Chen Lie took the elevator to the president's office on the twenty-eighth floor of Sunlight Tower. When he reached the door, he knocked twice.
Without waiting for a response, Chen Lie pushed the door open and walked in.
As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Jinglan standing before her desk, her expression icy and a document in her hand.
"Chen Lie, seventeen years old, a senior-year Martial Arts Student in the Ordinary Class at a provincial key high school.
"Your family consists of your father, Chen Gequn; your mother, Feng Yuelan; and your younger sister, Chen Xingyao. Your household is comfortably middle-class.
"Take a look at the personal information a friend of mine in government gathered yesterday. Is anything wrong or missing?"
Chen Lie took the document from Zhao Jinglan, glanced over it, then set it on the desk.
"Looks right. It's detailed, too. No mistakes."
Zhao Jinglan said coldly, "You've got some nerve! You dared to deceive the Sunlight Group. Do you know I could make you disappear from this world without a trace with a snap of my fingers?"
Chen Lie remained expressionless in the face of her threat. "You're testing me because you don't believe what your investigation turned up, aren't you?
"There's no need. All that matters is whether I can solve your problem today. You and I move in different circles. There's no reason for our paths to cross again."
At his words, Zhao Jinglan immediately dropped her cold expression.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Was this brat dropping hints?
Was he mocking her for failing to uncover his real background?
Different circles? Was his real background so lofty that even she would have to look up to him?
There were people on Blue Star she had to look up to, but precious few.
"Let's begin. What do you need me to do?"
Since Chen Lie had put it so plainly, Zhao Jinglan said no more and got straight to the point.
"Sit here and empty your Consciousness Sea World. Leave the rest to me."
Zhao Jinglan nodded, sat in her executive chair, and closed her eyes to clear her mind.
Standing before her, Chen Lie glanced over her shapely figure. Then he reached out and lightly touched the spot between her brows with his index finger.
His Mental Power flowed steadily through his finger and into her Consciousness Sea World.
Zhao Jinglan felt that dense, solid Mental Power enter her Consciousness Sea World and begin slowly setting her disordered Mental Power right.
She could not help opening her eyes to look at him. He's a Divine Sense Master too? His Mental Power seems even more refined than mine.
Looking at Chen Lie's youthful face, she was thrown into doubt. What did a seventeen-year-old Divine Sense Master mean on Blue Star?
She had become a First-Rank Divine Sense Master at twenty and had been hailed as a talent Dongchuan Province saw only once in decades. Compared to Chen Lie, she did not know what to say.
"Close your eyes. Clear your mind!"
At his reminder, Zhao Jinglan immediately closed her eyes.
As her disordered Mental Power was gradually set right, Chen Lie began drawing his own Mental Power back through his finger.
A wisp of Zhao Jinglan's Mental Power followed his guidance into his Consciousness Sea World.
Suddenly, her mind jolted.
Through that wisp, her Divine Sense caught a glimpse of Chen Lie's Consciousness Sea World.
It was a vast, dark universe. She seemed to stand beneath a mist-shrouded sky filled with countless stars. Yet only eight shone brightly, arranged like the lines of a grid. Their grandeur was beyond words.
Chen Lie withdrew his Mental Power and lifted his fingertip from between her brows.
"Your problem is solved."
Zhao Jinglan hurriedly came back to herself and tried circulating her Mental Power. The splitting headache really was gone.
But her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at Chen Lie in a daze.
That fleeting glimpse had shown her his inner world.
How could the foundation of his Divine Sense be so deep?
That dark universe, that boundless starry sky, those eight brilliant stars—what kind of Mental Power cultivation method could create a Consciousness Sea World like that?
She had once been fortunate enough to see the Consciousness Sea World of a Grandmaster-level Divine Sense Master, but it had been nowhere near as astonishing as Chen Lie's.
The teacher who had guided her Mental Power cultivation had once said that a person's Consciousness Sea World best revealed their potential as a Divine Sense Master.
The boy before her possessed a Consciousness Sea World grander and vaster than that of a Grandmaster-level Divine Sense Master. Did that make him a future Mental Power Grandmaster in the flesh?
As far as she knew, whether on Blue Star or in the Outer Stars, a Mental Power Grandmaster was in a different league from a Martial Arts Grandmaster.
At the thought, a captivating smile bloomed across Zhao Jinglan's beautiful face, and her gaze toward Chen Lie grew warmer.
"Chen Lie, thank you for solving the problem that's troubled me for nearly two years.
"I'm ten years older than you, so I hope you won't mind if I call you my little brother. If you like, you can call me your elder sister. How does that sound?"
"If you think well enough of me, General Manager Zhao, I have no objection."
Chen Lie was not at all surprised by Zhao Jinglan's sudden change in attitude. Such social niceties were inescapable not just on Blue Star, but even in the Central Galactic Empire.
If I'm right, Zhao Jinglan has already dreamed up some mysterious background for me.
Zhao Jinglan sighed. "You must resent me for testing you just now.
"To be honest, outsiders may think my position as president of the Sunlight Group is enviable, but the Zhao Family is large. I'm only one member of it, not the only one. Plenty of my cousins are watching for a chance to take my place.
"The elders gave me the position of president because they want results. If I can't deliver something they're satisfied with, I could be replaced at any time.
"The group's new medicinal solution is at a critical stage of development. We can't afford the slightest mistake. That's why I had no choice but to test you."
Chen Lie nodded thoughtfully. "That's only natural. I understand."
Zhao Jinglan smiled. "I'm glad you understand, but I still owe you an apology."
Chen Lie waved a hand, signaling that the matter was settled.
A glint flashed in Zhao Jinglan's eyes as she asked casually, "Did your Mental Power cultivation method come from Starry Sky University, Chen Lie?"
"My teacher came from the Outer Stars. My Mental Power cultivation method comes from the Central Galactic Empire."
"The Central Galactic... Empire?"
Zhao Jinglan was bewildered. It was not that she had never heard of the Central Galactic Empire. On the contrary, every ordinary person on Blue Star knew of it.
More than a century ago, when Blue Star first ventured into interstellar space and made contact with interstellar civilization, powerful figures from the Outer Stars had visited and spread Martial Arts Knowledge.
The Blue Star United Government then announced to Blue Star's ten billion citizens that the planet had always been an inherent part of the Central Galactic Empire, and that its people were citizens of the empire as well.
The Central Galactic Empire was a supreme divine nation that had stood among the stars for over seven thousand years, its territory spanning countless miles of space.
Everyone on Blue Star should be proud to be a citizen of the Central Galactic Empire.
At the same time, the Blue Star United Government announced that Blue Star's traditional Common Era Calendar would be replaced by the Galactic Calendar.
With the Blue Star United Government's official confirmation, no one on Blue Star questioned the empire's existence.
But even for someone as prominent in Dongchuan Province as Zhao Jinglan, the Central Galactic Empire was something she could neither see nor touch. It belonged to the realm of legend.
Could the boy before her truly have ties to the Central Galactic Empire?
Zhao Jinglan shook her head, casting aside her tangled thoughts.
Whether or not he had some mysterious background, the fact that he was already a Divine Sense Master at his age—and had the potential to become a Mental Power Grandmaster—was reason enough for her to set aside her status and befriend him.
Before you continue