Star Spirits'' range of activity and perception weren''t limited by the speed of light, nor by spatial constraints. Their range was only limited by the planetary system, a rather arbitrary restriction.
Larger planetary systems meant a larger range of perception and activity for the Star Spirit – a truly unique lifeform in the cosmos, and a perk only they possessed.
Tyrant realized it was time for him to make an appearance. He was, after all, a boss-level being. He needed to show his face; otherwise, he’d lose his opportunity. Shiro seemed poised to devour him very soon.
“I’m going out for a while.”
“Suit yourself.”
Before Tyrant left the canyon. Mei, noticing a problem with the bacterial mats, asked, “These bacterial mats seem incapable of cultivating higher-energy Star Beasts?”
“Correct.”
Tyrant, stretching his limbs, replied, “This planet’s life force is too weak. It can only cultivate up to Level 5 Star Beasts. To cultivate higher-energy Star Beasts, you need to find a planet with a stronger life force.”
“Understood.”
With that said,
Boom!
The canyon shook violently. Tyrant gathered his strength, leaped, and soared directly out of the canyon, his figure vanishing like a cannonball in an instant.
Devouring Level 3 Star Beast spores had pushed her to roughly Level 8, her limit. Further consumption was useless. A Level 4 Star Beast spore fell into Mei''s hand, which she tossed towards Shiro.
"Shiro."
"Ooh!"
Shiro''s sharp eyes darted over, then with a leap, swallowed the Level 4 Star Beast spore. A white light immediately flickered across its body.
【Upgrade Task 4?Complete】
【Star Beast Level Up】
【Star Beast?LV10?】
【Star Spirit?LV10?】
Leveling up twice in one go, Shiro unleashed the potential accumulated from devouring countless Star Beasts, jumping directly from LV8 to LV10.
The surge in power also raised Mei''s Star Spirit level to LV10. This significant increase caused a frantic surge in Mei''s power.
If not for her strong control, Mei feared she might accidentally blow up the planet. After all, creating even a minor ripple in the sea of star energy—generating an energy tide—would be enough to destroy it.
The upgrade from LV8 to LV10 was brutally simple. Mei''s range of perception remained unchanged, confined to this planetary system.
However,
Her control over star energy had drastically improved. Previously, she could easily destroy the planet with star energy; now, she possessed the power to easily destroy a star.
It would still take considerable effort using brute force. After all, a star is equivalent to a massive vortex in the ocean of star energy, a highly concentrated point of star energy. Mei didn’t need to calm the vortex; she just needed to extract a portion of the star energy.
Star energy is a general term for the power of the cosmos. Stellar energy naturally belongs to a type of star energy, similar to how life force exists on a planet. Mei could easily control these energies.
Once a portion of a star''s energy is extracted, the remaining energy becomes insufficient to support its massive structure, leading to its inevitable collapse.
This is Mei''s method for destroying stars: highly efficient and effective. In other words, Mei possesses the ability to easily end a planetary system.
As a Star Spirit, Mei, while still flesh and blood, possesses physical attributes that have reached an unimaginable level.
Her body''s strength is arguably the greatest in the universe, infinitely equivalent to the strength of materials subjected to immense pressure. Every atom in her body is tightly packed together, perfectly stationary relative to each other. Materials under her strength are absolutely incapable of inflicting any damage on Mei, not even leaving a scratch.
Based on this, other physical attributes are similarly impressive. The strongest body possesses the strongest power. Furthermore, as long as she is within the sea of star energy, Mei is practically immortal. Even if injured, the star energy will promptly heal her.
To eliminate Mei, one would need to instantly obliterate her. A prolonged battle is futile; she could fight anyone until the end of time, until the universe itself ends.
Mei felt this absurdly powerful strength and marveled in awe, “This isn''t some ‘God among Men.’ This is a true deity.”
In a certain sense, a Star Spirit is a deity, born as such. Few such lifeforms exist in the universe.
Tzzt!
A streak of azure lightning flashed in Mei''s hand, then transformed into wind, water, fire, and other forms. Control over energy meant control over any element, including metals and magma.
Matter is ultimately interchangeable. For the universe, matter and energy are essentially the same thing, differing only in scale.
Under Mei''s control, a massive amount of the planet''s life force was channeled to nourish the bacterial mats, rapidly producing a large number of Level 4 Star Beast spores.
"Shiro, continue."
"Ooh!"
A torrent of Level 4 Star Beast spores erupted from the mats. Shiro continued to devour them, generating a large number of equipment, artifacts, and abilities that Mei collected into her Personal Spatial Storage.
Having absorbed countless abilities, Mei had evolved into a Star Spirit lifeform. She no longer needed these common abilities.
