The intelligent Timas controlled the ship, quickly flying toward Mengyu Planet in the distance.
As they drew closer, they saw that Mengyu Planet was almost entirely covered in water, a vast expanse of blue. From afar, it looked as beautiful as a crystal ball.
After the ship passed through the atmosphere, it received a signal guiding it to a parking area. There was no need for anyone to operate the ship; Timas simply followed the signal to its source.
Through the ship's exterior simulation, everyone saw an endless ocean stretching across the planet. As far as the eye could see, only a few scattered small islands broke the surface.
But as the ship followed the guidance signal, they spotted the planet's starport: a city standing on the sea, built entirely of steel.
From a distance, ships of all sizes and types could be seen slowly moving through it, either setting off or coming in to land.
Qi Tian had already read the information on Mengyu Planet before their arrival. It was a water planet, with oceans covering 88 percent of its surface.
The remaining 12 percent consisted of islands of various sizes scattered around the planet.
The planet rarely experienced heavily overcast skies, but a fine drizzle fell year-round. For tourists, experiencing a misty drizzle from a seaside villa under bright sunshine offered a unique sensation.
Mengyu Planet had once had a large landmass, but its first Planet Lord offended a powerful Domain Lord, who came seeking revenge.
Worse, the Domain Lord had a terrible temper. In a fit of rage, he struck the landmass until it sank, burying the Planet Lord and his family along with it.
The current Planet Lord was a powerful expert who had comprehended the Origin Law of Water. He loved the planet, so he bought it despite its lack of land.
As a member of the Beihua Empire's imperial family, he was immensely wealthy. After taking over the planet, he immediately poured huge sums of money into building several enormous underwater cities.
Nearly all of the planet's commercial trade took place in its underwater cities. The islands on the surface were mostly homes for the wealthy and powerful, though some were vacation estates.
Following the guidance signal, the ship traveled all the way to the steel city, where the starport was located.
Led by Mikita, Qi Tian and the others flew out of the hatch. Looking at the immense metal city, they couldn't help feeling stunned.
Watching the Cosmic Humans coming and going, Qi Tian experienced the diversity of species for the first time.
No wonder there are slaves in the universe. When someone looks completely different from you, it's hard to think of them as one of your own.
Qi Tian was struck by the thought. Someone like Mikita was still easy enough to accept: apart from his green skin and the antennae on his forehead, his limbs and features were close enough to fit Qi Tian's idea of what a "person" should look like.
But among the people moving through the starport, some looked like the alien hunters called Predators in movies he'd seen in his previous life. They were practically beastmen.
Still, that kind of appearance was uncommon. Even among the Human Race, they were considered ugly. Most of the other Cosmic Humans looked fairly pleasant to the eye.
After Mikita finished handling the docking procedures, he led everyone on flying vehicles to the entrance to the underwater city. They took an elevator down into the city.
As the elevator descended into the sea, the clear blue water looked especially beautiful as sunlight streamed through it.
Below the water lay an even larger underwater city. Illuminated by lights of every color, it looked even more magnificent and dazzling, leaving them awestruck.
"I've heard building an underwater city costs enough to buy dozens of life planets. The Beihua Empire's imperial family really is wealthy," Qi Tianshou said, gazing at the city below in amazement.
Mikita smiled at that. "Putting aside the fact that he's a member of the Beihua Empire's imperial family, the Planet Lord himself is a Domain Lord who controls tens of thousands of life planets. Refitting a single one is nothing to him."
"The cost of building the city is a minor expense. The real money goes into the planet's defense system. I don't know the exact cost, but it must be a figure beyond anything I can imagine."
They chatted as they traveled, soon entering the underwater city. A vast transparent dome overhead kept the seawater out, while countless spotlights provided illumination.
The city's buildings were divided into several districts. The commercial district was filled with skyscrapers, while the tourist district featured buildings of strange and ever-changing designs.
As they moved through the city, they took in this remarkably harmonious union of technology and civilization, experiencing the splendor of Cosmic Human civilization.
"All right, we're here at the Beihua Empire's office building on Mengyu Planet."
The group stood before an enormous building shaped like a galactic ring. A hazy light shimmered across its surface, and countless planet-shaped lights circled it. At the top of the central section stood a huge blue structure shaped like a planet.
Mikita led everyone on foot toward the building's entrance. People coming to take care of business streamed in and out, while several greeters stood on either side of the door.
As soon as the greeters saw Qi Tian's group approaching, they hurried forward and greeted them with smiles.
These guards were technological creations, not real people. They had scanners inside them, and when the group approached, the scanners detected that Mikita, who was leading them, was at Universe Level.
Qi Tian wasn't concealing his strength either. He deactivated the concealment function of the Soul-Suppressing Buddha Bead, allowing them to detect that he was at Universe Level, ninth rank.
Although Mengyu Planet belonged to a Domain Lord, a Universe Level, ninth-rank expert was still an honored guest. They had to give him a proper welcome.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Please come this way," one of the greeters said warmly. "May I ask what business you'd like to take care of?"
"We're here to handle citizenship," Mikita replied.
At the mention of citizenship, the greeter looked past the others to Qi Jingshi and the two with him. All three were at Planetary Level.
Judging by appearances, they must be the descendants of that Universe Level, ninth-rank expert. They've come to obtain Universe Citizen status.
The greeter kept smiling as he thought this and directed the group to the appropriate floor.
With Mikita leading the way, the process went very quickly. Still, Qi Tian's presence as a Universe Level, ninth-rank expert caused a minor stir, and even senior officials from the Planet Management Bureau came to receive them.
It wasn't that Qi Tian's strength was so extraordinary that it warranted such attention. The main reason was that it was unusual for someone at Universe Level, ninth rank, to have no Universe Citizen status.
Nothing unexpected happened, though, and the citizenship issue was soon resolved. A few hours later, when the group walked out of the office building, they had officially become citizens of the Beihua Empire.
"Next, we'll open accounts with the Virtual Universe Company. Once we get access to the Virtual Universe, we'll finally get a real sense of how vast the universe is."
Qi Tian and the others were all looking forward to it. After leaving the planet's government office building, they headed straight for the Virtual Universe Company's service center on Mengyu Planet.
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