Above the Stars, Strength Reigned Supreme

Sin Star, sinners!

The two exchanged a look, and it was easy for each to see the unusual flicker in the other's eyes.

No matter how they had speculated, they had considered that Su Bo might be hiding his identity, or that he might come from some reclusive clan. But they had never imagined...

Su Bo was a sinner born on a Sin Star.

"Red River Star has serious problems, doesn't it?" Su Bo was no fool. Seeing their expressions, he could more or less tell that something had to be wrong with Red River Star.

Combined with the principal's evasive manner, always saying half of what he meant and concealing the rest.

And Red River Star had come into contact with stellar civilization and stellar martial arts more than three hundred years ago. The martial high school had also officially been established back then.

Yet after three hundred years of development, Red River Star's martial civilization had caused barely a ripple.

Crimson Glow City...

A massive city with a population of several million.

Martial artists accounted for no more than five percent of the population, and eighty to ninety percent of them were merely martial apprentices. Only a tiny fraction possessed the strength of true martial artists.

Moreover, resources were so scarce that the martial high school could only recruit a batch of students once every two years.

The interstellar era...

Its resource supply was not even as good as that of his country in his previous life.

No matter how he looked at it, Red River Star's development was warped and abnormal, utterly incompatible with the interstellar martial era he had once imagined.

Besides, Situ Ting had said that Red River Star was not permitted to spread stellar martial arts. Even the establishment and continued existence of the martial high school had only been allowed after senior martial artists paid an enormous price.

Furthermore, Yi You and Liu Yue came from major Federal clans. Su Bo had spoken with them before, and the martial civilization on their inhabited planets was extremely advanced.

There were more martial resources than one could count, and nearly everyone could cultivate martial arts.

The existence of all these issues had long made Su Bo aware that something was amiss. But with the principal absent, he had no one to ask.

Liu Yue and Yi You exchanged another glance.

After a moment, Liu Yue carefully chose his words and slowly said, "It's not that the problem is serious..."

"It's that the problem is catastrophically serious!" Yi You added with a bitter smile.

"What do you mean?" Su Bo paused.

"If I remember correctly, the Federation experienced a rebellion three thousand years ago. That unrest spread across more than a dozen Federal starfields..." Liu Yue said after thinking it over.

"The records aren't clear on exactly what happened. It was probably erased by someone."

"But the final designation of that rebellion..."

"Betrayal of the race!"

"Betrayal of the race?" Yi You cried out softly.

He remembered that several thousand years ago, quite a few inhabited planets had been sentenced as Sin Stars, and the humans on those planets had been designated Sin Star sinners.

But he had never known the charge was so grave.

Su Bo gestured to Liu Yue. "Go on..."

"Most of the inhabited planets sentenced for betrayal of the race came from the Ancient Human Race. I remember one of them was called Red..." Liu Yue did not dare confirm it right away.

"It may have been your home planet, Brother Su—Red River Star!"

When he had first read that record, he had only skimmed through it.

It had all happened thousands of years ago. Much of the truth had long been thoroughly buried by time, nailed firmly into history.

Perhaps certain powerful figures knew part of the truth.

But it was not something insignificant nobodies like them could know.

"Red River Star... betrayal of the race?" Su Bo rubbed his chin, vaguely feeling that he had touched upon something truly extraordinary.

No wonder that old bastard of a principal always liked to say half of something and hide the rest. So there really was something behind it.

Tsk, could I actually be descended from traitors?

Could it be that my future path was to raise the banner of a rebel army, overthrow the Federation, and crown myself king as a ruler of the stars?

Su Bo happily indulged in his fantasies, to the point where he was nearly considering how to divide up stellar territory.

"Brother Su?" Yi You called out, his face darkening.

Was this for real?

They were waiting to see his reaction, yet he had started daydreaming instead.

Although Yi You had no idea what Su Bo had been fantasizing about just now, that lecherous grin made it obvious he had not been thinking about anything decent.

"Ahem, ahem." Su Bo reined in his thoughts.

At the same time, he silently warned himself that he must never let his thoughts run wild so casually again. Those in the Divine Ability Realm could sense the thoughts of lower-level martial artists.

If someone sensed these thoughts he should not be having...

It would truly be a great disaster!

At the very least, he needed to hide such thoughts until he reached the fifth or sixth realm.

After clearing his throat, Su Bo continued, "Betrayal of the race..."

"What punishment was imposed?"

"Powerhouses above the fourth realm were sent into the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield to atone for their sins through death. Even if they died in the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield, they were not permitted to have monuments bearing their names, nor could any of their merits be recorded. Death was simply death!" Yi You said solemnly.

"Their descendants were restricted by the rules of the starfield. They could not cultivate, nor could they leave the planet. They were forever branded as Sin Star sinners!"

"At the same time, every inhabited planet involved was deemed a Sin Star guilty of betraying the race. All humans upon it were classified as human sinners and excluded from the Federation's citizen registry."

"..." Su Bo fell silent.

"Do you think the Federation's punishment was too harsh?" Liu Yue asked flatly.

"Most of those who betrayed the race were martial powerhouses, but the punishment implicated countless humans across entire inhabited planets!"

Su Bo glanced at the two of them and sneered. "If the charge of betraying the race was truly established, then it wasn't harsh!"

"Implicating the innocent?"

"In ancient dynasties, treason was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. For betrayal of the race, not executing them and merely imprisoning them already counts as extraordinary leniency!"

"That is, of course, assuming the charge was actually valid."

"Forget it. It's ancient history from thousands of years ago. Whatever the truth may have been, whether anyone pursued it or not, the punishment has already been endured for thousands of years."

"Uh..." Yi You was somewhat dumbfounded.

"You don't want to learn what really happened?"

"Do you know?" Su Bo shot back.

"Not really. At most, records of such matters contain a brief mention. The Federation would never allow this kind of scandal to be passed down," Liu Yue cut in directly.

The records he had seen had only covered it in a few scant lines.

He had once considered looking into it, but before he could do so, the Starry Sky Trial began, and his family elders threw him in here.

He had never expected to encounter Sin Star sinners from the crime of betrayal of the race here.

Of course, having participated in the Starry Sky Trial, with Su Bo's strength and talent, along with his Dragon Race bloodline, the moment he left Trial Star would be the moment he cast off the label of sinner.

The Human-Dragon Race's powerhouses would not allow such an outstanding junior of their own clan to remain adrift outside while bearing the so-called title of sinner.

If those people in the Federation truly had objections, then they would have to see whether the fists of the Human-Dragon Race were hard enough.

That being the case, it would not hinder him from continuing to deepen his friendship with Su Bo.

Hearing this, Su Bo gave a soft snort. "The records aren't even clear. Even if there was something suspicious behind this, is it something a Body Realm martial artist like me could investigate?"

"I might as well cultivate properly and strive to reach the sixth realm, the seventh realm..."

"Or even become a powerhouse of the eighth or ninth realm!"

"If I possessed that kind of strength, would I still need to investigate? I'm afraid some people would deliver all the evidence straight into my hands."

"By then, it might not be so certain who the sinners really are," Su Bo said in an eerie tone.

"Exactly!" Yi You's gaze toward Su Bo grew increasingly appreciative.

"Above the stars, strength ultimately reigns supreme. As long as Brother Su becomes powerful enough, wouldn't everything be yours to decide?"

"Brother Su, what grand spirit!" Liu Yue nodded slightly.