"Master, we've reached the outskirts of the Yungu Star Belt."
Azure Kite's voice rang out.
Lu Ming looked up. Through the exterior simulation, he saw a desolate, shattered scene.
Before him stretched an endless void, with no intact stars in sight.
Only countless fragments of stars in all shapes and sizes, metal wreckage, and frozen clouds of dust drifted silently through space like a cosmic graveyard, extending as far as the eye could see.
Some areas still bore the aftershocks of energy collisions, glowing faintly. Farther away, tiny flashes of light occasionally flickered in the distance—the traces of energy attacks, proof that continuous slaughter still raged in this dead starfield.
"Activate the detector and scan at maximum range. Prioritize marking energy signatures at Immortal Level and above."
Lu Ming gave the order. He needed to find suitable prey to test the power of his new blade technique.
"Yes, Master. The Sky Patrol Eye has been activated. The detection range covers a radius of three billion kilometers."
Azure Kite responded.
"Scanning... Scan complete."
Hum!
The virtual screen before Lu Ming lit up, displaying an extremely detailed star map: a three-dimensional view of the area within a radius of three billion kilometers, centered on the Meteor Shuttle.
Countless points of light were clearly marked on the map. Most were white or gray, indicating targets below World Lord Level or lifeless wreckage. Scattered among them were several conspicuous red dots!
"A total of seven Immortal Level energy signatures have been detected."
Azure Kite quickly reported.
"Three signatures are relatively weak, and are estimated to be Ordinary Immortal Military Lords. Two are moderate, possibly high-level Immortal Military Lords. One is relatively strong, and seems to be approaching the Marquis-Level. The final one is estimated to be a High-level Marquis."
Azure Kite clearly marked the seven red dots' precise coordinates, estimated energy levels, and the distances between them.
Lu Ming's gaze swept across the star map before settling on the nearest red dot with a "relatively weak energy signature."
The target was about seven hundred million kilometers away. According to the scan, there seemed to be no other powerful energy sources nearby. It looked like a lone Immortal.
"Good. You'll do nicely for testing my blade."
Lu Ming's lips curled slightly, and a trace of battle intent flashed in his eyes.
"Azure Kite, conceal the ship and approach the target while maintaining a safe distance."
"Understood, Master. Activating Shadow stealth mode. Estimated arrival at the perimeter of the target area in fifty minutes."
The Meteor Shuttle's surface instantly dimmed as it silently headed toward the chosen target.
Just as Lu Ming locked onto his target and approached undetected,
seven hundred million kilometers away, a simple cave had been carved into a massive fragment of a star, roughly ten thousand kilometers in diameter.
Inside the cave, a sinister-looking Monster Race spacecraft shaped like a bat sat motionless.
In the ship's control room, an Immortal of the Monster Race rested with his eyes closed. Dark cyan scales covered his body, and his head resembled an eagle's, with a sharp beak.
His name was Jiu Hui. He was an Immortal of the Green-Scaled Vulture clan, a fairly common Monster Race clan. Among Immortal Military Lords, his strength was considered ordinary.
"Hmm?"
Jiu Hui Immortal suddenly opened his sharp, eagle-like eyes and looked at the detector screen on the console.
The screen showed the area within tens of millions of kilometers. There were only a few scattered, weak energy signatures and cosmic dust.
"I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong."
Jiu Hui Immortal muttered under his breath. His raptor's instincts stirred a faint, lingering sense of unease.
He carefully inspected the detector's readings.
"There are no unusual energy sources within the detection range. Am I just being paranoid? There shouldn't be anything out here on the outskirts of the Yungu Star Belt that could threaten me."
He shook his head, closed his eyes again, and resumed resting.
Little did he know that his every move—even his anxious muttering—was being clearly displayed on the screen of another spacecraft hundreds of millions of kilometers away.
Inside the Meteor Shuttle's control room, Lu Ming watched the live footage on the virtual screen with interest.
The image clearly showed the inside of the Monster Race spacecraft. Even Jiu Hui Immortal's subtle expressions and murmurs were captured and translated with pinpoint accuracy.
"Master, the target hasn't detected us."
Azure Kite reported.
"His detector is low-grade, with a range of less than one hundred million kilometers and limited precision. It can't penetrate our Shadow stealth system."
A faint smile touched Lu Ming's lips.
This was the absolute advantage of a high-grade detector over a low-grade one!
The Sky Patrol Eye's three-billion-kilometer detection range and astounding precision let him monitor the target's every move from well beyond the other party's detection range.
And the Meteor Shuttle's stealth technology made the other party as good as blind, completely unaware of the danger approaching.
"Everything about you is under my control."
Lu Ming murmured softly.
"Keep approaching while remaining concealed. Notify me when we reach the optimal attack range."
"Yes, Master."
Time passed second by second. The Meteor Shuttle silently crossed one shattered region of space after another, finally stopping about ten thousand kilometers from the star fragment where the Monster Race Immortal was hiding.
For a World Lord, that was well within striking distance—close enough to reach in an instant.
"Master, we've reached the optimal attack position."
Azure Kite's voice rang out, calm and steady.
Lu Ming looked at Jiu Hui Immortal on the screen, still completely unaware and even dozing off. A cold smile curved his lips.
"Good."
He slowly rose to his feet, gathering his aura.
"I'll go knock on the door first!"
Whoosh!
Lu Ming vanished from the Meteor Shuttle in an instant. The next moment, he appeared in the icy void.
His gaze sharpened as he locked onto the massive star fragment ten thousand kilometers away. He could see through its thick layers of rock to the Monster Race spacecraft inside.
Without another word, Lu Ming held out his right hand, and the Yan Kong Blade, strengthened through sacrifice, appeared in his grip.
The blade trembled slightly, letting out an eager hum.
"I'll use you to consecrate my newly mastered technique!"
Lu Ming's gaze turned fierce. The power of a Peak World Lord, multiplied a hundredfold, erupted from within him. At the same time, the Fire Law and the Law of Space surged and intertwined along the profound trajectory of the first stage of the Burning Universe Space-Splitting Slash!
He swung his arm. The Yan Kong Blade cut through the void, sending a condensed, dark-red blade light flying from its edge!
"Burning Universe Space-Splitting Slash!"
Boom!!!!!!!!!
The dark-red blade light seemed to teleport, crossing the void for tens of thousands of kilometers before crashing into the massive star fragment!
The Monster Race spacecraft concealed in the cave within the fragment, along with Jiu Hui Immortal inside it, had no time to react before the sudden, domineering blade light struck them head-on!
"What?!"
Only when the blade light was upon him did Jiu Hui Immortal jolt awake from his rest. Feeling the terrifying power that could incinerate everything and tear space apart, his pupils contracted. He had time for only a scream of utter terror before the endless dark-red blade light completely swallowed him!