Before Dawn

"Crackle~~~"

Strands of brilliant electricity danced and spread around Qi Yuan.

One streak, two streaks, three streaks. In the blink of an eye, there were thousands upon thousands—

"Boom~~~"

Endless, violent, terrifying lightning surged and expanded wildly. In an instant, the entire passage spanning several hundred meters was transformed into a sea of lightning!

Before Qi Yuan's figure was completely swallowed by the boundless thunderlight, Hugo heard a voice transmission filled with unwavering resolve and determination come from within the lightning—

"Run! I'll hold them off with my life. If you get away, help look after my clansmen!"

"Whoosh~"

Using the thunderlight as cover, Old Wu and the others vanished into the distance in an instant.

But Hugo, dragged along by Old Wu, was completely bewildered.

What the hell... what is this supposed to be?

This wasn't part of his plan!

If he had a choice, he would rather sacrifice ten, even a hundred ordinary Star Traveller Tier 9 slaves than let Qi Yuan go die!

Yet at this point, there was no way he could turn back and persuade Qi Yuan.

Damn it, even if I escape this time, I'm taking a huge loss...

With an unwilling expression, Hugo let Old Wu drag him rapidly away, silently sighing to himself.

Don't worry. If I make it out alive, I'll raise your clansmen as my most trusted subordinates.

In the passage behind them.

The instant the boundless Thunder Domain spread out, San Yan and the others who had been pursuing them felt intense danger rise in their hearts and abruptly stopped in midair!

"Ah, th-this is a domain?"

"Whose domain is this? Is there a hidden expert on their side?"

The vertical eye on San Yan's forehead opened and closed, instantly locking onto the figure surrounded by endless violet lightning.

"Hm? Why is it him? A Star Traveller Tier 7?"

"San Yan, what do we do?"

A burly figure with four arms approached. Each arm held a different weapon—a shield, a saber, a warhammer, and more—and his eyes gleamed with eagerness.

San Yan's gaze paused briefly on Qi Yuan as he weighed the situation at lightning speed.

If that person had been Star Traveller Tier 9, he would have immediately turned around and left with his men without another word.

But the other party was only Star Traveller Tier 7. Even with a domain, a Star Traveller Tier 7 could never deal with so many Star Traveller Tier 9 opponents at once!

In an instant, he made his decision!

"Everyone, attack with all your strength. End this quickly!"

As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed. Streams of dark-green light shot from the flying shuttle beneath his feet, accelerating sharply toward Qi Yuan amid the endless thunderlight.

The moment he attacked, all his companions behind him moved at once—

"Haha, go, go, go! Watch me smash him flat!"

The burly Four Arms man charged in first, rushing straight into the boundless Thunder Domain. Brilliant golden light shone from the warhammer in one of his hands.

At his side, a massive golden python as thick as a water barrel overtook him from behind, lunging forward with explosive speed.

On the python's back, the lower half of the gaunt young man covered in silver scales seemed fused with the golden python. In his hands, a black longbow was drawn into a full moon.

The next instant, a pitch-black arrow wrapped in faint ghostly light exploded from his bow!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~"

"Whoosh~~"

Streams of light, warhammers, giant pythons, arrows, and the attacks of San Yan's other companions filled the sky, sealing off every corner around Qi Yuan!

Even an experienced Star Traveller Tier 9 Psychic Master like Old Wu would likely have died on the spot beneath such overwhelming attacks!

Yet Qi Yuan, firmly locked down by the barrage of attacks, suddenly smiled silently.

Ever since he had crossed over, he had always borne the identity of a slave.

Not only had his actions been restricted at every turn, but he had also constantly worried over a fate beyond his control.

Even though he possessed a heaven-defying cheat like the Return System, he had to think twice whenever he used it, terrified of drawing attention!

But so long as he overcame today's crisis, all those concerns and troubles would vanish completely!

Qi Yuan's aura rose steadily, and the sea of lightning enveloping the surrounding several hundred meters seemed on the verge of boiling.

"The final darkness before dawn... I'll sever it completely with a battle fought to the very limit!"

At that moment, Qi Yuan's aura seemed to reach a certain peak!

"Inhale—"

Like a great whale drawing in water, the nearly boiling sea of lightning suddenly contracted—

The next instant, an incomparably concentrated, snow-bright blade light burst forth!

"Slash~"

Where the blade light passed, the golden giant python at the forefront, along with the silver-scaled youth on its back, was sliced cleanly in half as though they were fragile tofu!

Before the two halves of their corpses could hit the ground, Qi Yuan had already changed direction, transforming into a streak of lightning as he continued toward the burly Four Arms man.

"Crackle~~~"

Endless lightning power gathered upon the saber in Qi Yuan's hand, turning it into what seemed like a blade of the Thunder God!

"Die!"

