Hope of Escape, One Year

Before the Lord of Domain Banquet held by the Ortega Family's ancestor had even ended, Hugo, a direct descendant of the family, had already boarded a departing spaceship with his subordinates.

After more than half a month of travel through the Dark Universe, the C9 Alloy Spaceship carrying them slowly landed before the castle on Lei Bao Star.

"Old Wu, Qi Yuan, come with me."

After giving the order, Hugo headed straight back to the castle.

"Yes, Master."

Qi Yuan and Old Wu exchanged glances before hurriedly following after him.

In the castle hall, Hugo sprawled inelegantly across his lavish chair studded with precious gemstones.

Only after pulling out a bottle of Purple Cloud Fruit Brew and taking several huge gulps did he finally sit up and speak to Qi Yuan and the other man.

"According to the rules of the Ortega Family, every family member who breaks through to the Star Traveller level must pass the Universe Mercenary Alliance's 'Apprentice Mercenary Assessment.'"

"I originally had ten years to prepare, but because that damned Adona meddled, the time has been shortened to one year!"

As he spoke, Hugo slammed the bottle down heavily onto the table, breathing hard through his nose.

After quite some time, he raised his head again and addressed Qi Yuan and Old Wu.

"The Apprentice Mercenary Assessment is always conducted within a 'Lord of Domain World.'"

"Within those Lord of Domain Worlds, not only must you deal with the dangers inherent to the world itself, but you also have to watch out for the ambushes and killings of other assessment participants. The death rate in every assessment is extremely high!"

"Old Wu!"

He looked at Old Wu and said solemnly, "For the assessment a year from now, I'll bring every Guard at Star Traveller Tier 7 or above."

"During this time, triple all resources issued to Guards at Star Traveller Tier 7 and above, and let them improve their strength as much as possible!"

"Yes, Master!"

Old Wu answered seriously.

"Mm."

Hugo nodded and turned his gaze toward Qi Yuan.

"Qi Yuan, keep a close eye on Mine No. 5. Make sure to increase the output of Thunder Crystal Stone as much as possible. Your young master is desperately short of money right now!"

With an indignant sigh, Hugo continued, "It's a pity I've controlled Lei Bao Star for too short a time. If I'd been given ten years, the income from Lei Bao Star alone would have been enough for me to directly purchase a batch of Star Traveller Tier 9 slaves!"

The moment Hugo first mentioned the Apprentice Mercenary Assessment, Qi Yuan had immediately perked up.

An unfamiliar Lord of Domain World, a perilous environment filled with deadly dangers, countless competitors with hidden agendas. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity to escape?

If he failed to seize this chance, who knew how much longer he would remain trapped on Lei Bao Star?

When Hugo mentioned him now, Qi Yuan hurriedly put on a "devoted" expression, as though eager to share his master's burdens.

"Master, could you take me with you for the assessment a year from now? This subordinate has received so much preferential treatment from you and wishes to contribute his strength as well!"

"You?"

Hearing this, Hugo was briefly stunned before a faintly gratified smile appeared on his face.

"Your intentions are commendable, but your level is still too low."

After pondering for a moment, he chose not to dampen his subordinate's enthusiasm.

"How about this? If you can break through to Star Traveller Tier 6 before departure, I'll permit you to come along."

Though his words seemed to leave room for possibility, they actually carried an implicit refusal.

Under normal cultivation, advancing from Star Traveller Tier 4 to Star Traveller Tier 6 would take at least several decades, perhaps even over a century.

Even for a genius with ample resources, it would still take at least several years.

After all, evolving one's body by absorbing energy could not be accomplished overnight. The body needed proper rest during the process, and one also had to divide one's attention toward strengthening soul power, control over one's strength, and so on.

Otherwise, if one tried to become fat in a single bite, their foundation would inevitably become unstable, severely affecting future advancement.

Qi Yuan's consecutive breakthroughs of two stages in half a year had, to some extent, been the result of accumulated potential finally bursting forth.

But rising from Star Traveller Tier 4 to Tier 6 within a year was, in Hugo's view, almost an impossible task.

"You don't need to rush. There will be plenty of opportunities to use you in the future. Your task now is to seize the time and improve your strength!"

Hugo encouraged him with a smile. "Oh, right. I previously promised to help you obtain a suitable Combat Secret Technique, and this trip went smoothly enough to accomplish that."

"Go into the Virtual Universe later. I'll send the secret technique to you."

"Understood. Thank you, Master!"

Qi Yuan feigned delight as he bowed in thanks.

As for breaking through to Star Traveller Tier 6 within a year as Hugo had mentioned, he did not take it too seriously.

With the system, he had some confidence in fulfilling that requirement.

What mattered most to him now was improving his strength as much as possible.

That way, when the opportunity truly came, he would have a better chance of escaping!

"Thank you for your support earlier, Your Highness the Seventh Prince. Rest assured, as long as I am here, our branch will remain forever loyal to Your Highness!"

On distant Lanka Star, after watching the small warship carrying the Seventh Prince gradually disappear from view, Adona abruptly withdrew his smile.

"Having connected with the Seventh Prince has indeed reduced the resistance to many things."

"Hehe, poor little Hugo must be worrying over the assessment mission right now. Let me give you another surprise."

A thread of his consciousness connected to the Virtual Universe and quickly patched through to someone's communication—

"Mu Guluo, contact the Blood Saber Organization."

"Thunder Light. Compress the power of the domain without limit, gathering it into an attack condensed to the utmost extreme, thereby perfectly unleashing the full power of the entire domain."

"And there are techniques for using the domain to increase the speed of one's Movement Technique. So it can be used like this too. Brilliant, truly brilliant."

In a temporarily rented residential room within the Virtual Universe, Qi Yuan, dressed in a plain gray robe, held an enormous book nearly half a meter long, a foot wide, and almost palm-thick, reading it with great fascination.

This was a Combat Secret Technique that Hugo had specifically requested from the Ortega Family's ancestor for him.

The secret technique was called "Thunder Light." Not only did it record a powerful killing move that used the Thunder Domain to unleash explosive attacks, it also included unique techniques for applying the domain to Movement Technique and defense.

If "Nine Radiance Sky Blade" was a method explaining how to deeply tap into the power of the physical body,

then "Thunder Light" was a secret technique specifically explaining how to use the power of a domain.

"Nine Radiance Sky Blade" could only increase the amplification of his strength; how that strength was applied still required corresponding combat techniques.

But "Thunder Light" was itself a Combat Secret Technique. If mastered, it would truly and substantially increase his immediate Combat Power!

"Impressive, truly impressive. If I can master this 'Thunder Light,' my strength may increase severalfold or more!"

"I really have to thank Hugo this time. It seems he put in quite a bit of effort!"

Qi Yuan kept turning the pages, quickly becoming completely immersed in comprehending the "Thunder Light" secret technique.