and the surrounding area for life energy!"

"No abnormalities nearby. Two Universe Level 1 life forms detected on Purple Mist Planet. No other abnormalities detected. Higher-grade equipment may be masking their presence."

"After exiting the Dark Universe, don't head straight there. Circle around the area a few times, and be ready to leave Purple Mist Planet at any moment!"

"Yes, master. Instructions carried out. Beginning deceleration... 3... 2... 1."

"Prepare to con... Hmm, never mind. We'll just circle around the outskirts. If a powerful expert misunderstands our intentions, that could be bad."

Sha Pu prayed silently that things weren't too bad. He'd already forgotten what he'd planned at the start.

But if prayers worked, the Fire Phoenix Organization would probably have been wiped out a thousand times over!

As Sha Pu slowed down, 150 million kilometers from Purple Mist Planet, Thor rubbed his hands eagerly.

"Big brother, your detector is really good. They probably never imagined we'd be hiding right behind them!"

"They were simply used to slowing down within 100 million kilometers. The teacher specially prepared this for me. It's a pity our foundation is still too shallow!"

"This is already amazing. I never would've dared to dream of this before. Big brother, they're here!"

Hong was already prepared. With a thought, he sent an invisible wave over the spaceship as it appeared.

"Accelerate! Charge!"

As the two ships drew near, a blinding flash tore through the darkness, followed by a brilliant burst of fireworks.

The two men appeared outside the ships moments later. Thor hadn't even steadied himself before he saw his big brother charge ahead!

"Wait, why the rush?"

Reluctantly giving up on claiming the kills, Thor turned toward the few survivors, a sorry bunch of stragglers.

This time, however, Hong didn't take out his spear. An illusory wave shot straight toward Sha Pu's Singularity, trapping him in one illusion after another.

Seeing his ship reduced to fragments, Sha Pu felt a surge of fury. "Damn it! You're asking for death!"

He pulled out an axe and swung it fiercely at his attacker. Seeing his opponent scrambling, he felt a rush of satisfaction and grinned cruelly.

"The boss was way too cautious. Powerful experts, geniuses—what a load of nonsense! I'll show the boss how strong I am!"

Sha Pu swung his axe as he tried to log in to the Virtual Universe.

"Huh? Why can't I log in?"

Sha Pu froze for a moment, then suddenly realized. "Damn it, it's an illusion! Wake up!"

The tremor of his Singularity made Hong furrow his brow. A Domain Lord's willpower was indeed strong, but it wasn't a problem.

Hmm, I don't have to resist completely. I can offer him a little bait and guide him along, letting him taste victory first.

That was a bit too deliberate, but it didn't matter. I just had to keep him from figuring it out for now!

After finishing his task, Thor looked at the pensive Hong, then at Sha Pu, who was dancing around. He felt a chill run down his back.

"Big brother, weren't you an Illusion Warrior? Why'd you switch to being an Illusionist?"

"Fourth Brother said I had a talent for souls, so I'm testing what I've learned lately. So far, the results look pretty good!"

"That's not just pretty good."

You're more of a charlatan than a fortune-teller, Thor thought as he nodded along.

On Bes Planet, Krachi had stopped indulging in pleasure. He sat quietly in his chair, resting with his eyes closed.

"No, I can't wait any longer. Sha Pu has already reached Purple Mist Planet. No matter what, some kind of message should've come through. Something's definitely happened!"

Krachi snapped his eyes open and immediately contacted Panxi.

"Boss, I want to hand Purple Mist Planet over to Pinghai Company!"

"Why?"

"If they accept, that at least rules out Virtual Company. We can also build a relationship with them. Whoever's on Purple Mist Planet now, they won't confront us directly. We might even be able to use Virtual Company to find out what's going on."

Panxi lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Do as you say. Don't disturb me unless something major changes!"