Broken Star

Night hung low, and all was silent. The sky beneath the waning crescent looked as though it had been covered in deep, dark red silk.

Just then, a black hole suddenly appeared in the sky.

An object trailing blue flames emerged from the black hole, streaking across the sky and plunging straight toward the Blood Plains in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

Boom!

With a deafening explosion, the blue fireball struck the vast expanse of the Blood Plains, gouging out a crater over fifty meters across. Rocks flew everywhere, and the twisted plants nearby were scorched into charcoal by the intense heat.

As the rising steam dispersed, a huge rectangular metal box lay at the bottom of the crater, its surface slightly warped by the violent impact.

Just then, the metal box shuddered, and a heavy metal door slid upward.

A humanoid boy about 1.65 meters tall stepped out, his hair a pale blue. He wore heavy Rune Battle Armor, and his pure white eyes showed not the slightest flicker of emotion. He was as lifeless as a puppet.

Just then, a mechanical electronic voice rang out from the Shuttlecraft behind Broken Star:

"Combat trial initiated. The area within a thirty-five-kilometer radius of me is your trial zone. You must not leave the trial zone during the trial, or you will be deemed to have failed!"

Leaping out of the crater, the blue-haired puppet swept his gaze over the scorched earth nearby. Then he raised his right hand, pressed it against the metal knob protruding from his left chest, and turned it as though winding a clockwork mechanism.

With a series of crisp clicks, the intricate patterns engraved on his Battle Armor lit up from his left chest, spreading across his entire body.

The puppet boy turned to look at the waning crescent hanging high in the sky, a grave expression appearing on his face. As he raised his hand, a black gem appeared in his right palm, and he clenched his fist, crushing it.

The powder scattered by the shattered black crystal turned into black smoke upon contact with the air and rose upward.

At once, the Evil Spirits Lifeforms across the Blood Plains began converging on the puppet boy like beasts that had caught the scent of blood.

Shing!

The puppet boy crouched slightly as two blue blades of light sprang from his wrists, and a trace of killing intent appeared in his pure white eyes.

His gaze swept his surroundings.

Fanged Evil Hounds resembling hyenas, Dark Wraiths whose twisted limbs made them look like tumbling black balls as they moved, Evil Spirits wreathed in a decaying black mist... along with masses of Blood Corpses. More and more evil creatures surged toward him from every direction.

The puppet boy became a streak of blue light and charged forward, weaving through the mass of evil creatures. The light blades in his hands were like scissors slicing through the darkness. Every evil creature in his path was cut in two and dissolved into black smoke, leaving only black crystals to fall to the ground.

He moved faster and faster as the battle continued, like a dancer gliding through the horde. The cold gleams stirred up by his blue blades fluttered with his body like the hem of a skirt.

The players exploring the Blood Plains grew curious about the Evil Spirits Lifeforms' unusual behavior and began asking about it in the regional channel:

"What's going on? Does anyone know what happened? Why are all the evil creatures running in the same direction?"

"I thought I was going to die, but then the evil creatures ran off on their own. Lucky escape. I'm happy."

"I'm going to follow them and take a look. Come watch the action live in my stream, guys. If you can afford it, tip me some sacrificial power!"

Curious about the evil creatures' unusual behavior, the more inquisitive players followed the direction they were heading.

Quite a few players also seized the opportunity to activate livestream mode, broadcasting the scene to other players who could not reach the Blood Plains quickly, hoping to profit from it.

When the players approached the puppet boy's location, the sight before them left them stunned.

The blue figure moved freely through the horde like a dancer. The evil creatures offered no resistance wherever his twin blue blades passed, and he reaped every evil creature nearby with consummate grace.

But the players were more concerned with the black crystals scattered all over the ground.

These were energy crystals that only dropped when evil creatures above level 10 were killed. They could be exchanged for sacrificial power at the Sacrificial Altar in the Function Panel.