Unless they were exceptionally unique.
However, facing a Level 10 lifeform, the rewards from Level 4 Star Beast spores were minuscule, and her level increase was excruciatingly slow.
...
Meanwhile,
A flash of blade-light instantly killed a Level 3 Star Beast. Lucia, wielding her blood-stained longsword, mused, "Star Beasts have become surprisingly scarce lately."
"That''s good news."
Jayce''s voice crackled through the comm-unit. After completing the Shan City mission, they''d returned to their respective sectors. They were quite familiar, often chatting casually.
Lucia had an unsettling premonition, a furrow in her brow. "Fewer Star Beasts is good, but this inexplicable situation is unsettling. Oh, and how''s Flashy doing?"
"Still in confinement. He can''t leave base until he completes his isolation training. That kid nearly caused a major incident last time. He deserves this."
At this point, Mei''s image flashed in Lucia''s mind. If not for her, Viagra would have probably destroyed Shan City.
Every time she recalled that encounter that left her unconscious, Lucia instinctively tightened her grip on her blade, a tremendous sense of pressure and urgency welling up within her.
She needed to become stronger, and quickly.
Suddenly,
A chilling blade-light. Lucia''s blade moved, cleaving with a speed several times the speed of sound. Facing this strike, a hand rose, firmly grasping the blade.
Boom!
The lingering force of the blade shattered buildings within a radius of several dozen meters. Skyscrapers collapsed, roaring in the destruction, but the person who caught the blade remained unharmed, even smirking, revealing razor-sharp fangs.
"Not a bad strike!"
Hearing this,
Lucia''s pupils constricted.
A powerful tail slammed into the ruins. Tyrant, whose humanoid form was almost perfect, appeared before Lucia, radiating immense pressure.
Lucia was utterly shocked. High-level Star Beasts were always capable of communication; that wasn''t unusual. What shocked her was how easily this Star Beast had withstood her attack.
Bang!
The blade sang.
Lucia swiftly retreated, her blade unsheathed, extremely wary. From that single exchange, she knew she was no match for this Star Beast—the difference was vast.
Beep beep!
The Star Beast monitoring unit sent an emergency alert. They had detected an extremely high-energy signal at Lucia''s location: a Level 4.8 Star Beast!
Tyrant looked at Lucia with folded arms, his relaxed demeanor as if he were simply enjoying himself. He asked, "Aren''t you going to check the alert?"
"..."
Lucia remained silent, her expression even more serious. This Star Beast was highly unusual; unlike other Star Beasts, it was rational, almost indistinguishable from a human.
"Oh well."
Realizing Lucia wasn''t interested in communicating, Tyrant showed some disappointment, then suddenly unleashed a wave of pure hostility. "Let''s play a little before the other Starkillers arrive."
Boom!
The moment the words left his mouth, an intense pressure wave slammed into Lucia. Before she could react, Tyrant''s fist smashed into her vision.
A deafening roar. Lucia’s body was sent hurtling backward, carving a massive trench dozens of meters long through the ruins.
The explosive force of the punch obliterated everything in its path, carving a void in the ruins.
“Cough cough!”
Lucia clutched her longsword, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She felt like her entire skeletal structure had been shattered. Ignoring the injuries and pain, she swung her blade.
This Star Beast''s power was unprecedented. A single blow had nearly incapacitated her; the previous encounters were nothing compared to this.
“This time, I might actually die.”
Muttering to herself, Lucia unleashed a massive strike. Tyrant expressed disappointment, effortlessly shattering the attack with a single punch.
"Too weak."
He shook his head. "You''re not even entertaining me."
"Then how about adding us to the mix?"
A figure descended from the sky. Jayce, enveloped in azure energy, gritted his teeth, his veins bulging, and unleashed a punch into the ruins.
Boom!
Instantly, a tremor shook the entire ruin. The ground trembled violently, and a whirlwind of dust erupted. Jayce and several other high-level Starkillers arrived.
Jayce asked Lucia, "How are you? Still capable of fighting?"
"I won''t be a burden."
Lucia''s words were few but meaningful. She stood, sword in hand, gambling that her body could endure a bit longer before reaching its limits.
A monstrous figure slowly emerged from the dust cloud. Jayce''s fighting spirit surged. “A Level 4.8 Star Beast. This is going to be trouble.”
“Level 4.8?”
Tyrant revealed his full form, glancing at the Starkillers. With a playful intent to taunt them, he asked, “Have you ever experienced despair?”
Jayce: “What are you trying to say?”
Tyrant smirked.
