The Dark Universe was traversed at astonishing speed. Half a month later, the Silver Shuttle reached the vicinity of its destination, left the Dark Universe, and returned to the Original Universe.
Beyond the porthole stretched a desolate, silent starfield.
In the distance lay the hazy, dimly colored Dark Cloud Star Belt.
Closer by, countless meteorites of various sizes drifted slowly, forming a dangerous asteroid field.
Far from any inhabited planet, this was a true cosmic wasteland. No wonder this secret realm had remained hidden until now.
Following the coordinates, the Silver Shuttle deftly threaded its way through the meteorites, finally approaching a small, lifeless planet covered in gray-black terrain: Ash Planet.
The spaceship landed inside a crater on Ash Planet's night side.
The hatch opened, and Lu Ming and He Ya had just stepped outside when a boisterous laugh came from behind a massive meteorite nearby.
"Ha ha ha! Old Lu! He Ya! You two old geezers sure got here fast!"
Before the words had even faded, a bald giant nearly three meters tall, with muscles bunched like forged metal and dressed in brown armor, strode toward them.
The ground trembled faintly with each step. It was none other than the Domain Lord Man Ji.
When Man Ji reached them, he first clapped He Ya firmly on the shoulder. Then his huge, bell-like eyes fixed on Lu Ming, and his fan-sized hand swung straight toward Lu Ming's shoulder as he boomed, "Old Lu! You rascal! You finally crawled out of that turtle shell of yours on Azure Mist Planet! We haven't seen each other in nearly ten thousand years. I thought you planned to grow old and die at home!"
But just as his hand was about to touch Lu Ming's shoulder, it suddenly stopped.
The smile froze on Man Ji's face, replaced by sheer astonishment. He looked Lu Ming up and down carefully, as if seeing him for the first time.
"Y-Your aura's not right!"
Man Ji said in his deep, rumbling voice.
"That rotting Universe Level stench... It's gone? And it's been replaced with something... I can't even describe it, but it feels damn good! Old Lu, did you... did you break through?! You're a Domain Lord?!"
Seeing Man Ji's stunned expression, Lu Ming smiled faintly and teased, "What, you think only your muscles are allowed to have brains? I'm not allowed to break through to Domain Lord?"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Once he was sure, Man Ji burst into even louder laughter. This time, he gave Lu Ming a hearty slap on the shoulder. The force could have shattered a mountain, yet Lu Ming didn't budge.
"Good! That's wonderful! I knew it! You're tougher than a star core, old rascal. How could a mere Domain Lord bottleneck possibly stop you?"
He seemed even more excited than He Ya had been.
"Damn it! You have no idea—we old guys even talked about this in private! If you still hadn't broken through in the next hundred years, we were going to swallow our pride and take out a massive loan from the Cosmic Galaxy Bank together. We'd get you whatever treasure you needed to repair your foundation, no matter what! And here you went and handled it yourself! Saved us a fortune! Ha ha ha!"
Just then, a slightly feminine voice drifted over.
"Man Ji, could you lower your voice? Do you want everyone to know we're meeting here?"
As the voice sounded, a blurred figure took shape from the shadows like a ghost. It was a small, slender man in a tight black outfit, with a face so plain he would be impossible to pick out of a crowd.
He was Shadow Shuttle, the team's expert in stealth and reconnaissance, a peak ninth-level Universe Level Spiritualist.
Shadow Shuttle first nodded to He Ya, then looked at Lu Ming. A flicker of surprise and relief crossed his calm, expressionless eyes.
"Lu Ming, congratulations. Looks like our odds on this expedition have improved."
Lu Ming smiled at Shadow Shuttle. "Long time no see. I'll take that good omen."
He Ya chuckled from the side. "All right, half the team's here. Now we just need Little San, the one who found the place."
"Honestly, that guy gathered us all together, but now he's the last one to show up."
Another seven or eight days passed. Just as Lu Ming and the others were meditating inside the crater, a subtle ripple in space swept over them.
The empty space in the distance rippled like water, and a sleek, deep-blue spaceship shaped like a swimming fish appeared without a sound. It was Carlos's ride, the Deep Blue C7 Spaceship.
The hatch opened, and a man in blue casual clothes stepped out. He looked quite young and handsome, but his eyes held the shrewdness and weariness of someone weathered by time.
"Sorry, sorry, everyone. I'm late."
Carlos, also known by the nickname Little San, was a Domain Lord. He hurried forward and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Well, look who finally decided to show his face—the great discoverer himself!"
Man Ji's booming voice rang out first.
"I thought you'd found some treasure and snuck in by yourself!"
Carlos shook his head with a wry smile. "Come on, Man Ji, don't make fun of me. Sigh, I got held up by some family nonsense."
He Ya was perceptive and could tell Carlos really did seem troubled, so he asked, "What's wrong, Little San? From the look of you, it seems like more than just a delay on the way here."
Carlos sighed and rubbed his brow, looking deeply troubled. "It's that useless son of mine! You all know I have only one child. I worked so hard to raise him to Universe Level, and he's reasonably talented, but his brains... Sigh!"
He paused, then continued helplessly, "Somehow, the kid met the little princess of the Los Empire during a Universe Mercenary Assessment. He fell head over heels and lost his mind!"
Shadow Shuttle's voice drifted over.
"The Los Empire? That reasonably powerful low-level civilization? With your status as a Domain Lord, it's no big deal if your son takes a liking to their princess, is it? Would the Los Empire dare refuse?"
"That's exactly the problem!"
Carlos slapped his thigh, sounding even more frustrated.
"If it were a normal political marriage, I could just send someone over to mention it. The Emperor of the Los Empire would probably be eager to wrap his daughter up and send her here! But my little brat... damn it, he's a simp!"
"A simp?"
Man Ji's eyes widened. That was a term Lu Ming had taught them back in the day!
Lu Ming understood perfectly well and couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth.
He Ya also struggled to hold back a laugh.
Carlos looked heartbroken.
"Exactly! The kind who has no self-respect and goes out of his way to please the other person! The little princess of the Los Empire clearly keeps him at arm's length, stringing him along. She has him do this and that for her, even uses his status as a Domain Lord's son to solve problems, but never gives him a straight answer. And my foolish son happily thinks it's all a test, so he tries even harder to impress her! Before I left this time, the kid came begging me again to put pressure on the Los Empire or give her some expensive gifts... It made me furious!"
"Pfft..."
He Ya finally couldn't hold back a laugh.
"So your boy kept pestering you until you couldn't get away?"
Carlos nodded helplessly. "You could say that! It took some talking, but I finally settled him down. I told him I'd think of something for him after I got back from this expedition. Honestly... I, Carlos, have been clever all my life. How did I end up with such a lovesick son?"
After hearing this, Man Ji roared with laughter, his voice shaking the surrounding wasteland.
"Ha ha ha! Little San, I never thought I'd see the day! What happened to that cunning streak of yours? How come your son didn't inherit it?"
Shadow Shuttle even managed a rare smile. "Even the fairest judge can't settle family matters."