To the players, the black crystals covering the ground were no different from cash.

The price of one point of sacrificial power had already been driven up to 150 credits. It was also difficult to buy sacrificial power in large quantities; buyers could only purchase small amounts from individual unaffiliated players.

At this stage, both gold farmers and ordinary players wanted to improve their strength before considering profits, leaving an enormous shortfall in sacrificial power.

Faced with black crystals covering the ground, the nearby players acted without hesitation.

They kept picking up crystals from the ground and tossing them into their personal Spatial Inventories.

The players watching through the livestreams went wild as well, leaving comments in the various live broadcasts:

"Bro, please, I'm begging you. Post your coordinates in the regional channel. I'm on my way to the Blood Plains."

"Aaah! I'm still on respawn cooldown! Watching you pick up money hurts worse than being killed. Stop picking them up! Do you hear me? Stop!"

"This stream is giving me a heart attack. I only came to watch the fun and see what happened, and you show me this? I wish I could sprout wings and fly over to pick them up with you."

The Regional Voice Channel also erupted over the money-grabbing incident.

Players scattered across the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range began converging on the Blood Plains.

Those who had arrived first had already gone completely wild. They followed the blue figure's movements, constantly collecting the black crystals left on the ground.

The puppet boy fighting the evil creatures also noticed the growing crowd of players behind him.

When he saw them picking up the black crystals from the ground, intense killing intent appeared in his pure white eyes.

He stopped advancing and wound the mechanism on his left chest.

His Rune Battle Armor, which had dimmed, shone brilliantly once more after the mechanism was wound tight.

He immediately became a streak of blue light, changed direction, and shot toward the crowd of players. His figure swept past the first player, who had not even managed to get a clear look at the puppet boy's face before a death notification rang out in his mind.

This time, the puppet boy's targets were the players.

After crossing paths with him, large numbers of players dissolved into black smoke and were guided back to Emperor Tomb Village by Yan Ming's spatial power, their flesh and blood reconstructed underground.

"Shit, why's he killing us now? Should we run?"

"Holy crap, my buddy got cut in half and turned into black smoke in the blink of an eye. This guy's way too strong."

"Run, my ass! Dying only costs ten points of sacrificial power. Each Evil Crystal on the ground gives at least five points. Pick up any two and you've broken even. Hurry up and grab them while you can. Stuff them into sacks!"

Faced with the puppet boy's attacks, the players did not retreat. Instead, they grew even more frenzied.

They all wanted to pick up a few more Evil Crystals before they died.

The players also obtained the puppet boy's information during the slaughter.

[Broken Star (Heavenly Talisman Race)]

Hunting level: 53

Target introduction: A descendant of the Heavenly Talisman Race's main lineage, hailed as the strongest of the Heavenly Talisman Race's younger generation. Currently undergoing a combat trial before joining the Against the Tide Legion.

The players who obtained the puppet boy's information immediately shared the analysis in the Regional Chat Channel.

Both the players present and those in other areas were shocked by the boy's hunting level.

A hunting level of 53 represented a level of strength they had never encountered in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

As he continued his slaughter, Broken Star also noticed something was wrong.

After he killed these creatures stealing the Evil Crystals, the crystals they had taken actually turned into black smoke along with them and vanished completely.

The Evil Crystals were proof of his success in the trial. Seeing their numbers steadily decrease, Broken Star grew anxious.

His figure flickered as he grabbed a player who was about to pick up an Evil Crystal by the neck and lifted him before him. Staring straight at the player with his cold, pure white eyes, he asked:

"Where are the Evil Crystals you picked up?"

The analysis system automatically translated Broken Star's words into a language the player could understand.

Hearing this, the player held by the neck showed none of the fear one should have when facing death. His gaze was still sweeping over the glowing black crystals on the ground. Then he raised his head and said, his face flushed red:

"Let me pick up one more, and I'll tell you!"

Broken Star: ...