Turning to the next page meant stepping into another world.
[Mission "At Last, Transformation; The Prelude to the Starry Sky" completed!] [Rewards granted:] [1. C9-class spaceship] [2. Intelligent Life] [3. Ten billion Black Dragon Coins] [4. Soul Enslavement Secret Art: Star Pupil: Soul Capture]
The cold mechanical voice echoed deep in his mind, yet sounded sweeter than any melody in the world.
Deep in the East Sea, the wind howled.
The air was thick with the stench of blood. It belonged to a King-level monster—fiery and violent, yet rapidly cooling.
Lin Yuan stood suspended in midair, one foot on the Arc Wheel, faint starlight swirling around him.
With a single thought, he summoned the rewards that would drive countless powerful figures across the Milky Way Galaxy wild with desire—the C9-Class Spaceship, Intelligent Life, and ten billion Black Dragon Coins. They lay quietly in his system space.
"It's over."
Lin Yuan lowered his head and cast an indifferent glance at the sea below.
There lay one of the sources of humanity's nightmares since the Great Nirvana Period: the Thunder Dragon Emperor, overlord of countless aquatic monsters.
At that moment, its several-kilometer-long body floated miserably on the surface, like a collapsed mountain range.
Against the absolute might of Star Level power and the edge of a Controller Divine Weapon, this Beast Emperor, which had lorded over the planet for decades, was as fragile as a slightly stronger ant.
"So this is the difference in life levels." Lin Yuan murmured, his eyes devoid of pity. All they held was a longing for, and reverence toward, greater power.
When he had finished, Lin Yuan raised his wrist and opened his communication device.
The screen lit up, revealing Hong's usually stern face, now carrying a trace of unmistakable tension.
"Hall Master," Lin Yuan said, his voice so calm it revealed no emotion, "the Thunder Dragon Emperor and the Octopus Beast Emperor are both taken care of. I've sent you their locations. Send people to deal with the corpses."
On the other end of the call, even Hong, whose mental composure was exceptionally strong, couldn't help pausing for a moment.
"...All right." Hong's voice was a little hoarse, but above all, it was filled with relief and excitement. "I'll make the arrangements right away. Lin Yuan, you... worked hard."
"These are spoils of war belonging to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. They'd be inconvenient for me to carry, and I don't need them anyway," Lin Yuan added casually.
He genuinely didn't think much of them.
To any force or individual on Earth, the corpses of two Beast Emperors were priceless treasures.
Their scales could be made into top-grade SS-class Combat Suits, their flesh and blood refined into gene serums capable of transforming a person, and their bones made into superb materials for forging divine weapons.
The Councilor-level powerhouses around the world would surely fight tooth and nail over them, perhaps even starting a war.
But in Lin Yuan's eyes, now that he had the system, they weren't worth a single Silver Blue Coin. His horizons had long since expanded beyond this tiny corner of Earth.
"I won't take a single thing. The Martial Arts Hall can decide what to do with everything." Lin Yuan ended the call.
Almost the instant he hung up, his War God Communication Watch vibrated.
This time, it wasn't a private call.
It was a top-priority announcement addressed to Councilor-level powerhouses around the world.
[To all martial artists worldwide:] [The War God Palace's Supreme Council has unanimously resolved that, in view of Inspector Lin Yuan's slaying of two Beast Emperors and ending the monsters' stranglehold on humanity's dominion over the oceans, Lin Yuan is hereby nominated as the War God Palace's "First Speaker"!] [Earth will remember this day forever. The Age of Monsters is over!]
A flood of private messages from major powers followed.
The HR Alliance, the Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall, the European Union, the United States, Soviet Russia, India...
The great powers, which normally schemed against one another and were tangled in endless disputes over their interests, now displayed an unprecedented level of unity and deference.
"The HR Alliance, on behalf of all its families, extends its highest respect to Speaker Lin Yuan, Earth's strongest. We stand ready to serve you."
"The Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall unconditionally supports every decision made by Speaker Lin Yuan..."
Every word was steeped in flattery and reverence.
This was a brutally realistic world. When Lin Yuan displayed the power to crush a Beast Emperor as easily as an ant, he became the only "god" on the planet.
Power, wealth, and status were all mere trappings, easily within his grasp when faced with his absolute strength.
"First Speaker..." Lin Yuan looked at the words on the screen, a faint smile curving his lips, though he felt little pride. "Just an empty title."
With the Beast Emperors gone, the remaining King-level monsters were still numerous, but humanity's organized counteroffensive meant they no longer posed an extinction-level threat.
It was only a matter of time before humanity reclaimed its lost territory and returned to the oceans.
Lin Yuan had no interest in the tedious work of rebuilding after the war or dividing up power.
"Let Hong and Thunder God worry about that. As long as you don't offend me or do anything out of line just to get under my skin, I can't be bothered with your little schemes."
Lin Yuan casually turned off his communicator and set it to silent mode.
Whoosh!
