In the northwest of the Heaven Dou Empire, a small village whose name might not even be found on a map welcomed several unusual guests.
Early in the morning, the villagers discovered a black crack that had appeared on the wasteland outside the village entrance. The crack was suspended in mid-air, without wind or sound, and occasionally tiny specks of light could be seen drifting out from it. The bolder villagers watched from a distance for a while, but no one dared to actually approach it. Finally, they unanimously decided to notify the Spirit Hall Branch in a nearby town.
Before the message could be sent out, a group of people in uniform emerged from the crevice.
Their clothes were unlike those of any imperial army; they wore unfamiliar insignia on their chests and carried various instruments that the villagers couldn't understand at all. Some were scanning the sky, some were squatting on the ground collecting soil, and one person held a metal device and stared at an old locust tree by the roadside for a long time, making all the nearby villagers afraid to go out.
Just then, Old Li from the village came out of his house carrying a hoe.
He was in his fifties and had farmed in the village for most of his life. Today, he was planning to quickly tend to the few acres of wheat fields to the east before the sun fully rose. But as soon as he reached the village entrance, he was stopped by two strangers.
One of them, holding a recording terminal, asked very politely, "Sir, may I ask what planet this is?"
Old Li stopped, glanced at the other person, then looked up at the sky, his expression gradually becoming strange. "What ball?"
"Planet," the company employee repeated, "The planet you live on. What's its name?"
Old Li looked down at his feet, then looked up at the other person, and after a moment of silence, replied, "This place is called Stone Village."
The company employee paused for a moment. "I wasn't asking about the village name, I was asking about the name of the planet."
Old Li couldn't understand at all.
He took a step to the side, hoe in hand, and pointed into the distance, saying, "Twenty li to the east is Green Mountain Town, and beyond that is the main road. If you get lost, I can give you directions, but I really don't know what you mean by 'balls.' We grow wheat here, not balls."
Another company employee who was taking notes almost lost his composure.
The leader coughed lightly and continued, "Which country does this place belong to? What is the highest administrative body here? What is the common currency? Do they have interstellar travel capabilities?"
Old Li could barely understand the first few questions, but by the last one, the doubt on his face was almost turning into vigilance.
"This is the Heaven Dou Empire, of course. We use Copper Soul Coin, Silver Soul Coin, and Gold Soul Coin. As for that 'voyage' thing you mentioned..." Old Li frowned and thought for a long time before finally pointing to the only oxcart in the village, "Does Old Zhang's oxcart count? It could carry three sacks of grain yesterday, but that ox has a bad temper."
Several company employees fell silent simultaneously.
The person in charge of environmental scanning glanced down at the data on the instrument, then at the yellow cattle grazing leisurely not far away, and for a moment didn't know where to begin recording.
The team leader took a deep breath and changed to what they considered a more fundamental question, "Is there anyone here who can use special powers?"
This time, Old Li finally understood.
"Why didn't you just say you were Soul Master?" Old Li perked up immediately, pointing to the other end of the village. "Old Wang's grandson next door awakened his Martial Soul last year, it seems to be a shovel, and he even has level one Soul Power. The people from the Spirit Hall said that if he works hard, he might become a Soul Master."
Upon hearing the terms " Martial Soul " and " Soul Power," which they had never heard of before, several company employees finally showed serious expressions.
Old Li, however, had no desire to continue chatting with them. He glanced at the rising sun, slung his hoe over his shoulder, and said, "Anything else? If not, I'm going to the fields too. If we keep chatting, the sun will be up. If you guys really have nowhere to go, there's an empty house at the east end of the village. Don't stand in the middle of the road blocking people's way."
After saying that, he walked past the group and headed towards the field. After taking a few steps, he couldn't help but look back, muttering to himself, "They're dressed quite well, but how come none of them even know where they are?"
The advance team members from Interastral Peace Corporation stood still, watching the old man carrying a hoe gradually walk away.
After a long pause, one of them finally spoke, "Preliminary assessment suggests that this local civilization has not yet entered the interstellar age."
The other person, looking at the words " Martial Soul," " Soul Master," and " Soul Power " that had just been recorded, added, "However, there is an unknown system of extraordinary power; it is recommended to increase the priority of investigation."
They are from the Market Development Department of Interastral Peace Corporation.
After the company confirmed that the spatial rift could reliably allow personnel to pass through, the Market Development Department immediately dispatched this advance team. Their mission was not to conduct large-scale contact, but to first ascertain the level of civilization, resource structure, power system, and commercial value on the other side of the rift, and then submit a complete report back to their superiors.
If this unknown planet has sufficient value, the company will naturally consider establishing long-term routes and trying to incorporate it into its business network.
Whether it will ultimately take the form of a trading partner, a development zone, or something else depends on the results of their subsequent investigations.
The team leader put away his terminal and looked beyond the village towards the road in the distance.
Let's go to the nearest town first.
"Start the investigation with the local government and that organization called the Spirit Hall."
Meanwhile, in another spatial rift extremely far away, a team officially set foot on the Douluo Continent.
Compared to the advance team from the Interastral Peace Corporation, which focused primarily on exploration and investigation, this team had a much clearer objective.
Several Cloud Knights were the first to pass through the rift and quickly set up a perimeter after confirming that there was no danger in the surroundings. Immediately afterward, a purple figure emerged from the spatial rift, and as soon as his feet touched the unfamiliar ground, he looked up to observe the surrounding environment.
Fu Xuan came in person.
After Qingque mysteriously disappeared, Divination Commission was unable to find any trace of her. It wasn't until the spatial rift was discovered that the Matrix of Prescience was finally able to recapture the trajectory of Qingque's destiny. Although there was still a lot of chaos and interference in between, at least one thing could be confirmed.
That guy who spends all his free time slacking off and playing cards is indeed on the other side of the rift.
Fu Xuan raised her hand and unfolded the divination array, pale purple light slowly weaving in her palm. As the hexagrams changed, a trajectory that only she could clearly perceive gradually pointed into the distance.
A Cloud Knights beside him asked, " Lord Diviner, is there any result?"
Fu Xuan looked at the divination result and frowned slightly. "The direction is correct, she's still alive and well, and her breathing is very stable. According to this divination, not only has that guy not encountered any danger, but he's probably living quite comfortably."
When she said the last sentence, her tone became noticeably stronger.
The few Divination Commission personnel nearby exchanged glances, but none of them dared to speak.
Qingque has been missing for so long, and the Divination Commission has mobilized a lot of manpower to find her. But now, it turns out that this missing person is not only not trapped, but seems to be living a very easy life on the other side. Based on their understanding of their Lord Diviner, when they finally see Qingque, the scene will probably not be very gentle.
The group continued forward according to the calculations.
As they got closer to their target, more and more people appeared on the road. At first, it was just villagers passing by occasionally, but later caravans and Soul Master began to appear, and even members of the Spirit Hall in uniform appeared.
Several hours later, a colossal city of astonishing size finally appeared on the horizon ahead.
Towering city walls stretched across the land, and pedestrians came and went in an endless stream in front of the city gates. Caravans from all over the country lined up in long queues, and Soul Master dressed in different costumes mingled among the crowd. Even with Fu Xuan's extensive experience of seeing many interstellar civilizations, he could tell that this city held an extremely high status in the current world.
She stopped and raised her hand again to perform the calculation.
This time, the divination result showed almost no hesitation.
The trajectory of Qingque's destiny points directly towards the city.
Fu Xuan gazed at the majestic city in the distance, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"I've finally found you, Qingque."