Qi Yuan moved like a phantom, rapidly closing in on the burly Four Arms man. Then a dazzling river of thunderlight instantly tore through the void—

"Ah, my arm. Urgh!"

The Four Arms man's scream had barely sounded when it was silenced completely by another blooming blade light.

In scarcely an instant, two core members of the Blood Blade organization—men who had roamed the universe for years and committed countless crimes—had fallen here completely, without even leaving behind their final words.

Those who wielded blades would one day die beneath them. The laws of the universe were ruthless, yet fair.

But Qi Yuan did not stop. Like a bolt of lightning, he swiftly charged toward San Yan, who was closest to him.

Qi Yuan was simply too fast!

Only when the blinding lightning blade light flashed before his eyes did San Yan finally snap out of the shock of seeing two companions killed!

"H-how? Why are you so strong?!"

"No! Block him! Block him for me!"

The cold expression on his face could no longer hold. He immediately controlled his flying Psionic Weapon to retreat while continuously releasing streams of dark-green light in a desperate attempt to intercept Qi Yuan!

"Psychic Masters, surround him together!"

Even as he retreated, he decisively issued the order.

But the next second, his pupils began to widen uncontrollably—

Qi Yuan before him seemed to merge with the entire Thunder Domain, his figure becoming elusive and indistinct.

The flying Psionic Weapons he fired at Qi Yuan could not even lock onto his opponent's shadow.

"Slash~"

Blinding thunderlight suddenly bloomed, and San Yan's memories were forever frozen at that moment!

A Star Traveller Tier 7, even with a domain, might indeed be unable to withstand the combined attacks of more than ten Star Traveller Tier 9 opponents at once.

But if it were a Star Traveller Tier 7 with a fifth-level domain who had mastered the Thunder Light secret art, then the outcome was another matter entirely.

A year of frenzied research and the constant investment of one return opportunity after another had all been for this moment of ultimate brilliance!

"Whoosh~"

Qi Yuan did not pause, immediately pouncing on another Black Armor figure.

"Crackle~~~"

A river of thunderlight cut across the sky, and a Black Armor figure instantly fell... streak after streak of thunderlight flashed. No one could stop him. Every flash of thunderlight represented the fall of another Black Armor enemy.

"Surround him."

"Surround him."

"Run, run for it!"

The remaining Star Traveller Tier 9 fighters on San Yan's side were already on the verge of collapse after seeing several captain-level figures fall one after another.

The moment they saw Qi Yuan charge at them, they turned and fled without hesitation!

Surround him?

Forget that. Even the captains were dead—what the hell were they supposed to surround him with?!

But even as they tried to flee, they discovered that they were slower than Qi Yuan.

"If we were outside, I really would have had trouble dealing with Psychic Masters like you. But who told you to crawl into this doghole yourselves? You brought this on yourselves."

Surrounded by endless thunderlight, Qi Yuan's speed had soared to the extreme. Even those Star Traveller Tier 9 Psychic Masters were slightly inferior to him in speed!

The most troublesome thing about Psychic Masters was their bizarre and agile flight, allowing them to keep their distance and endlessly kite their opponents.

Warriors, on the other hand, far surpassed Psychic Masters in close-range explosive power.

Now that they were all inside a Crystal Passage barely several hundred meters wide, it was practically no different from close-quarters combat. The result was obvious.

"Slash~~~"

Streak after streak of thunderlight flashed, and Black Armor figures fell one after another.

Not long afterward, the thunderlight receded, and calm returned to the Crystal Passage.

"Whoosh~"

Qi Yuan swiftly returned. At tremendous speed, he collected the storage devices from every enemy he had killed, even placing their corpses into his storage ring.

Then he removed the bracer computer Hugo had given him. With a slight squeeze of his fingers, he crushed it into a lump of scrap metal.

He then drew on the system's power to completely sever and block the final faint connection between the Biological Chip in his Sea of Consciousness and the control terminal!

After doing all this, he did not linger for even a moment. The Force Battle Suit rapidly flowed over his entire body, concealing even his face, before he transformed into a streak of light and hurried toward the exit of Emberlight World!

The first volume, Cosmic Slave, has ended. I would like to sincerely thank all my dear readers for your support and encouragement since the book began—

Thanks to readers 20180224002355746, Mu Fan Tou, Old Bookworm 08, Eye of the Pill Emperor, reader 20200926124945104, and several others for your monthly ticket support. Thanks to reader 20180224002355746 for the reward and encouragement. And thanks as well to all the dear readers who have accompanied and encouraged me through your favorites, follow-ups, comments, and recommendations~~~ Your support is what motivates me to keep writing~~~

Haha, tomorrow begins Volume Two, "Trapped Dragon Returns to the Sea"~~~ (Looking back, I personally feel the first volume was a little bland. I'll definitely plan the second volume more carefully and bring everyone a more exciting story. I also hope you'll all continue following along. A deep bow of thanks~~~)