A dark, triangular fighter appeared out of nowhere, its hatch opening. Lin Yuan turned into a streak of light and shot inside.
The next instant, the fighter let out a deafening sonic boom, ripped through the sky, and left the blood-soaked sea behind at several times the speed of sound.
Half an hour later.
Deep in the Australian Continent, the fighter slowly descended over a barren, reddish-brown wasteland where even monsters were rarely seen, kicking up clouds of dust.
Lin Yuan stepped out of the hatch and onto the hard, gravelly ground.
The surroundings were utterly silent, broken only by the occasional gust of wind in the distance. This was one of the quietest corners of Earth, and one of the best places to take stock of his rewards.
"Phew..."
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged on a huge boulder and let his consciousness sink into the system space.
As he looked at the rewards floating quietly there, his heart quickened despite himself.
"Intelligent Life, Black Dragon Coins, a C9-Class Spaceship..." His eyes gleamed. "Now this is a true ticket to the vast reaches of space."
Ten billion Black Dragon Coins would be enough to buy countless low-level civilized planets like Earth.
The C9-Class Spaceship would allow him to ignore most of the dangers in the universe and travel vast distances between stars.
But what interested him most was—
Lin Yuan flipped his hand, and an old-fashioned, pale-gold metal wristband appeared in his palm.
It looked unremarkable, with no complicated patterns on its surface, only a naturally flowing shape.
It felt strangely cool to the touch, as if it didn't belong to this time and space.
[Item: Intelligent Life (Inactive)] [Description: A pale-gold wristband contains the core of an inactive intelligent life form. This life form has immense potential for growth and computational power. Inject your Origin Force or spiritual power to activate it.] [Note: It will automatically recognize its master upon activation and serve only one master for life.]
"So that's how it works?"
Lin Yuan murmured to himself, lightly running his fingertip over the wristband.
Intelligent life was also an exceedingly expensive and rare commodity in the universe.
An intelligent life form with its own consciousness, able to assist with cultivation, operate spaceships, and hack into networks, was the most trustworthy companion any lone powerhouse could have.
"Let's begin."
Lin Yuan didn't hesitate. With a thought—
"Bzz—"
As energy flowed into it, the once-dull wristband began to tremble.
Veils of golden light appeared across its surface, then quickly spread, weaving themselves into a complex and dazzling web of light before Lin Yuan.
The air around them seemed to freeze.
A few seconds later, a cold, mechanical voice devoid of emotion sounded directly in Lin Yuan's mind:
"Energy source detected... Standards met."
"Core logic database activated! Beginning soul binding—"
"Binding successful."
"Honored Master, I am Intelligent Life Form X-9981. I am currently in an initial, formless state. Please confirm my appearance and personality settings."
The light shimmered, and the mechanical voice continued. "You may set me to any race and appearance you desire."
Lin Yuan paused, then fell into thought.
In this cruel Devouring World, the road ahead was destined to be long and lonely. Since this was going to be his companion, he naturally wanted an appearance he liked, one that would put him at ease.
He raised his head and looked toward the vast starry sky, faintly perceptible even in broad daylight.
"Since my cultivation technique is the Nine Star Transformations, and my destination is the sea of stars..."
A slight smile touched Lin Yuan's lips as he made up his mind.
"Then make her an elf."
He spoke softly, a hint of anticipation in his voice. "Use the stars as the main theme. Elegant and mysterious, but still lively."
"Command received."
The mechanical voice fell silent at once.
Then the web of light floating in midair began to churn violently. Countless golden specks gathered, rearranged themselves, and transformed.
The pale-gold light began to change, gradually taking on deep shades of blue and purple—the colors of the depths of space.
Pinpricks of starlight appeared within the glowing mass, like a miniature galaxy.
"As you command, my master."
This time, the voice was no longer cold and mechanical. It was clear and sweet, as pure as a mountain spring, yet tinged with the distant mystery of the ancient starry sky.
The light suddenly drew in.
As a dreamlike glow faded, a petite figure hovered before Lin Yuan.
She was a girl about one and a half meters tall.
Long hair fell like a waterfall down her back. It wasn't simply black or gold, but flowed like a river of stars, deep blue and flecked with tiny points of light.
Her skin was fair as snow, with a translucent quality. Two pairs of wings, thin as cicada wings, fluttered gently behind her. Their delicate veins shone with a pale-blue glow.
Most striking of all were her eyes.
They were unfathomably deep, as if two swirling nebulae lay within them. Mysterious and vast, they seemed to draw anyone who looked into them into their depths.
She wore an exquisite gown woven from starlight. Its hem swayed gently with her movements, scattering specks of stardust.
The Star Sprite gracefully spun once in midair, then floated over to Lin Yuan and gave him an impeccable curtsey.
"Star Sprite pays her respects to you."
She raised her head, her starry eyes fixed on Lin Yuan, and asked respectfully:
"Master, please give me a name."
Lin Yuan paused, then said, "I'll call you... Ika."
—
P.S. I'm writing the second chapter now.
Before you continue