“Don’t you notice that my form is different from other Star Beasts? I’ll let you in on a little secret: this isn’t even my full-power form. Interested in seeing my true form?”
“!!!”
“…”
Hearing this,
Several Starkillers’ pupils constricted, their scalps tingling. They immediately attacked, refusing to exchange further pleasantries with Tyrant. Even faced with a clear disparity in power, they showed no fear.
"Ha ha!"
Tyrant''s fighting spirit was also ignited. He laughed, “Bring it on!”
Boom!
Suddenly,
An intense battle erupted in the ruins. Under Tyrant’s deliberate stalling, more and more Starkillers arrived to join the fray.
The Allied Council issued a single order:
“Eliminate this Star Beast at all costs!”
...
Two hours later.
Countless Starkillers lay scattered across the ruins. In his full-power state, Tyrant''s size had swelled to fifteen meters, his energy level reaching 5.2.
Faced with this overwhelming power, even Starkillers with squad leader-level combat prowess couldn''t stand against Tyrant. While he''d sustained considerable injuries, his self-healing abilities were too potent; he appeared completely unscathed.
The dying Lucia and Jayce felt utter despair. They couldn’t match him, the gap in strength being insurmountable, unbridgeable by determination or courage alone.
Jayce, heavily wounded, lay in the ruins, barely able to move. He looked up at the calm sky and said, “It’s all over…”
Lucia leaned against a wall, too weak to stand. This battle had been exhilarating for Tyrant; he felt immense satisfaction. “A fitting final battle. I have no regrets.”
This statement seemed slightly off, but Lucia couldn''t pinpoint why. At that moment, the sound of approaching aircraft filled the air, and a wave of high-level Starkillers descended like rain.
The confined Flashy had been released. In this emergency, even his volatile power was needed.
Stolen novel; please report.
Flashy''s blood boiled.
“Finally, my time to shine!”
Tyrant glanced at them, completely disregarding these Starkillers. He arrogantly laughed, "Your arrival is ill-timed. This isn''t your stage anymore."
Then,
Tyrant’s battle-intent gaze locked onto a specific figure—Mei, who had appeared silently.
The moment he saw Mei, Flashy’s expression froze. The Viagra within him screamed wildly, urging him to flee as far as possible. Clearly, Mei had left a profound psychological scar.
Simultaneously,
Lucia and Jayce were stunned. Among the humans they knew, only Mei possessed the combat power to rival Tyrant.
With her help, they could surely defeat him!
However,
Before Lucia and Jayce could celebrate, the familiar relationship between Tyrant and Mei sent a shiver down the spines of all the Starkillers. The situation instantly became delicate. Without knowing whether Mei was friend or foe, Flashy and the others dared not act rashly.
Mei stood calmly, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding Starkillers. She asked Tyrant, “Well, satisfied?”
“Completely.”
Tyrant chuckled in response, knowing it was time to offer his life. He focused his hostility on Mei, launching a decisive attack, letting out a triumphant roar as he unleashed his final, unrestrained power: "Let me see your true strength!"
“Shiro.”
“Ooh!”
Shiro materialized from the ruins with supernatural speed, opening its mouth to unleash a blinding cross-shaped beam of light, followed by an unparalleled shockwave.
Boom!
The sky and earth shuddered violently. The rampant power destroyed everything; its residual force alone was enough to terrify the Starkillers, sending them flying helplessly.
Shiro, despite its seemingly harmless appearance, was fundamentally a Star Beast, a Level 10 super-Star Beast at that.
It could easily destroy Tyrant, or even obliterate the planet itself. By devouring other Star Beasts, it stole their abilities to evolve. Shiro''s current life level was almost equivalent to Mei''s Star Spirit level; Tyrant was utterly outmatched.
A wave of energy blasted a massive chasm into the ground, ultimately piercing the planet''s atmosphere and reaching into the cosmos before finally dissipating.
When the dust settled, the Starkillers surveyed the horrifying scene, feeling a profound terror. Before such power, they were nothing more than ants.
Flashy scrambled out of the ruins, his body battered, his eyes filled with fear, the urge to run overwhelming.
This kind of monster was far beyond their capabilities!
Sss—
A heat wave still rolled across the ground. Tyrant stood, seemingly unfallen, but his head and body were more than half vaporized, instantly killing him.
The Starkillers shuddered. This was a Level 5.2 super-Star Beast, yet it had been annihilated in a single encounter.
Shiro, its short legs pumping, dashed to Tyrant’s remains, decisively opening its maw and swallowing him whole.
“Grrr!”
Crunch!
A Level 5.2 super-Star Beast had been devoured. The sound of consumption sent chills down the Starkillers'' spines. Then, a white light flashed across Shiro''s body.
【Upgrade Task 5?Complete】
【Star Beast Level Up】
【Star Beast?LV11?】
【Star Spirit?LV11?】
Countless Level 4 Star Beast spores hadn''t significantly raised Shiro''s level; the returns were minimal, resulting in only a Level 11 upgrade.
Just as Mei was about to leave, Lucia offered her thanks. “Thank you for your timely assistance.”
Her steps halted.
Mei’s figure instantly vanished.
Gratitude?
Mei hadn''t intended to save the Starkillers; she was purely there to complete the Upgrade Task. If the Allied Council knew what she’d done to this planet, they''d likely become her enemies.
However, in Mei’s view, the Starkillers didn''t warrant becoming her enemies, nor did they necessitate her personal intervention.
At that moment,
The Star Beast monitoring unit''s large screen displayed a high-level red alert. The monitoring personnel seemed frozen, their heads raised, unmoving. After a while,
A terrifying energy level of 7.3 appeared on the large screen. The monitoring personnel were utterly petrified, as if in a dream.
“Is the reading accurate?”
“Director, no error. It''s a Level 7.3 energy reading!”
The technician''s voice trembled as he spoke. Previously, they couldn''t have imagined the strength of a Level 7.3 entity; today, they had witnessed it.
But that was only Shiro''s single strike.
“Prepare a report immediately. I’ll go to the Allied Council myself!”
“Understood!”
Regaining his composure, the director realized his hands were completely ice-cold. Without hesitation, he had to personally report this to the Allied Council.
…
The following day.
After a meeting, the Allied Council reached a unanimous decision. Since Mei had shown no hostility toward humanity, they wouldn''t provoke her.
However,
Humanity''s future had to be held in human hands. The successive appearances of high-level Star Beasts made the Allied Council realize that the Starkillers'' gradual power increase was insufficient for the new environment and era.
They urgently needed greater power; the Starkillers needed to grow faster!
In the Allied Council’s headquarters, a man in a black suit retrieved a vial of medicine from his Personal Spatial Storage. Undeniably, this man was a Void Wanderer.
His name was Aley, a new member of the Nova Super-Legion. It was his manipulation within the Allied Council that allowed Flashy, also a new recruit, to obtain the power of Viagra.
As a new recruit, Aley had few items and equipment, making him a valuable asset for the legion. He received this Control Serum from the legion.
This Control Serum was still an unfinished product. Its completion required the cooperation of the Starkillers through human experimentation—a cruel process. Aley believed now was the time to utilize it.
This unfinished Control Serum was only a Tier 2 item. Once completed, it might even exhibit Tier 3 effects, potentially merging with the Starkillers'' inherent power. The resulting reaction was unknown, but promising.
He instructed his secretary.
“I need to meet with the chairman.”
“Understood. I’ll schedule an appointment for you.”
Meanwhile,
Mei was using the star energy ocean to perceive various sounds across the cosmos—electromagnetic waves, gravitational waves, and neutrino signals. Any signal causing energy fluctuations could be heard through the Voice of All Things, revealing the information contained within.
Mei’s current planet had suffered significant depletion of its life force. Moreover, its weak life force prevented the cultivation of higher-level Star Beasts.
This meant only one thing: finding other civilizations in the universe and using their planets to cultivate the bacterial mats and produce higher-level Star Beasts for future Upgrade Tasks.
…
A month and a half later.
Mei intercepted a message transmitted via gravitational waves. The content: Greetings from the Northern Cross Civilization, extended to all civilizations in the universe.
By listening to the gravitational wave signal, Mei immediately pinpointed the Northern Cross Civilization''s location: 60 light-years away in the same spiral arm.
“Found it.”
Mei looked towards a specific region in the cosmos. With a thought, ripples stirred in the star energy ocean, affecting the entire planetary system.
After her Star Spirit leveled up to LV11, Mei''s control over the star energy ocean and her manipulative abilities increased dramatically. She could now treat the entire planetary system as a vessel traversing the cosmos. Using the star energy ocean as propulsion, she could easily accelerate to faster-than-light speeds without causing any discomfort to life on the planet.
In other words,
Mei could directly launch an entire planetary system as a projectile. After pinpointing the Northern Cross Civilization, she propelled her planetary system toward their location.
The first to notice the anomaly were the astronomical observation teams. Initially, they detected a speeding celestial body. Later, they realized their entire star system was accelerating towards a specific direction—a discovery that terrified them.
This extraordinary phenomenon was undoubtedly terrifying, but humanity was helpless. They couldn''t stop the star system''s movement.
The Allied Council only wanted to know the cause of their star system''s accelerated displacement.
...